Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Youth Task Force Focuses on Prevention

Citing the growing costs of the criminal justice system, the city’s top administrator said Friday he will direct a task force to find ways of keeping children from becoming criminals.

Santa Clarita City Manager George Caravalho will chair a task force of the League of California Cities that will focus on keeping youths out of the justice system as well as developing rehabilitation programs to combat drug abuse, gangs and illiteracy.

Caravalho said studies show that despite increased spending on law enforcement and prisons, violent juvenile crime continues to rise.

The solution, Caravalho said, is prevention rather than punishment.

“It is time to invest more on the front end,” Caravalho said. “It’s one of those things where you either pay me now or pay me later.”

The Investment in Youth task force, which will include more than two dozen city officials from across the state, will meet for the first time Friday in San Diego.

“We’re trying to find answers to very difficult problems that impact the family, young people and neighborhoods,” Caravalho said.

One of the ideas the task force will consider is the diversion of $1 billion from a proposed federal crime bill to youth intervention and prevention programs.

Other ideas include extending the school day and creating after-school programs for latchkey children.

The task force will consider adopting the policy that health and human services, such as recreational and cultural programs, are as important as law enforcement in dealing with youth problems.

Money for such programs, Caravalho said, could come from diverting money from prison and police budgets.