NCJ Number
208424
Date Published
November 2004
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report presents an overview of one element of juvenile detention reform supported in Illinois, the use of scorable detention screening instruments.
Abstract
State and local juvenile justice system planners and government agencies in Illinois are working to ensure that youth who are neither a flight risk nor a threat to public safety and status offenders are not detained prior to trial and that detention centers do not contribute to the overrepresentation of minority youth in detention facilities. The use of a scorable instrument is intended to help detention screeners make consistent pretrial detention decisions and make sure detention screeners across the State consider the same factors when making detention decisions. This report presents an overview of the use of scorable detention screening instruments in Illinois; a detention reform supported by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and the Illinois Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 91 detention screeners to examine detention screening practices in Illinois. The interviews explored the extent to which scorable detention screening instruments were being used in Illinois and whether the screeners were satisfied with the instruments used. The scorable detention screening instruments in Illinois appeared to have been successful. Overall, detention screeners were satisfied with them and the decisions that were made based on the total scores. However, concern was expressed regarding several items on the instrument, such as difficulty in completing the instrument for domestic offenses and difficulty in gaining information on mitigating factors. These concerns suggest future research on the pretrial detention screening process.