In Missouri's youth prisons, dorms replace jail cells. Beanbag chairs, potted plants, stuffed animals, and smiley-face comforters are the norm instead of handcuffs, razor-wire fences, and uniforms. Inmates are referred to as "kids" and guards are called "youth specialists."

"The old corrections model was a failure; most kids left us worse off than when they came in," said Mark Steward, the chief of Missouri's youth penal system. "So we threw away that culture, and now we focus on treatment, on making connections with these guys and showing them another way. It works."

Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, said Missouri's program works because officials believe in the "small is beautiful" theory. "It's about high-quality treatment in an intimate setting," he said.

Recidivism rates at Missouri's juvenile prisons is low compared with other states. According to a 2003 study, of the 1,400 teens released from Missouri's program in 1999, only 8 percent were incarcerated in adult prisons.

Missouri's system also saves the state money, costing about $43,000 a year per child. In California, which is looking to replicate Missouri's program, the per-child cost is $80,000.

"The Missouri system is everything the California system isn't," said Paul DeMuro, a New Jersey-based juvenile-justice consultant and former chief of youth prisons in Pennsylvania. "It's a matter of philosophy and the will to do something right and appropriate, rather than warehousing kids and creating a hotbed for gangs and more violence."

Several states have already launched similar programs to Missouri's, including Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Illinois.

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