Albany County’s new Project Growth is a proactive approach to helping juvenile offenders pay off their debts to society, but we feel it needs some tweaking, and the county may well wind up agreeing.
The idea behind the project itself is good. Giving juveniles who vandalize property the option to pay restitution by working at the Capital City Rescue Mission and finding entry-level jobs at area businesses is a much better way than forcing the parents of these teens – who are often from low-income families – to pay for their transgressions. And with it being a first-of-its kind program in New York, it could become a model for similar projects.
Where we feel the idea needs some tweaking is the percentage of each paycheck the juvenile offenders keep for themselves. The project allows the offenders to retain 80 percent of their paychecks, with the remaining 20 percent going to the victims of their crimes. That breakdown seems a little too much in the offender’s favor, especially when the reason for the project is to teach young people there is a price to pay for committing crimes.
Think of it this way. A teen does $400 worth of damage to someone’s property and enters Project Growth. If that teen gets an entry-level job where he or she earns $135 per week, he or she keeps $109 before taxes and the victim receives $26. At that rate, it would take 16 weeks for the teen to pay off the debt, and at the end they would pocket more than four times than the cost of the damage before taxes are factored in.
Granted, these teens would be giving back to society by working at the mission, and they would learn valuable job skills through their part-time work. And we wouldn’t begrudge them the opportunity to earn money for their families, especially if it helps them with their monthly bills. It might even lead them to greater opportunities down the road.
But if the object of Project Growth is to allow juvenile offenders to pay for the damage they have done, they need to feel a bigger bite than having 20 percent of every paycheck go to their victims. A more appropriate figure is to create a 50-50 split until the debt is paid off. After that, if a business chooses to continue employing the teen, he/she can earn the full paycheck.
Albany County and its Project Growth partners – Albany Family Court, the University at Albany, The College of Saint Rose, Capital City Rescue Mission and Central Avenue Business Improvement District – seem to be aware of this potential problem. According to the Albany County Executive’s office, they will monitor and consult with area school districts to determine what the most appropriate ratio should be. That’s fine, but they should have done the consulting before announcing what the ratios were going to be. Why publicly announce one figure when you may – and should – change it?
Ultimately, this issue shouldn’t undermine the program’s purpose. Juvenile offenders who damage other people’s property should be held accountable for their actions and made to pay restitution – not their parents and not their victims. Project Growth gives them that avenue to do so.
We just want to make certain that they also understand crime does not pay.