Lowering juvenile crime starts by lifting families | READER COMMENTARY

Just as predictable as the ocean tide is the reaction of the public and elected officials when there is a spike in juvenile crime. The calls to “get tough on crime” flood the airwaves, newspapers and discussions in local and state government. The result is emotional fulfillment with trivial improvement in the life conditions of adolescents. Absent is a consideration of the systemic barriers and opportunities that can fundamentally change the trajectory of a young person’s life. A hodgepodge of disconnected public policy and government agencies constantly misses the mark.

In my role in a statewide education reform organization and having served on the school board of a large Maryland county, my focus has been on family wellness. From my own personal experience, I know the importance of family — in the most expansive consideration of that term — in my development. Detached from any ideological framing of family, the presence of supportive adults is a difference maker for children. We continually point the finger at children and embrace narratives of academic failure and criminality without acknowledging the lack of a coherent strategy focused on family wellness.

Gov. Wes Moore’s support for the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is commendable and the public should applaud the governor’s commitment. If the state keeps its commitment to fully fund the Blueprint, Maryland will see a qualitatively different public school system after school districts fully implement the education reform plan. What is missing, however, is a holistic strategy to strengthen Maryland’s families. The status of their parents and family dynamics fundamentally affect the prospects of children. It is why I propose that Governor Moore create an Office of Family Wellness and Success charged with creating the conditions for family well-being in our state.

The Office of Family Wellness and Success would coordinate the array of existing services that often fail to achieve critical mass in the deployment of resources, collaborate with private philanthropy to ensure that giving truly addresses need, work with the criminal justice system to address gaps that prevent engagement by incarcerated parents and make certain that public schools are committed to family engagement.

A family policy framework must also be intentional about outreach to and incorporation of men, biological parents and otherwise, in reconstructing a healthy family environment for children. This does not mean a Daniel Patrick Moynihan-type emphasis on marriage, but an acknowledgment that adult males have a meaningful role to play in healthy child development. This will require a reevaluation of custodial issues including child support and visitation, workforce retraining and making a real commitment to reentry post-incarceration.

We must stop using children to score political points and then ignore the circumstances in which they live. More time is spent in the public square debating the construction of sports stadiums and the redevelopment of real estate than nurturing human capital. Politicians and social commentators use crime and education statistics to cast blame — usually on the child — without any consideration of the tremendous challenges their families face. This is particularly true when discussion turns toward poor, rural, Black and Latino families. We need an “investment” strategy that discards the deficit narrative most now embrace.

I am encouraged by what I see in Maryland. The state has embraced public education at a time when schools are under attack, and we have a governor who has championed diversity and equity when leadership in other states have scapegoated policies designed to address historical and systemic discrimination and bias. Maryland is poised to model a more humane and common-sense approach to child development. The state would benefit from a clearly defined and intentional focus on family wellness.

— Walter A.H.L. Fields Jr., Beltsville

The writer is co-chair of Strong Schools Maryland and formerly served on the Prince George’s County Board of Education.

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