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Trenton
- Confinement of youth to detention centers
has dropped substantially in the state with
the number of youth admitted to secure detention
falling 25 percent since 2002, according
to a national study conducted by the Annie
E. Casey Foundation and supported by the
New Jersey Kids Count 2008 report recently
released by the Association of Children
in New Jersey (ACNJ).
The
2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book also states that
New Jersey is tied with Vermont for having
the fourth-lowest rate of 10 to 15-year-olds
in custody. Between 2002 and 2006, commitments
to state facilities fell 33 percent. This
reflects the success of the Juvenile Detention
Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) to find alternatives
to incarceration for nonviolent youth offenders.
The initiative, created and funded by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation, is currently
in place in 10 of the 17 New Jersey counties
operating detention centers and is expected
to expand to all counties operating detention
centers by 2010.
JDAI sites have made significant reductions
in admissions and length of stay, which
positively impacted on the number of minority
youth in secure detention. Comparing 2003
to 2007, on any given day in the initial
sites, Atlantic, Camden, Essex, Hudson and
Monmouth, there were 211 fewer youth in
detention. Of these, on any day there were
189 fewer youth of color in detention, a
40.7 percent reduction.
The
number of minority youth in detention in
the original sites has been cut in half
since 2003 in Camden (50.1 percent) and
in Essex (47.5 percent). In New Jersey’s
newest JDAI sites, Bergen, Burlington, Mercer,
Ocean and Union, there were 21 fewer kids
in detention on any given day in 2007, as
compared to 2005, the year prior to these
sites joining JDAI. The overall number of
minority youth in these sites dropped by
11.8 percent over the same time period.
The initiative has also leveled the playing
field in JDAI sites in regard to length
of stay in detention. Bringing minority
and non-minority youth significantly closer
in terms of average stays than prior to
the implementation of JDAI.
Still,
while New Jersey has experienced significant
improvements in the detention population,
it continues to experience racial disparity
in juvenile detention centers. According
to the 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book, both New
Jersey and Connecticut struggle to reduce
the ratio of the rate at which youth of
color are in custody compared to the rate
for white youth. In 2006 the rate was 8
to1, more than twice the national ratio
of 3 to 1. Through the efforts of JDAI,
New Jersey will be working with the Burns
Institute to created enhanced strategies
for not only continuing to reduce the overall
number of youth of color in custody, but
also on positively impacting on racial disparity.
“Due
to the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative,
New Jersey continues to make great strides
in reducing the unnecessary use of juvenile
detention, while maintaining community safety,”
said Veleria N. Lawson, the Executive Director
of the Juvenile Justice Commission. “JDAI
is a partnership. By working together, we
will continue to examine and improve our
juvenile justice system and expand the reach
of JDAI to all counties operating detention
centers.’’
JDAI,
a joint initiative of the New Jersey Judiciary,
the JJC and numerous county agencies, is
safely reducing the unnecessary use of secure
detention for New Jersey’s youth.
In April 2004, New Jersey was selected as
an official replication site for the Annie
E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention
Alternatives Initiative and awarded $200,000
by the foundation. As the lead agency, the
JJC worked in partnership with the Judiciary
and other state and local agencies to create
a state steering committee to guide the
initiative statewide. Each participating
county also has a local steering committee
that relies on collaboration, leadership,
and data to make improvements in the county
juvenile detention system.
Juvenile detention is a temporary placement
of a youth accused of a delinquent act,
while awaiting the final outcome of his
or her case in court. The purpose of detention
is to house youths who, by virtue of alleged
offenses or documented prior histories,
pose a serious public safety or flight risk.
A
primary goal of JDAI is to make sure that
secure detention is in fact used only for
this purpose - to ensure serious and chronic
youthful offenders are detained, and that
effective alternatives are available for
other youth who can be safely supervised
in the community while awaiting final court
disposition. The initiative provides a framework
of strategies that help reduce the inappropriate
use of secure juvenile detention, while
maintaining public safety and court appearance
rates. A major focus of the work is reducing
the disparate use of detention for minority
youth.
More information on New Jersey’s JDAI
can be found at www.njjjc.com/publications.htm.
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