By: Mark Zaretesky WEST HAVEN, Connecticut is full of people who have earned a national reputation for their work to reform the way the state deals with youthful offenders and get kids moving in the right direction without having to send them to prison. Now, they’ll have big-time institutional support. In a move that U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called “profoundly important,” the University of New Haven announced the creation Thursday of the new Tow Youth Justice Institute at the UNH’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice. The institute will be funded by a $300,000, two-year grant from the New Canaan-based Tow Foundation; a $150,000, one-year state grant and $100,000 from UNH. It will be the first dedicated institution in Connecticut and one of just a few in the U.S. to directly study issues related to juvenile justice, including prevention, recidivism, sentencing issues and the treatment of youths as adults. “It’s very special to us. It’s very special to the community,” UNH President Steven H. Kaplan told about 150 people in the Alumni Lounge in Bartels Hall, the university’s Student Center…

Originally posted on The New Haven Register

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