WILL ALABAMA'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM SOON SEE IMPROVEMENT?

By Ameleigh B. Bippen

In 2021, Alabama had the eighth-highest youth incarceration rate in the nation.[1] Alabama state representative Reed Ingram is calling for change in the state’s juvenile justice system. On August 29, 2024, representative Ingram prefiled a bill that would create a new pilot program for juveniles throughout the state.[2] This pilot program would not only require juveniles who commit a nonviolent offense to complete a two-hour intervention course, but it would also require a legal guardian to complete the intervention course alongside them.[3] Ingram, a Republican member of the Alabama House of Representatives for District 75, which encompasses parts of Elmore County and Montgomery County, is quoted saying, “‘[w]e are losing our youth by not having a handle on them.’”[4] Ingram believes that the implementation of this bill will deter juvenile participants from committing crimes in the future.[5]

When Alabama House Bill 33 (“HB 33”) was read to the Alabama House of Representatives for the first time on February 4, 2025, it revealed that this juvenile intervention pilot program would operate in only five Alabama counties that meet the following criteria: “(1) A high number of juvenile delinquency cases filed in the state; (2) a high number of juvenile delinquency adjudications in the state; and (3) a high population in the state based on the 2020 Census.”[6]If implemented, the Department of Youth Services must establish and administer the juvenile intervention pilot program no later than September 1, 2025 and start the operation on October 1, 2025.[7]HB 33 states that the pilot program should operate for five years.[8]

A deeper dive into HB 33 reveals the mechanics of the proposed program. Once a law enforcement officer suspects a juvenile of committing a nonviolent offense, the officer must contact a youth probation officer.[9] Next, with permission from a court, the youth probation officer detains the juvenile for transport to a juvenile detention center where the juvenile must undergo intervention training with the juvenile’s legal guardian within thirty days of the juvenile’s release.[10] The intervention course would last two hours with both the juvenile and the juvenile’s legal guardian being required to attend.[11] Following the intervention course, the juvenile would complete a pass/fail test[12] concerning the course’s overview and material.[13] If the juvenile or the juvenile’s legal guardian fails to satisfy these requirements, either (1) the probation officer will file “a petition alleging the child is delinquent or in need of supervision,” or (2) the juvenile and the juvenile’s legal guardian will be held in contempt of court.[14] Following completion of the pilot program, the juvenile is placed in a database to track the effectiveness of the program by recognizing whether or not the juvenile has committed additional offenses.[15]

Ranking within the top ten states for the highest youth incarceration rate in the country,[16] most Alabamians recognize that the state’s juvenile justice system needs improvement. However, there are a number of concerns that parents and taxpayers may have with Ingram’s proposed bill. First, there are real questions about the effectiveness of the proposed program. Ingram has yet to present any evidence that a two-hour intervention course could have any meaningful impact on Alabama’s youth. Similarly, HB 33 suggests the course itself is not specifically designed or tailored to the juvenile’s suspected offense. Second, the proposed bill does not address how the diverse realities of Alabama’s youth and their legal guardians will or should be accommodated. For instance, will the intervention course’s content and testing be adapted for the academic and intellectual functioning of the participants, and will the scheduling of the intervention course accommodate working and disabled guardians? Lastly, with HB 33 only implementing the proposed program in five counties across the state, there is a concern regarding the lack of consistency across Alabama’s juvenile justice system.

Given these concerns, lawmakers should look to existing juvenile intervention programs across the state that have demonstrated effectiveness. Implemented in 2023, the RESTORE program, out of Jefferson County Family Court, is one worthy of their review. Similar to Ingram’s proposed bill, the RESTORE program appreciates the weight legal guardians have and the need to address gaps in critical resources. The juvenile detention reentry program calls on the family court system to work alongside the legal guardians of juveniles placed in state custody.[17]But, unlike Ingram’s proposed bill, the RESTORE program provides juveniles and their legal guardians targeted intervention with real-world impact, including counseling, social skills, career readiness, financial literacy, technology programs, housing, and employment.[18]Since its inception, the RESTORE program reports that the number of Jefferson County juveniles between the ages of thirteen and twenty-two charged with murder decreased by 80%.[19] Further, the homicide victims within a similar age group also dropped by 61%.[20]

If Alabama lawmakers are serious about involving legal guardians in their efforts to reduce juvenile offending, the RESTORE program’s performance in Jefferson County suggests it is an excellent model for reforming Alabama’s juvenile justice system. If lawmakers recreated the RESTORE program across the state, existing effectiveness data would likely ease concerns Alabamians may have regarding the benefits of such a program. Additionally, targeted, practical interventions (like counseling and financial literacy programs) are far more likely to be fruitful than a two-hour intervention course. That said, even if Alabama lawmakers were to implement the RESTORE program across the state, the feasibility and adequacy of resources will likely remain an issue. Despite the impressive drop in murder charges against juveniles and homicide victims between the ages of thirteen and twenty-two since the implementation of the RESTORE program in Jefferson County, the program has ran into funding issues.[21]

In all, proponents of HB 33’s juvenile pilot program may believe that it represents a significant step towards reforming Alabama’s juvenile justice system, however, there are significant concerns with the program’s effective use of resources. Instead of proceeding with a program absent any data showing the effectiveness of such a program in other areas, Alabama lawmakers should look to Jefferson County’s RESTORE program as a model for other counties across the state and focus on how funding issues will be addressed. State legislators that expect taxpayers to foot the bill will likely find their constituents appreciate evidence-based mandates. Although Alabamians’ worries may continue to grow while HB 33 awaits Alabama House Committee action, there is hope to be had anytime our legislators work toward reforming Alabama’s juvenile justice system.

[1] See Only Young Once, S. Poverty L. Ctr. (Feb. 13, 2024), https://www.defendyouthrights.org/wp- content/uploads/only-young-once-alabama-report.pdf.

[2] See Prefiled Alabama Bill Would Require Intervention For Youth Offenders at Youth Detention Facility, Ala. Reflector (Sep, 4, 2024), https://alabamareflector.com/2024/09/04/prefiled-alabama-bill-would-require-intervention -for-youth-offenders-at-youth-detention-facility/.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] H.B. 33, 2025 House of Representatives, Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2025).

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] See Prefiled Alabama Bill, supra  note 2.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] H.B. 33, 2025 House of Representatives, Reg. Sess. (Ala. 2025).

[13] See Bill Would Create Juvenile Intervention Pilot Program in 5 Alabama Counties, CBS 42 (Sept. 10, 2024), https://www.cbs42.com/alabama-news/bill-would-create-juvenile-intervention-pilot-program-in-5-alabama-counties/.

[14] Id.

[15] Id.

[16] See Only Young Once, S. Poverty L. Ctr. (Feb. 13, 2024), https://www.defendyouthrights.org/wp- content/uploads/only-young-once-alabama-report.pdf.

[17] See Successful Birmingham Program Faces Funding Gap Despite Reduction in Youth Crime, AL.com (Mar. 13, 2025), https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2025/03/birminghams-restore-program-faces-funding-gap-despite-a-reduction-in-youth-crime.html#:~:text=RESTORE%20helped%20decrease%20youth%20 victimization, age%20group%20dropped%20by%2061%25.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.