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New Mexico's new mission in juvenile justice is patterned, in part, after a successful Missouri program that has been in place for decades.

Some call it "unprisonment."

"It was one of the places we traveled to to look at how to do it," said former state Children, Youth and Families Department Secretary Mary-Dale Bolson, who pushed for reform during her administration.

Juvenile justice advocacy agencies have frequently praised the Missouri Division of Youth Services for its treatment-oriented system, which focuses on therapeutic rehabilitation in smaller, homier facilities.

In 2001, the American Youth Policy Forum called Missouri's juvenile justice system a "guiding light for reform." In 2003, the Annie E. Casey Foundation designated it as a model juvenile justice site.

"We are visited very regularly by agencies from different states," said Ana Compain-Romero, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Social Services, which oversees the Division of Youth Services. "We are proud of helping others learn what we have found to be extremely effective."

Basic tenets of the Missouri method include:

Closing larger "training schools" in favor of smaller residential facilities.

Extensive therapy.

Quality education programs.

Emphasis on family outreach/counseling.

Well-qualified higher-trained staff.

Extensive nonresidential programs and aftercare support.

"The smaller facilities, which use cottages instead of large barracks, is crucial to our program," Compain-Romero said.

No juvenile facility in Missouri contains more than 85 beds, and all but three contain 33 beds or fewer.

Similarly, only the Youth Diagnostic and Development Center in New Mexico has a large capacity - 174 beds - but uses cottages to house its clients. The other eight facilities, most of which house low- to medium-risk residents, have 48 beds or less.

Missouri officials point to national studies indicating recidivism rates of 50 percent or higher among juveniles committed to large "training school"-type settings in the past three decades.

By contrast, Missouri's recidivism rate among its juveniles committed to its smaller facilities has remained about 7.1 percent for the past five years.

"Bigger is not always better," Compain-Romero said.

Missouri juveniles participate in 90-minute group sessions five times a week; because facilities are scattered across the state, families are also able to participate in outreach programs with their children.

In addition, Missouri places a strong emphasis on diversion programs, the "front-end" services geared toward identifying at-risk youths' needs and dealing with them before incarceration becomes necessary.

The state expects to spend $4.3 million on such services next year, Compain-Romero said.

Missouri's system is also cost-effective, Compain-Romero said. This year's budget totaled $58 million, slightly higher than New Mexico's budget of $56.5 million.

But at any given time, the number of youths involved in Missouri's juvenile justice system is more than twice as many as in New Mexico, according to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook maintained by the National Center for Juvenile Justice.

New Mexico CYFD officials say, however, that the numbers are not comparable because of a difference in bureaucratic structure.