| About
the Commission |
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| Full
Story I
History
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| 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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| For
more information concerning the Secure
Facilities please see the following: |
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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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| For
more information concerning the Residential
Community Homes please see the following:
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- Albert
Elias Residential Community Home, Hopewell
- Camden
Residential Community Home, Camden
- Campus
Residential Community Home, Blackwood
- Costello
Prep Residential Community Home, Tabernacle
- D.O.V.E.S.
Residential Community Home, Trenton
- Essex
Residential Community Home, Newark
- Valentine
Residential Community Home, Trenton
- Fresh
Start Residential Community Home, Farmingdale
- Green
Residential Community Home, Ringwood
- Manorwoods
Residential Community Home, Mays Landing
- Ocean
Residential Community Home, Forked River
- Pinelands
Residential Community Home, Chatsworth
- Southern
Residential Community Home, Egg Harbor City
- The
Capital Transition, Trenton
- Voorhees
Residential Community Home, Glen Gardner
- Warren
Residential Community Home, Oxford
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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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| For
more information concerning Day
Programs please see the following: |
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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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| In
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. |
