Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has announced the release of a report from the Youth Justice Working Group: From Secure Care to Restorative Care, outlining recommendations for future uses of the New Jersey Training School (NJTS) and Female Secure Care and Intake Facility (“Hayes”), both scheduled to close. The working group was formed in July 2024 at Attorney General Platkin’s request, bringing together leaders in youth justice, civil rights, and social justice from across New Jersey to consider how these sites could be repurposed.
Attorney General Platkin asked the working group to “imagine a future for these sites that will help our youth thrive and restore communities that have been most impacted by the criminal justice system.” The recommendations aim to honor the history of both facilities while building on reforms made in youth justice throughout New Jersey.
Governor Phil Murphy stated, “From the beginning of my Administration, New Jersey has taken a new approach to youth justice that prioritizes fairness, restoration, and public safety. I commend Attorney General Platkin and the Youth Justice Working Group for continuing the progress we have made by developing a vision for the New Jersey Training School and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility that reflects how far we have come while honoring their history. When these facilities close, the Working Group’s recommendations will help ensure these sites are repurposed in ways that support youth, strengthen communities, and reaffirm New Jersey’s leadership in youth justice reform.”
New Jersey has implemented statewide reforms through initiatives such as the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), which has reduced both incarceration rates among young people and overall crime rates. With fewer youths held in detention centers or YJC facilities due to these efforts, NJTS and Hayes are set to close. Funding is being directed toward constructing smaller modern facilities; the first is expected to open in 2027.
“As we draw closer to closing the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility and the New Jersey Training School, we must find uses for these facilities to benefit justice-involved young people, their families, and the communities most impacted by racial injustice,” said Attorney General Platkin. “New Jersey is a national leader in reforming the youth justice system, and I am pleased to be able to say that this Working Group’s thoughtful suggestions for the future of these sites build on those decades of effort.”
The Hayes facility occupies land previously used by a historic boarding school for Black students known as Bordentown School or formally as The New Jersey Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth. Founded in 1886 by Reverend Walter A.S. Rice—a formerly enslaved Civil War veteran—the site closed during integration attempts in the 1950s but remains listed on state and national historic registers since 1998. NJTS operates as a secure correctional facility for boys committed by courts; its buildings are also designated as historic.
The working group recommended several possible uses focused on restorative care:
– Restoring Bordentown School’s campus as an educational institution
– Creating a heritage center about each site
– Establishing vocational training programs aligned with current job markets
– Providing re-entry services for individuals involved with justice systems
– Developing spaces dedicated to therapeutic or human-centered programming
– Offering affordable housing or recreational opportunities targeted at low-income communities
– Forming a Center for Peace and Restorative Justice modeled after similar initiatives elsewhere
While Attorney General Platkin will not make final decisions regarding these properties’ futures, he noted that “the Working Group’s recommendations provide significant guidance.”
Members of this working group include community leaders such as Reverend Dr. Charles Boyer (Salvation and Social Justice), Ryan Haygood (New Jersey Institute for Social Justice), J. Amos Caley (Reformed Church of Highland Park), Derick Dailey (Crowell & Moring LLP), Bonnie Goldman (Bordentown Historical Society), Mildred Rice Jordan (Rider University), Jennifer LeBaron (Youth Justice Commission), Alex Shalom (Lowenstein Center for Public Interest), Elana Wilf (Youth Justice Advocate), Councilman Terence Van Dzura (Monroe Township Council Vice President) along with representation from YJC State Youth Advisory Board.
The New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin oversees legal enforcement across all counties within New Jersey. The agency upholds laws related to public safety through oversight functions including law enforcement regulation, consumer protection initiatives, legal representation at state level courts, victim advocacy services, crime lab support services, among others.
The full report from this working group details all recommendations provided regarding potential uses once NJTS and Hayes officially close.
