ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - A national nonprofit that works to improve the lives of children believes the numbers of Georgia juveniles held behind bars can be reduced.
Five Georgia counties are participating in a pilot program of the Annie E. Casey Foundation aimed at finding alternatives to juvenile detention.
The Athens Banner-Herald reports (bit.ly/1TzMGvr) that Clarke, Glynn, Fulton, Chatham and Newton counties are participating in the pilot project.
The newspaper reports that the numbers of Georgia juveniles behind bars have dropped sharply since the Georgia legislature approved reforms in the state's juvenile justice systems pushed by Gov. Nathan Deal, a former juvenile court judge.
But trainers with the foundation say the numbers can go lower, resulting in benefits to the state treasury as well as less harm to young people caught up in the juvenile justice system.
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