NCJ Number
107599
Date Published
1987
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This study identifies the percentage of youth who need secure care in Delaware and recommends how Delaware might develop a more comprehensive juvenile classification and placement system.
Abstract
The Delaware Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families appointed a committee to oversee the project. The committee developed an Initial Security Placement Instrument which assigned points to factors relevant to the severity of the instant offense and the chronicity of a youth's prior court history. The committee applied the instrument to the case files of all juveniles at the Ferris School (secure facility) on May 7, 1987. The study concluded that if the current population of Ferris is representative and if Delaware developed an adequate system of alternatives, the State would need no more than 25 to 30 secure beds. The committee recommends closing Ferris for females within 6 to 9 months and expanding alternatives for females. Planning and budgeting for the phase out of Ferris as a training school should begin immediately, with funding reinvested for the development of an appropriate spectrum of alternative services. 13 tables and appended study materials, including the placement instrument.