The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Its Administrative Office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services. The DYS regions are the Central, Metro, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Western regions.

History and leadership

Massachusetts created the nation's first publicly funded juvenile correctional system in 1846 with the opening of the Massachusetts State Reform School for Boys at Westborough, later known as

Lyman School for Boys The Lyman School for Boys was established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts about 1886 and was closed in 1971. It was the first reform school, or training school in the United States, replacing the State Reform School for Boys near the same si ...

. In 1969 Governor Francis Sargent established the Department of Youth Services as a separate agency under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Under the leadership of the new department's first commissioner,

Jerome G. Miller Jerome Gilbert Miller (December 8, 1931 – August 7, 2015) was an American social worker, academic and public sector corrections administrator, who was an authority on the reform of juvenile and adult corrections systems. He was a prominent adv ...

, Massachusetts initiated a bold

deinstitutionalization Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the late ...

effort with the closure of Lyman School for Boys and the Massachusetts Industrial School for Boys at Shirley. The reforms initiated over forty years ago have proven to be sustainable and remain foundational to the state's juvenile justice system. From circa 1995, where there were 165 female inmates, to 2005, where there were 453 female inmates, there was a 168% increase in the number of girls committed to DYS.Fenn, Jennifer.
Struggle to help teen girls in trouble

Archive
. ''

Lowell Sun ''The Sun'', also known as ''The Lowell Sun'', is a daily newspaper based in Lowell, Massachusetts, United States, serving towns in Massachusetts around the Greater Lowell area and beyond. As of 2011, its average daily circulation was about 42,9 ...

''. April 16, 2005. Retrieved on December 24, 2015.

DYS Commissioners

, 1969-1973 * Joseph Leavy, 1973-1976 * John Calhoun, 1976-1979 * Edward M. Murphy, 1979-1985 * Edward J. Loughran, 1985-1993 * William D. O'Leary, 1993-1997 * Robert P. Gittens, 1997-2002 * Michael Bolden, 2002-2005 * Jane E. Tewksbury, 2005-2012 * Edward Dolan, 2012–2013
Peter J. Forbes, 2013-present

Overview

DYS operates more than 80 total residential ''and'' community programs across Massachusetts, including: *63 residential programs, ranging from staff secure group homes to small highly-secure locked units, and *22 district offices to provide supervision and services to youth who live in the community (residing with a parent, guardian, foster parent or residing in an independent living program).

Continuum of care

The Department has a dual mandate of rehabilitation and public safety. In keeping with these two objectives, DYS has a system of classifying committed youth according to their offense patterns and other pertinent history. This classification process informs a service delivery plan that places youths in appropriate levels of care according to our Continuum of Care. The Continuum of Care includes: *Bail Detention *Assessment *Residential Treatment (Hardware Secure or Staff Secure) *Community Phase/ Day Reporting *Discharge The Client Services unit oversees the delivery of a host of clinical and support services. Using an integrated approach, programs address the risk to re-offend by providing a variety of services, including the following: *Clinical Services *Medical and Health Services *Substance Abuse Services *Assessment and Classification *Revocation (the process by which a youth in the community is returned to residential programming)

DYS treatment programs and services

Clinical Services

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) provides clinical and rehabilitative services to its detained clients and committed youth based on the Comprehensive Strategy outlined by the Office of Juvenile Delinquency and Prevention. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): This system of psychotherapy was adopted to fit the needs of the juvenile justice population by teaching youth skills from DBT skill modules (e.g., skills in emotion regulation and/or interpersonal effectiveness modules) that are basic fundamental skills underlying positive pro-social development. DBT is used as a behavior management tool in DYS to increase skill development in youth, improve relationships between youth and staff and create a positive pro-social learning environment. While DBT is not the only clinical treatment offered in DYS, it does serve as the structure for therapeutic work and for the behavior management system across all DYS programs in the Commonwealth. Positive Youth Development: The Positive Youth Development model focuses on the positive attributes young people need to make a more successful transition to adulthood. The Positive Youth Development framework revolves around the cognitive, emotional and social needs of a young person. A strong focus on three aspects of positive youth development will provide effective guidance for the goals and plans for each youth's successful re-entry into the community. These include a focus on each youth's strengths and personal assets, providing opportunities for youth empowerment and leadership, and cultivating community partnerships and supports that assist youth in moving successfully through the continuum of care. Clinical Assessments: Upon commitment to DYS, youth are given a comprehensive assessment conducted by licensed mental health clinicians, licensed teachers and medical and psychiatric staff. Licensed mental health clinicians provide psychosocial interviews, administer psychological testing, and review prior records that include educational, medical and criminal histories. Screening instruments are used to determine if the youth needs to be referred for a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to aid in treatment planning. Following the assessment phase, an individual treatment and service plan is developed for the youth that focuses interventions on the youth's strengths and risks factors for re-offending. Residential Support: The clinical focus in the residential treatment programs is to rehabilitate the youth by preparing him or her to rejoin their community by teaching pro-social attitudes and behaviors. This is done through weekly individual counseling and participation in required group therapies which include: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (twice weekly); substance abuse groups (either prevention or substance abuse treatment groups); and violent offender/sex offender groups which focus on relapse prevention planning. Depending on the individual service needs of the youth, other treatments may be incorporated such as: family counseling, trauma work, teen dating violence prevention, and parenting skills classes for DYS youth with children of their own. Community Continuum: As the DYS youth transitions from residential treatment to the community, the casework team (which includes licensed mental health clinicians) ensures that the youth and family are enrolled in community-based services to support the gains the youth has made in treatment.

Facilities

Juveniles charged with murder and juveniles with adult sentences are held within a DYS-operated facility inside the

Plymouth County Correctional Facility Plymouth County Correctional Facility is located in Plymouth, Massachusetts Operated by the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department. The prison is the largest prison in Plymouth. The prison is known for housing several celebrity inmates, most notab ...

, Juvenile secure units: * Plymouth Juvenile Secure Unit Long term facilities: * Robert F. Kennedy School (

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

) - The school is the most secure juvenile facility in the state. Operated by the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, Inc., the center was the first Massachusetts juvenile correctional facility operated by a private provider.Westborough
" Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, Inc. Retrieved on August 23, 2010. * Springfield Secure Treatment Program (

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

) * South Hadley Girls Treatment Program (

South Hadley South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

) Youth service centers: * Metro Youth Service Center (MYSC) ( Dorchester,

) ** Construction was scheduled to be completed in the fiscal year 2000 Reception and detention centers: * Judge John J. Connelly Youth Center (

) * Reception-Detention Center for Girls (Boston) * Westfield Detention Center ( Westfield) * Worcester Detention Center (

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

) Closed facilities: *

* Phaneuf Youth Treatment Brockton * Bishop Ruocco Girls Youth Treatment Lakeville * Fay A. Rotenberg School (Westborough) - The Rotenberg School was a secure juvenile treatment center for girls that closed in 2016. It was operated by the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, Inc. Rotenberg houses most of the adjudicated females deemed to be dangerous, and it was the sole secured facility for female juvenile delinquents in Massachusetts. ** Rotenberg, which first opened in 1982, previously occupied a building in North Chelmsford, a section of

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

; this facility, which had 16 beds, was located on Princeton Street, near the border with Lowell. In 2006 the school moved to its new location in Westborough. That year Mary Harte, the Rotenberg director, stated that of the detained females, about 35-40% had previously been victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).

References

External links

Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps
* Behn, Robert D.
Closing the Massachusetts public training schools
"

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. * Krisberg, Barry A.
Reforming Juvenile Justice
Retrieved on February 26, 2013