Statement of Richard Harris on September 27, 1977 Concerning Implementation of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (From Implementation of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 - Hearings, P 171-179, 1978 - See NCJ-79016)

• NCJ Number: 79017
• Author(s): R Harris
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 9 pages
• Corporate Author: National Conference of State Criminal Justice Planning Administrators
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-79016.

Annotation

The progress of States and territorial possessions in meeting the objectives of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is discussed.

Abstract

Specifically, the report examines the attempts of States and territories to meet the Juvenile Justice Act's requirements that status offenders be removed from detention in correctional facilities, that youthful offenders be removed from facilities where adult offenders are detained, and that States and territories monitor their compliance with the deinstitutionalization and separation requirements. A 1976 survey conducted by the National Center for Juvenile Justice regarding States' deinstitutionalization and separation initiatives indicated that 20 of 48 responding States were in compliance with the deinstitutionalization requirement for adjudicated status offenders and 10 States with reference to alleged status offenders (37 States were participating in the Act at the time of data collection by survey respondents; 48 States responded to the survey). Regarding the separation requirement, 41 States were in compliance for alleged delinquents and 40 States for adjudicated delinquents. Twenty-six States reported legislative activities or backup plans bearing on the deinstitutionalization and separation requirements. A similar survey by the National Conference of State Criminal Justice Planning Administrators in the fall of 1977 indicated progress toward deinstitutionalization and separation in the States of Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Louisiana, New York, Texas, and Illinois. Two significant problems encountered by States in meeting the Act's deinstitutionalization and separation requirements have been the limited time period (2 years) for achieving the objectives and inadequate Federal financial assistance to encourage jurisdictions hesitant to embark on these initiatives. The monitoring requirement has proven particularly difficult to implement because of a lack of existing authority and data bases to conduct such monitoring and unclear definitions of the facilities to be covered by the deinstitutionalization and separation requirements.