Juvenile Jailhouse Rocked: Reforming Detention in Chicago, Portland, and Sacramento

• NCJ Number: 182385
• Author(s): Bill Rust
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 15 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Sale Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprint from the Fall/Winter 1999 issue of "Advocasey"

Annotation

This report is organized around the key detention-reform strategies of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI): collaborative planning and decision making, objective admissions practices, case processing innovations, and alternative programs; also discussed are the JDAI sites' efforts to improve the conditions of confinement in juvenile detention centers and to reduce the disproportionate number of minorities incarcerated.

Abstract

The Casey Foundation awarded JDAI grants to five urban jurisdictions, each of which has pursued the four major objectives of the project. One objective is to reach consensus among all juvenile justice agencies about the purpose of secure detention and to eliminate its inappropriate or unnecessary use. A second objective is to reduce the number of alleged delinquents who fail to appear in court or commit a new offense. A third objective is to use limited juvenile justice resources in a more efficient manner by developing responsible alternatives to secure confinement rather than adding new detention beds. The fourth objective is to improve conditions and alleviate overcrowding in secure detention facilities. This review documents the achievements of three JDAI sites (Sacramento, Calif.; Portland, Ore., and Chicago Ill.) in achieving the aforementioned objectives. It advises that one of the major challenges of JDAI sites, as with any initiative aimed at reforming a complex public system, is sustaining the collaboration of agencies and individuals in identifying common goals, reaching consensus on strategies for achieving goals, and maintaining collaboration and compliance with strategies in executing the agreed-upon plan. Trying to achieve a reduced use of and improved conditions for juvenile detention has been especially difficult in a public-policy and media environment that has been hostile to any reform that appears to be lessening the restraints on alleged juvenile offenders. 3 figures