Finish the job: Make New Hampshire’s children’s system work for every child

For more than a decade, New Hampshire has been learning a simple lesson: children do better when we reach them early, serve them close to home, and reserve locked facilities for only the most serious cases. That lesson did not come out of nowhere. It grew out of years of reform efforts to reduce the number of children entering the juvenile justice system, and for those who do enter the system, reducing the number who are sent to the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC), our state’s youth detention and commitment center. It reflects a broader recognition that a child in crisis is not just a legal issue, but a family, clinical, school, and community issue to be understood.

New Hampshire has already acted on that understanding. In 2016, the state established its Children’s System of Care, designed to improve outcomes, limit costly out-of-home placements, and coordinate support for children involved in multiple systems or at risk of court involvement. In 2021, lawmakers built on that foundation by making it easier for children who may have committed a crime to get needed mental health treatment, using pre-petition needs assessments and referrals to supports like Fast Forward to divert children from the juvenile justice system.