House rejects plan to move DYS
Associated Press, 3/8/2000

BOSTON (AP) A plan to put youthful offenders under the authority of the state department that handles prisons was defeated on Wednesday.

Gov. Paul Cellucci had suggested that the Department of Youth Services be transferred from the Department of Youth Services, which is part of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, to the Executive Office of Public Safety.

Cellucci had argued that rehabilitation of young people was important, but public safety should come first.

But others said youths who break the law need easy access to other social services such as mental health care.

The reorganization proposal was defeated by a voice vote Wednesday in the House.

''The governor's plan never recognized the complexity of the issue,'' said Jack Gately, executive director of Citizens for Juvenile Justice, in a statement.

''This is a defeat for simple minded solutions to juvenile crime,'' he said.