Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Eastern Sites Conference April 9 11, 2003

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Juvenile Detention Alternatives
InitiativeEastern Sites ConferenceApril 9 - 11,
2003

• USING DATA TO PLAN
• JUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
• Peter Quigley, Presenter

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
Juvenile Justice Policy Making

• In fact, it is probably fair to say that no area
  of domestic policy not even welfare has been
  so thoroughly abandoned to misinformation,
  overstatement, oversimplification, emotion and
  disregard for the consequences as has the arena
  of juvenile justice.
• In state after state, juvenile justice policy is
  now being revised and rewritten on the strength
  of anecdote, in response to isolated incidents of
  brutality, or as a result of politically
  opportunistic pandering to public fears,
  frustrations and prejudices.
• Douglas W. Nelson, President, Annie E. Casey
  Foundation

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
Juvenile Justice Policy Making

• PILLARS OF JDAI
• Comprehensive Approach
• Collaboration of Different Agencies
• Decision-Making Based on Data

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
Decision-Making Based on Data

• Data Collection Handbook
• Section 3 of Binder
• Guide to Constructing Baseline Data
• Step by Step Instructions on How and What to
  Collect
• Collecting Data is a Must
• Essential Part of JDAI
• Detained and Not Detained Populations

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
Decision-Making Based on Data

• Where are you starting from?
• Baseline Data
• Cook Countys Pie Chart
• 55 of detained juveniles were VOPS or JAWS
• Where are you going?
• Initial RAI in Cook INCREASED detentions
• Collected Data and Monitored Process
• Are you meeting your objectives?
• Cook County compared 96 Baseline with 02

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION REFORMUSES
OF DETENTION DATA

• TO UNDERSTAND YOUR OWN SYSTEM
• TO DEFINE DETENTION PROBLEMS
• TO SET DETENTION REFORM GOALS
• TO SELECT EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
• TO TRACK DETENTION OUTCOMES
• TO MONITOR DETENTION PRACTICE

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Ask the simple questions

• To get good data, begin by asking simple
  questions
• Who is admitted to detention?
• How many are admitted annually?
• What are their characteristics?
• For which offenses?
• How long are juveniles kept in detention?
• What are the reasons for release?

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USING DATA TO PLANJUVENILE DETENTION
REFORMTYPES OF DATA TO BE COLLECTED

• Aggregate Counts for Specific Time Periods
• of Monthly/Annual Admissions and Releases
• Case Level Data
• Information on each case such as demographic
  data, admission data, release data

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USING DATA TO PLAN JUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
AGGREGATE DATA YOU NEED TO COLLECT

• Referrals of Juveniles to Probation/Court
• Detention admissions (monthly, 2-5 years)
• Detention Average Daily Population (ADP)
  monthly, 2-5 year trend
• Juvenile arrests by offense
• Local census data on at-risk juvenile population
  (including ethnicity)

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USING DATA TO PLAN JUVENILE DETENTION REFORM
AGGREGATE DATA ANALYSIS

• COLLECT DATA
• LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE
• MAKE FINDINGS
• FORM STRATEGIES

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County Juvenile Detention Center Average Daily
Population and Bed Capacity 1998-2002
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County Juvenile Detention CenterDetention
Admissions by Offense -2002
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County Juvenile Detention Center Juvenile
Arrests and Admissions to Detention (1998 2002)
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County Juvenile Detention CenterPERCENT OF
MINORS DETAINED (ADP) BY ETHNIC GROUP PERCENT
BY ETHNICITY IN YOUTH POPULATION (2002)
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CASE-LEVEL DATA PRODUCES A MORE DETAILED PICTURE
WHAT YOU SHOULD STRIVE TO OBTAIN

• Characteristics of referred minors
• (Offense, Gender, Age, Ethnicity, History)
• Detain or release decision at intake
• Characteristics of detained minors
• ADP by subgroup Pre- Post Dispo Counts
• Ave. Length of Stay in Detention (ALOS)
• Critical to determine need for case processing
  reforms
• Detention outcomes where did they go?
• Performance measures-- examples
• Re-arrest or FTA of released minors
• ALOS in detention after case processing reforms

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County Juvenile Detention CenterOne Month
Detention Rate by Offense April 2002 (Case level
data)
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CASE-LEVEL DATA How much do you need, and how do
you get it?

• Sampling detention groups
• Referrals, detained minors, released minors
• Retrospective and Prospective Sampling
• First tip
• GET HELP (AECF, NCCD, others)
• Second tip
• USE THE NEW DATA COLLECTION HANDBOOK

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KINDLE COUNTY HOW IT LOOKS UP FRONT

• Population 750,000 suburban, mixed ethnicity
• Youth population is in a no growth mode
• Detention facility 100 beds, built in 1988
• ADP last year 130 kids (30 overcrowding)
• Operating costs rising, added staff and hours
• Police chief, judges sayjuvenile crime out of
  control
• County supervisors want to build a bigger
  facility
• Local advocacy groups want schools, not jails

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KINDLE COUNTYJUVENILE DETENTION CENTERAverage
Daily Population ( 1998-2002)
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KINDLE COUNTYADMISSIONS (DETENTION BOOKINGS)
(1998- 2002)
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KINDLE COUNTYJUVENILE FELONY ARRESTS (1998-2002)
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KINDLE COUNTYAverage Daily Detention Population
vs. Juvenile Felony Arrests ( 1998-2002)
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Kindle County Juvenile Detention CenterDetention
Rate by Offense 2002
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Kindle County Juvenile Detention CenterPRE- AND
POST-DISPOSITION ADP, WITH POST-DISPO CASE TYPES
(2000 02)
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Kindle County Juvenile Detention CenterAverage
Length of Stay in Detention (all admissions, in
days 2000 2001)
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Kindle County Juvenile Detention CenterLength of
Stay in Detention (Days Detained) by case type
(2002)
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Kindle County Juvenile Detention CenterDETENTION
BED DAYS UTILIZED AND ANNUAL OPERATING COST BY
CASE TYPE (2002)
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KINDLE COUNTYFINDINGS INDICATED BY THE DATA

• Better screening needed at intake
• Arrest trend, admits do not explain overcrowding
• Overcrowding is explained by
• Growth of Post Dispo Population
• Longer lengths of stay especially post-dispo
• Detention costs driven up by probation violation
  and placement policy and practice
• Better risk screening and post-dispo alternatives
  are likely to resolve overcrowding
• Adding beds or replacing facility may not be
  necessary

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KINDLE COUNTYKEY DETENTION REFORM STRATEGIES
SUPPORTED BY THE DATA

• Develop (improve) RAI for better intake screening
• Develop front end alternatives to detention
• Reduce probation violator bed utilization
• Import model graduated sanctions for VOP
• Reduce time in custody for VOP
• Reduce placement waiting time
• Adopt case processing reforms based on JDAI
  models
• Establish data system to monitor progress toward
  detention goals
• Dont commit to building a new facility until
  youve tried more cost-effective reforms