NCJ Number
242944
Date Published
July 2013
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report from the Pew Charitable Trusts examines Georgia's 2013 juvenile justice reform efforts.
Abstract
This report examines efforts by the State of Georgia to reform its juvenile justice system following passage of a State law authorizing wide-ranging reforms. Key findings from the review include the following: despite the large amount of funds appropriated by the State legislature ($300 million) for use by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, it was found that the juvenile justice system produced poor results, with a significant number of youth being placed in expensive out-of-home facilities after having been adjudicated for low-level offenses and assessed as a low risk to reoffend; and many areas of the State were found to have limited or no community-based programs for juvenile offenders, leaving judges with few options other than commitment to a State facility. Additional analysis found that a majority of youth in out-of-home facilities were felony offenders with one in five assessed at high risk to reoffend; a high number of youth incarcerated for low-level offenses that had been designated as felonies; a lack of validation and inconsistent use of risk- and needs-assessment tools; and a lack of uniform data collection. Following this analysis, the report contains a set of recommendations to advance three priorities: 1) focus out-of-home facilities on higher-level offenders through the development of policies that target more effective, less-costly alternatives to out-of-home placements; 2) reduce recidivism by focusing resources on policies and programs proven to reduce recidivism; and 3) improve government performance by requiring performance-based contracting and improved data collection and tracking. Figures and endnotes