2006 JDAI Report Data Released
Collaboration Among Agencies Decreases Counties' Detention of Non-Violent Juveniles

TRENTON - The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) has released the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Annual Data Report for 2006 which shows that 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. The report documents annual trends in the use of county-operated juvenile detention centers in five pilot sites in Atlantic, Camden, Essex, Hudson and Monmouth counties.

"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 Howard L. Beyer, 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 five additional counties this year."

Judge Philip S. Carchman, Acting Administrative Director of the Courts, said, "The Judiciary is committed to fair treatment for juveniles charged with offenses. Juveniles should not be locked up before they get a court hearing unless it's for the community's safety. Through JDAI we find alternative ways to monitor these juveniles while their cases are making their way to court. In addition, we expedite the process, serving the interests of both the juvenile and the public."

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.

The Juvenile Justice Commission and its partners are expanding the initiative to Bergen, Burlington, Mercer, Ocean and Union counties over the next year.

The report prepared by the JJC's Office of Local Programs and Services found that on any given day in 2006, across JDAI sites, there were 215 fewer youth in detention centers compared to 2003, representing a decrease of more than 43% (284 youth in 2006 compared to 499 youth in 2003). Minority youth account for 93% of this reduction, with 199 fewer youth of color in secure detention on any given day. In addition, the disparity in the length of stay has also been reduced so that across JDAI sites, minority youth no longer remain in detention an average of twice of long as white youth.

While all sites experienced decreases, Essex, Camden, and Monmouth have seen the most substantial and sustained changes, with daily populations reduced by about half in each site. As a result of these decreases, detention centers that used to operate beyond rated capacity are now right-sized. Essex and Monmouth have not housed a child in an overcrowded facility since 2003 and 2004, respectively. Since the end of 2006, Camden has been consistently reporting daily counts at or below capacity.

Consistent with the goal of ensuring that detention is used for the more serious and chronic offenders, much of the drop in detention population can be attributed to fewer youth admitted for rule violations and non-delinquency matters. For example, JDAI stresses the development of effective strategies for intervening with youth struggling with the rules of probation prior to resorting to secure lock-up. As a result, the use of secure detention for technical violations of probation (VOP) is down across sites, and by as much as 59% in Hudson County, where during the last quarter of 2006 just five youth were admitted for a probation rule violation, accounting for only 1.6% of all detention admissions.

Reducing the length of time youth remain in what is intended to be a short-term, temporary placement by increasing case processing efficiency is also a JDAI core strategy. The average length of stay in detention centers decreased by more than 30%, with youth remaining in detention ten days less than they did in 2003. Half of all youth remained in detention for less than one week.

Additionally, the proportion of youth remaining in detention for more than two months dropped by more than one-third across JDAI sites.

More efficient and equitable use of short-term detention alternatives has also contributed to the decrease in the number of juveniles in secure facilities. Between 2005 and 2006, JDAI sites enhanced the availability and effectiveness of alternative placements, and as a result saw an increase in youth released from detention to appropriate alternative supervision. The disparity in the use of alternatives for minority youth has also been reduced, so that the proportion of minority youth served by alternatives more closely resembles the proportion of minority youth in secure detention. For example, in 2003, youth of color represented 90% of the population in Atlantic's secure detention, but 81% of the youth in alternative placements -- a gap of 9 percentage points. By increasing access to alternatives for minority youth, in 2006 Atlantic had decreased minority youth in detention to 89% and increased minority youth served by alternatives to 86%, reducing the gap to 3 percentage points.

The average daily population of girls in detention also decreased dramatically across JDAI sites between 2003 and 2006, dropping by over 60%, with 31 fewer girls in detention on any given day. Camden and Atlantic Counties each approached a three-quarters reduction (72% and 70% respectively) in the number of girls in detention on any given day, and Essex decreased by almost two-thirds, from 20 girls to 7 girls on any given day.

For more information on the JJC, please visit www.njjjc.com