‘Shame on Us’: How Maine Struggles to Handle Troubled Youth

Nearly three years ago, Maine lawmakers hoped to be in the vanguard of a national movement to transform how governments deal with teenagers who break the law.

The legislators passed a bill aimed at closing the state’s only youth prison and expanding programs with a better record of rehabilitating adolescents. But Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat and longtime prosecutor, vetoed the June 2021 measure, even though the facility, Long Creek Youth Development Center, had repeatedly been faulted for harmful treatment and dangerous conditions.

Now, Maine has become a cautionary tale about the path to reform. The state sends far fewer adolescents to Long Creek than it did a decade ago. But it hasn’t made comparable strides to bolster how it holds accountable and supports youth in the rest of the juvenile justice system, allowing chronic problems to persist, an examination by The New York Times and The Bangor Daily News found.

Despite Maine’s efforts to establish smaller, secure alternatives to Long Creek, none are currently in operation. Officials have not fixed the severe shortage of community-based intervention programs intended to catch delinquency early. Many in the juvenile justice system are not getting the help, required by state law, to change their behavior.

And despite a federal investigation, state-commissioned inquiries, a task force and multiple recommendations to overhaul Maine’s handling of troubled teens, the state has not come up with any comprehensive blueprint to do so.

The governor and her administration, by many accounts, have failed to provide leadership — or offer a clear vision — to resolve the longstanding issues. And lawmakers have largely retreated. Meanwhile, dire consequences are playing out in communities across Maine, according to interviews with dozens of law enforcement and corrections officials, health care providers, watchdog groups, parents, children and others.