130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2021
Legislative Document No. 1668
H.P. 1239 House of Representatives, May 5, 2021
Resolve, To Develop a Plan To Close the Long Creek Youth
Development Center and Redirect Funding to Community
Integration Services for Adjudicated Youth
Received by the Clerk of the House on May 3, 2021. Referred to the Committee on
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LOOKNER of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach, MORALES of South
Portland, O'NEIL of Saco, RECKITT of South Portland, SYLVESTER of Portland, TALBOT
ROSS of Portland, WARREN of Hallowell, Senator: MAXMIN of Lincoln.
Printed on recycled paper
 1 Sec. 1. Closure of Long Creek Youth Development Center. Resolved: That
2 the Department of Corrections shall:
3 1. Review and evaluate current state and national reports regarding the efficacy of the
4 use of incarceration of youth in the State and nationally. The department shall inform its
5 work with information published and recommendations made to date around the efficacy
6 of the youth prison model, conditions at the Long Creek Youth Development Center and
7 the steps needed to successfully create a continuum of community-based alternatives for
8 youth in the State involved in the juvenile justice system that improves outcomes for youth
9 and public safety;
10 2. Seek input from juvenile justice system stakeholders, including judges, defense
11 attorneys, prosecutors, agency staff, residential and community-based service providers,
12 youth advocates and youth and families affected by the juvenile justice system. The
13 department shall prioritize input from youth and families who have experienced the
14 juvenile justice system and youth and families who have been harmed by the juvenile
15 justice system;
16 3. Develop a plan to close the Long Creek Youth Development Center by June 30,
17 2023, divest the center's budget from the Department of Corrections and reinvest the funds
18 from the center's budget into community-based support for youth and repurpose the facility
19 for use as a community center with supportive housing. This plan must include:
20 A. Individual transition plans for remaining youth committed to the Long Creek Youth
21 Development Center;
22 B. A workforce development plan for Long Creek Youth Development Center staff
23 developed in coordination with the Department of Labor;
24 C. A process for establishing a community reinvestment fund; and
25 D. Options for moving juvenile services out of the Department of Corrections and to
26 another agency serving youth; and
27 4. Develop recommendations for reinvestment of corrections funds currently
28 designated for youth incarceration into a continuum of community-based alternatives. The
29 department shall conduct an analysis to determine the potential reinvestment of current
30 youth incarceration funds into community-based programming focused on those
31 communities most affected by youth incarceration, including a review of residential
32 placement options to ensure those out-of-home placements are appropriate and demonstrate
33 positive outcomes for youth. The department shall review funding streams and costs to
34 inform a reinvestment plan that ensures resources match the needs of youth and their
35 communities and are not diverted to the adult justice system or used for other purposes.
36 Current youth incarceration funds must be used for community-based integration services
37 for youth that are not administered by the department. These services include but are not
38 limited to supportive housing, jobs programs, educational programs and health care,
39 including mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Compensation for these new
40 positions to provide these services must be commensurate with the compensation
41 employees earned while working at the Long Creek Youth Development Center.
42 The department may solicit data from public and private sources to inform its work,
43 including but not limited to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department
44 of Education and the Department of Labor.
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 1 Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That, no later than December 1, 2021, the Department
2 of Corrections shall submit its plan to close the Long Creek Youth Development Center
3 and a report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested
4 legislation, to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which
5 may report out legislation regarding the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th
6 Legislature.
7 Sec. 3. Selection of entity to manage and distribute funds. Resolved: That
8 the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety shall study the
9 selection of an entity to manage and distribute corrections funds currently designated for
10 youth incarceration. The entity must include:
11 1. A formerly incarcerated person or an organization that represents formerly
12 incarcerated persons;
13 2. A representative of an organization that advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
14 transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual community;
15 3. A person with expertise in racial justice issues; and
16 4. A person with expertise in mental and behavioral health treatment.
17 The entity may not be the Department of Corrections. The Joint Standing Committee
18 on Criminal Justice and Public Safety may report out legislation regarding its selection of
19 an entity to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
20 SUMMARY
21 This resolve directs the Department of Corrections to create a plan to close the Long
22 Creek Youth Development Center by June 30, 2023. Current youth incarceration funds
23 must be used for community-based integration services for youth that are not administered
24 by the department. These services include, but are not limited to, supportive housing, jobs
25 programs, educational programs and health care, including mental health and substance use
26 disorder treatment. The plan created by the department must include individual transition
27 plans for remaining youth committed to the Long Creek Youth Development Center; a
28 workforce development plan for Long Creek Youth Development Center staff developed
29 in coordination with the Department of Labor; a process for establishing a community
30 reinvestment fund; and options for moving juvenile services out of the Department of
31 Corrections and to another agency serving youth.
32 The resolve requires the current facility at the Long Creek Youth Development Center
33 to be repurposed for use as a community center with supportive housing.
34 No later than December 1, 2021, the Department of Corrections must submit a report
35 that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested legislation, to the Joint
36 Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which may report out
37 legislation regarding the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
38 The Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety must study the
39 selection of an entity to manage and distribute corrections funds currently designated for
40 youth incarceration and may report out legislation regarding its selection of an entity to the
41 Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
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