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Better Monitoring and Recordkeeping Systems Needed to Accurately Account for Juvenile Justice Practices

NCJ Number
94974
Date Published
1984
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention does not ensure that States verify the accuracy of data in their monitoring reports, which each State must submit to demonstrate its progress under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
Abstract
As a result, the office cannot be assured that it has reliable data to gauge properly the progress being made. Study data came from interviews with State and local juvenile justice officials, a records examination, and inspection of a small number of State and local facilities in North Carolina and Texas. Monitoring reports were found to be based, in some cases, on inaccurate or incomplete data. However, some progress has been made with respect to the 10 areas examined: deinstitutionalization of status offenders and nonoffenders, separation of juveniles from adults, removal of juveniles from adult facilities, reducing the number of secure detentions and commitments, due process and procedural safeguards, delinquency prevention, diverting juveniles from the justice system, resolving problems of serious crime by juveniles, advocacy activities to improve services for youth, and community-based alternatives to incarceration. Reference notes, the study instrument, and a copy of the letter requesting the study are included.