NCJ Number
176899
Date Published
1999
Length
50 pages
Annotation
This report of New Jersey's Detention Reform Task Force makes far-reaching, substantive recommendations for improving the statewide detention system and for alleviating detention overcrowding where it exists.
Abstract
A major objective of the Detention Reform Task Force was to identify the factors that affect admissions and length of stay at the county level and make recommendations to help reduce the impact of these factors on New Jersey's detention population and on its overcrowding problem. Data collection for the project was in two phases. The first phase involved an in-depth assessment of detention programs and related systems in seven counties. The data collection process included surveys and interviews with county juvenile justice personnel, as well as analyses of existing county and State data sources and various independent studies of key issues identified by the Task Force. Following the completion of this first phase, similar, but less detailed, information on detention was collected from the remaining 14 counties. Task Force recommendations on admissions, referrals, and decision making pertain to admissions decision making, the role of the family in detention decision making, and the handling of probation violations. Recommendations on detention alternatives relate to the development of a continuum of preadjudication placements as well as detention alternative program operations and staffing. Other recommendations pertain to barriers to timely release from secure detention. They focus on case scheduling, the expediting of cases through the court process, the Family Automated Case Tracking System, and the management of juveniles awaiting dispositional placement with State agencies. The final phase of the Detention Reform Project calls for implementing the recommendations in this report. The implementation of the recommendations at the State and county level can help reduce detention crowding and minority presence in secure detention. 7 references and appended data on the average daily detention population as a percentage of approved capacity