My concerns regarding the closure of Long Creek Juvenile Detention Center are that youth who pose a threat of harm to others require containment until they can exhibit adequate self-regulation skills that allow them to transition to a group home setting or other supervised placement (“Our View: Maine should get more from justice system,” July 28).

As a social worker I have worked with youth at risk at Good Will Hinckley since 1996. Many of the youth we served were sent to us from Long Creek on probationary conditions; if they did not comply with the  rules, they would return to Long Creek. The majority of those youth remained at Hinckley.

It is important to impress upon the adolescent mind that options are always available and self-empowerment lies in the development of consequential thinking. A Maine supreme court chief justice identified that state judges face a lack of community sentencing options when it comes to teen offenders.

Programs like the ones that Good Will Hinckley and similar placements are one of the answers to this dilemma. The consistency, respect, opportunities, trust and support in the learning of responsibility are foundational in order for youth to heal and grow. Group homes provide such staples and should receive the funding necessary to continue such work.

Our youth are our future, let’s invest in them by continuing to support Long Creek as a necessary placement for youth at severe risk and group homes for the healing and growth youth at moderate risk require.

Bill Lord

Albion