Missouri's Kids Deserve Rehabilitation, Not Prison

I stand in strong opposition to HB2498 (Christ) and SB888 (Schroer), which represent a dangerous retreat from Missouri's own successful and evidence-based model of juvenile justice. These bills dismantle the nationally recognized "Missouri Model," which prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment and boasts recidivism rates below 9%. They abandon this proven approach to warehouse children in an adult system where studies show they are 34% more likely to reoffend. This is not justice; it is a recipe for creating more traumatized, system-involved adults. The bills dangerously shift power from judges and juvenile officers—trained in adolescent development—to prosecutors, accelerating a "punishment-first" pipeline. They will worsen our state's profound racial disparities, where Black youth are already transferred at far higher rates. Further, HB2498 takes the cruel and counterproductive step of criminalizing parents and caregivers who are struggling, threatening them with charges instead of offering support services. This punishes poverty and family stress, undermining the very communities we should be strengthening. In addition, creating a permanent criminal database for juveniles sabotages rehabilitation and future opportunities. This is not fixing a broken system; it is breaking a successful one. We do not have a crisis requiring this punitive expansion. The current system already allows for the appropriate handling of serious offenses. This legislation is fiscally irresponsible and morally wrong. I urge you to reject these bills and instead invest in the community-based, restorative interventions that truly keep our youth and our communities safe.