Every day, Family Court judges across Hawaii administer justice in cases involving some of our youngest citizens. This is no small task.

Courts face significant challenges putting youth back on track, a responsibility that affects youths, families and entire communities. While some children welcome the chance Family Court affords to correct behavior, others require significant court attention and intervention to reduce the likelihood that they will commit another crime.

The unfortunate reality is that many youths who appear in Family Court suffer from serious substance abuse, mental health or family dysfunction issues. We must ensure that our judges have the tools and resources necessary to help youth grow into productive adults, a task best accomplished when communities, families, schools and government work together.

That’s why we joined last August with the governor and legislative leaders to create and serve on a bipartisan, inter-branch working group to study how our juvenile justice system can more effectively rehabilitate youth and maximize public safety.

In assessing the current state of our system, we found that, like most states, juvenile justice outcomes fall short of expectations. In the absence of community-based substance abuse and mental health services, some youth who could be more effectively rehabilitated elsewhere are placed into the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF).

Unjustifiably high recidivism rates for youth exiting the facility plague the system: 75 percent are re-adjudicated or reconvicted within three years of release. And at a cost of $190,000 per bed per year, HYCF is a substantial drain on taxpayer investments.

Hawaii’s youth, communities and taxpayers ought to get better results at a lower cost.

The working group recently concluded a four-month effort to craft policy recommendations for a more effective system. Focused on equipping judges and probation officers with the tools needed to tackle youth delinquency, these recommendations will help ensure our juvenile justice system places the right youth into the right rehabilitative options at the right time.

For example, a wealth of research confirms what we know from experience: that secure facilities like HYCF play a vital role in maintaining public safety, but must be targeted toward serious juvenile offenders who pose a real threat to public safety. Then, we can refocus our state’s investments and attention to developing a range of effective interventions.

Several recommendations relate to the dire need for increased access to mental health and substance abuse treatments. Right now, only one juvenile residential substance abuse facility exists for the entire state, even though need far outpaces existing resources. Effective treatment and interventions at an earlier stage can help youth pivot from a delinquent lifestyle toward a productive, law-abiding future.

We must also ensure that neighbor island youth have the same opportunities to turn their lives around as do Oahu youths. In the last year, 46 percent of commitments to HYCF came from the neighbor islands, even though only 30 percent of our youth population resides on those islands. Family Court judges on neighbor islands need access to the full range of assessments, proven practices and effective alternatives.

The working group also sought to strengthen probation by creating a graduated sanctions system to hold youth accountable for their behavior, collaborating with and including families in their child’s progress, and using evidence-based practices to reduce reoffending and get them back on the right track as quickly as possible.

A stronger probation system on every island would help increase the number of youth who can remain safely at home with their families.

These recommendations, and others, are on the agenda for this 2014 Legislature in House Bills 2489 and 2490. Hawaii’s judiciary, working with the executive and legislative branches, supports these policy solutions to improve outcomes for youth, improve public safety, and reduce costs for our state.

By working together, we have an opportunity to make Hawaii a national leader in effective juvenile justice practices. Hawaii deserves no less.