Resolve, To Develop a Plan To Close the Long Creek Youth Development Center and Redirect Funding to Community Integration Services for Adjudicated Youth
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1668
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: LOOKNER, GRAMLICH, MORALES, O'NEIL, RECKITT, SYLVESTER, TALBOT ROSS, WARREN, MAXMIN

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.
Sec. 1.  Closure of Long Creek Youth Development Center.  Resolved:  That 
the Department of Corrections shall:
1.  Review and evaluate current state and national reports regarding the efficacy of the 
use of incarceration of youth in the State and nationally.  The department shall inform its 
work with information published and recommendations made to date around the efficacy 
of the youth prison model, conditions at the Long Creek Youth Development Center and 
the steps needed to successfully create a continuum of community-based alternatives for 
youth in the State involved in the juvenile justice system that improves outcomes for youth 
and public safety;
2.  Seek input from juvenile justice system stakeholders, including judges, defense 
attorneys, prosecutors, agency staff, residential and community-based service providers, 
youth advocates and youth and families affected by the juvenile justice system.  The 
department shall prioritize input from youth and families who have experienced the 
juvenile justice system and youth and families who have been harmed by the juvenile 
justice system;
3.  Develop a plan to close the Long Creek Youth Development Center by June 30, 
2023, divest the center's budget from the Department of Corrections and reinvest the funds 
from the center's budget into community-based support for youth and repurpose the facility 
for use as a community center with supportive housing.  This plan must include:
A.  Individual transition plans for remaining youth committed to the Long Creek Youth 
Development Center;
B.  A workforce development plan for Long Creek Youth Development Center staff 
developed in coordination with the Department of Labor;
C.  A process for establishing a community reinvestment fund; and
D.  Options for moving juvenile services out of the Department of Corrections and to 
another agency serving youth; and
4.  Develop recommendations for reinvestment of corrections funds currently 
designated for youth incarceration into a continuum of community-based alternatives.  The 
department shall conduct an analysis to determine the potential reinvestment of current 
youth incarceration funds into community-based programming focused on those 
communities most affected by youth incarceration, including a review of residential 
placement options to ensure those out-of-home placements are appropriate and demonstrate 
positive outcomes for youth.  The department shall review funding streams and costs to 
inform a reinvestment plan that ensures resources match the needs of youth and their 
communities and are not diverted to the adult justice system or used for other purposes.  
Current youth incarceration funds must be used for community-based integration services 
for youth that are not administered by the department.  These services include but are not 
limited to supportive housing, jobs programs, educational programs and health care, 
including mental health and substance use disorder treatment.  Compensation for these new 
positions to provide these services must be commensurate with the compensation 
employees earned while working at the Long Creek Youth Development Center.
The department may solicit data from public and private sources to inform its work, 
including but not limited to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department 
of Education and the Department of Labor.
Sec. 2.  Report.  Resolved:  That, no later than December 1, 2021, the Department 
of Corrections shall submit its plan to close the Long Creek Youth Development Center 
and a report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested 
legislation, to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which 
may report out legislation regarding the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th 
Legislature.
Sec. 3.  Selection of entity to manage and distribute funds.  Resolved:  That 
the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety shall study the 
selection of an entity to manage and distribute corrections funds currently designated for 
youth incarceration.  The entity must include:
1.  A formerly incarcerated person or an organization that represents formerly 
incarcerated persons;
2.  A representative of an organization that advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual community;
3.  A person with expertise in racial justice issues; and
4.  A person with expertise in mental and behavioral health treatment.
The entity may not be the Department of Corrections.  The Joint Standing Committee 
on Criminal Justice and Public Safety may report out legislation regarding its selection of 
an entity to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
SUMMARY
This resolve directs the Department of Corrections to create a plan to close the Long 
Creek Youth Development Center by June 30, 2023.  Current youth incarceration funds 
must be used for community-based integration services for youth that are not administered 
by the department.  These services include, but are not limited to, supportive housing, jobs 
programs, educational programs and health care, including mental health and substance use 
disorder treatment.  The plan created by the department must include individual transition 
plans for remaining youth committed to the Long Creek Youth Development Center; a 
workforce development plan for Long Creek Youth Development Center staff developed 
in coordination with the Department of Labor; a process for establishing a community 
reinvestment fund; and options for moving juvenile services out of the Department of 
Corrections and to another agency serving youth.
The resolve requires the current facility at the Long Creek Youth Development Center 
to be repurposed for use as a community center with supportive housing.
No later than December 1, 2021, the Department of Corrections must submit a report 
that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested legislation, to the Joint 
Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety, which may report out 
legislation regarding the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
The Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety must study the 
selection of an entity to manage and distribute corrections funds currently designated for 
youth incarceration and may report out legislation regarding its selection of an entity to the