COMMITMENT RATES VARY SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN COUNTIES SUGGESTING THAT WHERE A CHILD LIVES MATTERS MORE THAN WHAT HE OR SHE HAS DONE 1153 More than one of every 100 youth in Escambia County was committed to DJJ in FY08-09 almost ten times the rate in Miami-Dade. 693 588 277 285 311 341 347 363 365 371 379 391 404 452 501 131 143 155 197 213 COMMITMENT RATES PER 100,000 YOUTH AGED 10-17 IN POPULATION,TWENTY MOST POPULOUS COUNTIES SOURCES: SPLC ANALYSIS OF FY2008-09 DJJ ADMISSIONS DATA; PUZZANCHERA, C., SLADKY, A. AND KANG, W. (2008). "EASY ACCESS TO JUVENILE POPULATIONS: 1990-2007." ONLINE. AVAILABLE: HTTP://WWW.OJJDP.NCJRS.GOV/OJSTATBB/EZAPOP/.
PRIOR INCARCERATION WAS A GREATER PREDICTOR OF RECIDIVISM THAN CARRYING A WEAPON, GANG MEMBERSHIP OR POOR PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation
JDAI uses eight interconnected strategies to promote more effective juvenile justice systems Collaboration Use of accurate data Objective admissions criteria and instruments Alternative to detention Case processing reforms Reducing the use of secure confinement for special cases Deliberate commitment to reducing racial dis parities Improving conditions of confinement 10
JDAI is active in 34 states and the District of Columbia WA ME ME HI CA OR NV ID AZ MT WY NM SD NE KS MN IA MO WI IL IN TN KY OH PA VA NC NY NJ DE MD DC NH MA RI TX MS AL GA AK LA FL Model site County site State sites 5 Pending sites
Bernalillo County, New Mexico JDAI allowed the county to close a wing of detention beds and reinvest $200,000 per year in detention alternatives
In Multnomah County, Oregon, JDAI has allowed the county to close 48 detention beds and divert about $2 million per year to alternatives and other services. In Pierce County, Washington, JDAI allowed the county to close 50 detention beds and redeploy $800,000 to support new communitybased detention alternatives.
For Their Own Good Florid a ju ve n ile ju s tice : 100 years of hell at the Dozier School for Boys By Ben Montgomery and Waveney Ann Moore, Times staff writers Sunday, October 11, 2009 The boys were watching. They had noticed the old men and the television trucks gathered at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys. They were not allowed outside, but this day last October was about them, too. So said the plaque about to be fixed to the building called the White House. May this building stand as a reminder of the need to re m a in vigila n t in prote ctin g ou r ch ildre n a s we help them to seek a brighter future. The men outside called themselves the White House Boys. They were assured that the abuse they endured here 50 years ago beatings that left them bloody, ruined their sleep, wrecked their marriages and destroyed their lives would never be repeated. This was a different place now. The boys inside were safe.
Reduced commitments have allowed DJJ to safely eliminate nearly 1,900 beds a 28% reduction in residential capacity. Capacity reductions since FY2004-05 saved over $85 million in FY2008-09 alone. SOURCES: DJJ 2008-09 DELINQUENCY PROFILE; 2009 CAPACITY COMPUTED FROM DJJ SLOT UTILIZATION REPORTS DATED JAN. 28, 2009, THROUGH JUNE 24, 2009; PER DIEMS FROM FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, EXHIBIT D-3A: EXPENDITURES BY ISSUE AND APPROPRIATION CATEGORY (10/15/2009), AVAILABLE ATHTTP://www.djj.state.fl.us/opengov/documents/2009/Exhibit-D-3A.pdf. COST-SAVINGS APPROXIMATION IS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF NON-SECURE/SECURE BEDS TAKEN OFFLINE SINCE FY04-05, MULTIPLIED BY THE APPROPRIATE FY2009-10 PER DIEM FOR ($97.92 FOR NON-SECURE, $141.62 FOR SECURE), MULTIPLIED BY 365 DAYS.
JUVENILE ARREST RATES (Arrest of Persons Age 10-17/100,000 Persons Ages 10-17) TOTAL VIOLENT CRIME INDEX (SOURCE: OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, STATISTICAL BRIEFING BOOK, JUVENILE ARREST TRENDS, HTTP://WWW.OJJDP.GOV/OJSTATBB/CRIME/JAR_DISPLAY.ASP?ID=QA05201
MORE THAN 2,500 CHILDREN WERE ADMITTED TO DJJ FOR A MISDEMEANOR OR PROBATION VIOLATION IN FY2008-09 LEGAL BASIS FOR COMMITMENT, 2008-09 DJJ ADMISSIONS NON-VIOLENT FELONY VIOLENT FELONY MISD OR VOP DETAILED COMMITTING OFFENSE, OF MISD/VOP CMTS More than 1,000 children were committed to DJJ on a technical violation of probation. MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE IN CHILD S HISTORY, OF MISD/VOP CMTS More than 1,000 children admitted to DJJ had never committed a felony. SOURCE: SPLC ANALYSIS OF FY2008-09 DJJ ADMISSIONS DATA.
FLORIDA SPENDS AS MUCH AS $40 MILLION PER YEAR TO INCARCERATE MORE THAN 1,100 CHILDREN WHO HAVE NEVER COMMITTED A FELONY MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE IN HISTORY, FY2008-09 ADMISSIONS NON-VIOLENT FELONY MISD OR VOP VIOLENT FELONY The Blueprint Commission reported that 750 children with no felony history were committed in FY07-08, but recent DJJ admissions data show that 1,106 children with no felony history were admitted to DJJ in FY08-09 a 47% increase. If the cost of confining 750 youth is $27 million, the cost of confining 1,106 youth is $39.8 million. There are approximately 750 youth annually committed to the Department who have no history of felony adjudications; the annual cost of serving them is approximately $27 million. BLUEPRINT COMMISSION, GETTING SMART ABOUT JUVENILE JUSTICE IN FLORIDA (2008) SOURCES: SPLC ANALYSIS OF FY 2008-09 ADMISSIONS, USING MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE IN HISTORY AS MEASURE; BLUEPRINT COMMISSION, GETTING SMART ABOUT JUVENILE JUSTICE IN FLORIDA AT 8 (2008).
Modest adjustments to length of stay would align Department policies with best practices and save millions in taxpayer dollars. BY MODIFYING LENGTH OF STAY, DJJ COULD.. CUT BEDS & save millions Reduce length of stay (LOS) in all facilities by 1 week. Restore average LOS from FY02-03 for Moderate and High-Risk facilities. 120 96 non-secure 24 secure 191 156 non-secure 35 secure $4,671,708 $7,384,760 Restore average LOS from FY00-01 for Moderate and High-Risk facilities. 483 385 non-secure 99 secure $18,877,647 Restore FY00-01 average in High-Risk facilities. Reduce LOS in Moderate-Risk facilities from 8 months to 6 months, bringing DJJ closer to best practices. 868 769 non-secure 99 secure $32,602,114 Reduce LOS in Moderate-Risk facilities from 8 months to 6 months and in High-Risk facilities from 11 months to 8 months, bringing DJJ closer to best practices while still imposing longer sentences for high-risk youth. 1,094 769 non-secure 325 secure $44,284,348 SOURCE: SPLC ANALYSIS BASED ON FLORIDA DEPT. OF JUVENILE JUSTICE, SLOT UTILIZATION/RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS REPORT (1/20/2010) AND DJJ COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY REPORTS.