| Protecting
Public Safety |
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| Woven
through all Commission efforts is its charge
to protect the citizens of the State of
New Jersey. Every decision is made with
the understanding the responsibility to
maintain personal safety, promote responsibility
and build stronger communities. In order
to achieve that goal, the Commission has
undertaken diverse measures to address the
multifaceted issue of juvenile justice.
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| Continuum
of Care |
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| The
Juvenile Justice Commission provides a continuum
of care for juveniles placed under its supervision
including residential
community homes, day
programs, secure
care facilities and parole
services. Together with State law and
judicial decisions, the specific needs and
history of each juvenile determine his or
her placement in this continuum. |
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| Secure
Care |
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The
Commission operates six facilities identified
as secure. Secure facilities are full
care institutions providing all services
on the grounds of the facility, including
education, vocational programming, counseling
and medical services. Correctional Officers
are employed at these facilities to maintain
a secure setting. All facilities provide
year round education focused toward the
attainment of a high school diploma, GED
or college credit, as well as vocational
programming. Religious opportunities,
group and individual counseling, drug
and alcohol treatment, physical education,
family life and health education, and
post-release planning are also provided
at all secure facilities. |
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 Secure
Facilities List |
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| Community
Programs |
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| Residential
Community Homes |
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Located
throughout the State of New Jersey, Residential
Community Homes serve youth who have been
placed in the custody of the Juvenile
Justice Commission or placed on probation
by the courts. These programs are designed
to provide a less restrictive setting
for youth who do not require a secure
setting and demonstrate the ability to
accept additional responsibility. If a
youth sentenced to the Commission does
not perform well in this setting, the
Commission's classification committee
can reassign him or her to another appropriate
facility depending on the youth's needs.
Juveniles placed in Residential Group
Centers participate in organized programming
outside of the facility, including community
service projects, and educational and
vocational training. |
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| Residential
Community Homes List |
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| Day
Programs |
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| Day
Programs serve juveniles placed on probation
by the courts. They are a useful sentencing
option for judges who determine that a juvenile
needs structure and supervision, but does
not need to be removed from his or her home.
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| While
in the care of the Commission, juveniles
receive educational programming, vocational
training, counseling and perform community
service projects. |
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| Because
of the nature of a day program, these
facilities serve only those residents
from the immediate area of the facility.
Day programs also act as placement sites
for juveniles who have completed a JJC
Residential Program and require assistance
in their transition back to their communities. |
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| Day
Programs List |
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New
Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission
Juvenile Gang Intervention and Prevention
Project |
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| The
New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC)
understands that gangs and gang related
activities impact every community in our
State. The JJC has responded with a comprehensive
program that addresses youth gangs at all
levels. With funding from the NJ Department
of Education, the JJC has developed a cutting-edge
education curriculum, entitled Phoenix,
that corresponds with the NJ Core curriculum
standards. This course can be tailored for
youth in secure detention and JJC residential
and day programs, as well as county-operated
detention centers and community-based programs.
The workbook- based lessons provide structure
and support, and clearly identify the progress
of participants. The most important goal
of the curriculum is developing self-efficacy
skills, thereby allowing juveniles to understand
how to react to risky situations, and to
think through their actions and responses
to avoid future gang involvement. |
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| To
expands its reach, the JJC is forming partnerships
with communities to train others in the
Phoenix curriculum. The JJC is also coordinating
with the local office of probation as well
as the police department and is working
to build a 'safety net' of resources for
youth in the community. |
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| Experienced
JJC staff are also available to conduct
workshops. One- day training sessions can
be adapted to meet an audience's specific
needs and information level. It can also
be expanded to provide more in-depth training.
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| Special
Needs Services |
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| Mental
Health |
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| As
the number of juveniles in the justice system
nationwide identified as seriously emotionally
disturbed increases, the Commission has
responded. The Commission's
Fresh Start Residential Community Home
is specifically targeted for the treatment
of 28 male juveniles with serious emotional
disorders and special needs. In addition,
the Commission operates a 24-bed program
for juveniles with serious mental health
problems necessitating secure treatment
on the grounds of the New Jersey Training
School. |
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| Juvenile
Sex Offenders |
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| In
2000, the Commission received funding to
allow private providers to designate a total
of 12 beds for juvenile sex offenders. These
services are designed to complement the
Pinelands Residential Community Home.
Pinelands currently provides residential
treatment for 18 males between the ages
of 14-18 with a history of sex offenses.
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| Substance
Abuse |
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| The
Commission has implemented a comprehensive
system of substance abuse assessment for
juveniles sentenced to its custody. Preliminary
data from these assessments has confirmed
the prevalence of substance abuse problems
among sentenced youth. In response, the
Commission has taken steps to expand and
improve its substance abuse treatment services.
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| The
JJC operates a residential program designed
specifically to treat female substance abusers.
The
DOVES Residential Community Home (Developing
Opportunities and Values through Education
and Substance Abuse Treatment) shares space
with Valentine
Residential Community Home, a female
residential program, serving up to 10 female
substance abusers. |
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addition to a secure substance abuse treatment
unit located on the grounds of the
New Jersey Training School serving 52
males, the Commission has two residential
group centers that serve male substance
abusers, Campus RCH and Ocean RCH. Residents
participate in the New Freedoms Cirriculum
to help break their addiction and remain
substance free. |
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| Treatment
Enhancement |
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| The
Commission is continually identifying ways
to enhance programming efforts to achieve
better outcomes, most vitally, to achieve
greater reductions in offender recidivism
(e.g., re-arrests; adjudications/convictions
on new charges after release). The Commission
has sought out and identified research based
treatment interventions and strategies that
address the risk factors associated with
delinquency. The Commission is implementing
these interventions in a small number of
community residential programs. The
hope is that these "pilot programs"
can serve as laboratories for change. If
the Commission can demonstrate, through
systematic evaluation that these new interventions
lead to better outcomes than its traditional
approaches, the new interventions will be
introduced in other settings. |
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Among
the initiatives already implemented or
planned are: the incorporation of Aggression
Replacement Training (ART) which teaches
youth how to deal with problematic situations;
the use of a structured risk and needs
assessment instrument known as Youth Level
of Service/Case Management Inventory which
helps the Commission better serve the
individual needs of each youth; incorporation
of a cognitive behavioral curriculum known
as New Freedoms in specialized substance
abuse programs which assists youth in
remaining drug free after release; the
incorporation of a family intervention/parent
training component to help address family-related
problems that place youth at greater risk
of continued offending; and the extensive
training of staff to implement these new
initiatives. |
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| Community
Collaboration |
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| When
juveniles are released from the custody
of the Commission, they continue to be monitored
by JJC
Parole staff. As part of the Commission's
ongoing efforts to continue to reduce recidivism,
the Commission encourages young people to
develop ties to their community. |
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| Mentors
and Community Team members are drawn from
the neighborhoods and communities where
the youth reside, creating valuable bridges
to resources as well as a sense of citizen
ownership for the prevention of criminal
activity in their neighborhoods. All mentors
receive training and support from the
Commission's Juvenile Parole and Transitional
Servies Offices and work closely with
parole officers and social workers. The
Commission hopes to expand its links to
faith- based organizations and increase
its volunteer community mentoring efforts.
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| Research
and Evaluation |
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| Consistent
with its mandate to protect public safety,
the Commission has expanded its capacity
to evaluate the performance and outcomes
of its facilities, programs and contracts
through its Research and Evaluation Unit.
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| The
"bottom line" outcome for any
correctional agency is to reduce offender
recidivism. Consequently, a major component
of the Commission's current research and
evaluation effort is to systematically examine
recidivism rates of Commission youth. In
addition to its focus on recidivism, the
Commission is examining program outcomes
related to personal growth (e.g., reduction
of antisocial attitudes, improvements in
anger control) that are conducive to more
productive and law-biding adult lives. |
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| The
Commission utilizes this information to
make informed policy decisions regarding
the most efficient use of its resources.
In addition, results of the research serve
as much needed feedback for program administrators
allowing them to facilitate program refinements
where the need is indicated. The focus on
outcomes includes a recent initiative to
examine the performance of contracted services,
as a way to make informed decisions with
regard to contract continuation. The findings
of one recent recidivism analysis resulted
in a redirection of contract services and
dollars toward those types of offenders
for whom outcomes were most positive. |
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