Wyoming DFS Sticking it to Wyoming Families

The Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) has proposed legislation to reform the current Child in Need of Supervision (CHINS) system to a Family in Need of Supervision (FINS) program. The underlying premise of FINS (sometimes called Families in Need of Services, Persons in Need of Services or PINS) as enacted in many other states including Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky and Massachusetts, is to keep struggling families out of formal involvement with the criminal justice system. This underlying premise is noticeably missing in the legislation proposed by DFS.

As noted in a 2007 piece introducing the concept of Families in Need of Services was produced by the American Bar Association and entitled: Legislation and Policy Aiding Youth Who Engage in Noncriminal Misbehavior by Jessica R. Kendall, ABA Center on Children and the Law, the purpose of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Act (JJDPA) of 1974 was to "encourage[] the states' tend of decriminalizing status offenses". The title of this paper highlights the problem that Wyoming faces in considering this proposed legislation. By definition these youth are engaging in what is considered "…noncriminal misbehavior…" in the rest of the country. Noncriminal misbehavior includes status offenses which have been decriminalized based on the JJDPA. Status offenses are:

… activities that are deemed offenses when committed by juveniles, because of their age at the time of the activity. In short, these offenses are not illegal if done by an adult. Examples of status offenses include not attending school, breaking curfew laws, running away from home, possession and consumption of alcohol.

Because Wyoming has not decriminalized status offenses, CHINS actions or juvenile delinquency proceedings are generally begun with formal charges against these juvenile offenders who are committing acts that would not be deemed criminal in any other state of the union.

The following chart illustrates Wyoming's juvenile incarceration for status offenses as compared to national juvenile incarcerations for status offenses.ⁱ

The contention of the Wyoming DFS is that CHINS actions only give DFS a "stick"ⁱⁱ to use against the offending juvenile while FINS would provide a legal stick to use against every member of the juvenile's family. The stick is needed, according to DFS, in order to mandate services such as drug or alcohol rehabilitation, domestic violence education, mental health evaluations and services not just for the youth in question but for his or her parents, siblings and any other household member. The problem with this approach is that the Wyoming DFS is using terminology, such as FINS, that is popular and effective in the rest of the country while proposing a program that would be entirely different.ⁱⁱⁱ These fundamental differences will necessarily make Wyoming's efforts less effective than has been realized in other states.

Wyoming DFS intends to hold criminal charges and court-issued mandates as sticks in order to force an entire family into receiving mandated services. Failure or refusal to attend can result in criminal and other consequences.^iv The sole discretion as to what services are needed lies with Wyoming DFS. Upon deciding that a family member was noncompliant with the DFS defined case plan, DFS intends to file court action with the minimum result being contempt of court charges against the offending family member. Consequences rapidly expand to include removal of one or all children from the home, incarceration, and further mandated services through DFS.^v

Outside of Wyoming, the concept of FINS is a commendable: to address the underlying problems of the dysfunctional family system in order to restore health and maintain family integrity without involving the family in the formalized justice system for issues that are all interconnected and all part of the reason for their struggles.^vi However, what is being proposed in Wyoming is fundamentally flawed without a simultaneous decriminalization of status offenses.

With CHINS and juvenile delinquency proceedings already providing a hefty punitive consequence for offending juveniles, the proposed FINS legislation in Wyoming could only have the effect of deepening and formalizing the problems experienced by struggling families by increasing the number of criminal charges levied against the family. There are other issues of concern that this proposed FINS legislation raises, but with proposed legislation under consideration by the Joint Judicial Interim Committee as we write this it is critical to understand this concept: enacting FINS in Wyoming would not be a step forward toward– it would simply be giving Wyoming DFS a bigger and terrifyingly powerful stick. Wyoming DFS should be striving to strengthen Wyoming's struggling families, not looking for a bigger stick.

ⁱ Chart based on statistics available through: Sickmund, M., Sladky, T.J., Kang, W., and Puzzanchera, C. (2013) "Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement." Online. Available: http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp/

ⁱⁱ Statements by Steve Corsi, Director of Wyoming DFS at May 12, 2014 Joint Judicial Interim Committee meeting

ⁱⁱⁱ Statements by Senator Hicks at 5/12/14 Joint Judicial Interim Committee meeting

^iv Statements by Steve Corsi addressing State Senator Leland Christensen's question on "flow of authority" in regard to proposed FINS mandates

^v Statements by Steve Corsi in addressing how "needed services" would be mandated 5/12/14

^vi Making Court i the Last Resort: A New Focus for Supporting Families in Crisis – handout at May 12, 2014 Joint Judiciary Interim Committee, hard copy available.