Juvenile Court-Controlled Reentry: Three Practice Models

• NCJ Number: 210009
• Author(s): Patrick Griffin
• Date Published: February 2005
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2002-JN-FX-0001(S-1)
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description

Annotation

This bulletin examines three jurisdictions in which practice models have been introduced to enable local juvenile courts and their probation departments to directly oversee the reentry of juveniles after release from residential placements.

Abstract

The three sites are in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), PA; Marion County (Indianapolis), IN; and rural West Virginia counties that are participating in the State's Division of Juvenile Services Reentry Court Program. Although the three programs differ in many respects, they all use local court authority, knowledge, and sanctioning flexibility to monitor and support juveniles after their return from residential placements. The Allegheny County model, which began in 1997, requires that all juveniles returning to the county from residential placement receive a minimum of 90 days of aftercare supervision. This is achieved through day-reporting programs. The West Virginia model covers 10 largely rural counties in the northeastern panhandle. The State's Division of Juvenile Services provides enhanced supervision and case management to returning "high-risk" juvenile in participating counties, and local courts provide oversight in the form of monthly court hearings to review progress and enforce conditions. The Marion County model is similar to the West Virginia model in using a State-local partnership. A juvenile reentry court conducts frequent oversight and enforcement hearings under State-local reentry planning and supervision. The program involves only one of three high-crime Indianapolis neighborhoods. Lessons drawn from the models encompass a strategy for selecting a target population, planning and preparation, postrelease monitoring, services and supports, an incentive structure, and integration after reentry. 20 notes