JJC is awarded $200,000 Grant from Casey Foundation
- Juvenile Justice Commission to lead detention reform project -

TRENTON - The State of New Jersey has been selected by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based private charitable organization, to participate in its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). JDAI is a reform project that works to establish more constructive and effective approaches to juvenile detention. The JJC will coordinate the efforts of multiple stakeholders at the state and local level in examining New Jersey's youth detention system.

In addition to a $200,000 annual grant, the Casey Foundation will provide the JJC with technical assistance on various detention reform strategies as well as opportunities to participate with and learn from colleagues in other jurisdictions. The JJC's formal participation will begin on January 1, 2004. Atlantic, Camden, Essex and Union Counties have been selected to be a part of this comprehensive detention reform effort.

"As Governor, I have prioritized children's issues to fundamentally improve the safety and care of NJ's children. Tough problems like overcrowding and overrepresentation of minority children in detention, and children in the custody of DYFS awaiting placement in detention will not be ignored," said Governor James E. McGreevey. "I am very pleased with Howard Beyer's leadership at the Juvenile Justice Commission, including his work in bringing the Annie E. Casey Foundation to expand its presence here in NJ by bringing successful detention reform strategies to bear. We all recognize that child welfare reform will not succeed without looking at the juvenile justice, DYFS, and children's mental health systems."

"The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a national leader in the field of juvenile detention reform," said Howard L. Beyer, Executive Director, Juvenile Justice Commission. "For the first time in New Jersey, the JDAI Project will bring together all of the stakeholders - the juvenile detention centers, the courts, the public defender, local law enforcement, the Attorney General, the Child Advocate, the Department of Human Services, and the JJC to make sure that appropriate juveniles are in detention and that effective alternatives are in place. By working together, we can reduce overcrowding at juvenile detention centers and ensure that juveniles have the opportunities to become productive adults."

"The Annie E. Casey Foundation is pleased to be working with the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission. This agency has demonstrated a strong commitment to work with county governments to improve this component of the juvenile justice system," said Bart Lubow, Director, Program for High Risk Youth and Their Families, Casey Foundation, "JDAI requires the implementation of a variety of strategies designed to make the juvenile detention system smarter, fairer, more efficient and more effective. The Casey Foundation is happy to be making a difference in the State of New Jersey."

Since 1948, The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) has worked to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.

The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) began in 1992. The objectives of JDAI are to reduce the number of children unnecessarily or inappropriately detained; to minimize the number of youth who fail to appear in court or reoffend pending adjudication; to redirect public funds toward successful reform strategies; and to improve conditions of confinement. This well-documented system reform project has demonstrated in multiple jurisdictions how to safely reduce reliance on secure detention for juveniles.

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