NCJ Number
147531
Date Published
September 1993
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This is a video of a teleconference of juvenile corrections professionals who discuss the findings and recommendations of the 1993 Abt report on a nationwide study of confinement conditions in juvenile correctional facilities.
Abstract
The video first presents an overview of the findings and recommendations of the Abt report. Charts of the findings and recommendations are interspersed with relevant comments by juvenile corrections professionals. Problems identified in the Abt report are overcrowding, inadequate health care, facility internal security, and inmate suicide prevention. Report recommendations for addressing each of the problem areas are highlighted. A panel of juvenile justice professionals discusses what must be done to remedy the unacceptable conditions in juvenile confinement facilities. Some of the remedies discussed are the use of performance-based criteria for the operation of all aspects of juvenile facilities, the use of precise classification criteria for placing juveniles in various security levels, and the development of a broad continuum of care that will reduce the need for secure confinement for juveniles. One panel focuses on overcrowding, health care, and institutional security. A separate panel discusses suicide prevention in juvenile facilities. Preventive measures considered are suicide screening immediately upon admission, staff training for suicide prevention, and the use of ancillary mental health personnel to serve juvenile inmates. Telephone callers throughout the country ask panel members questions pertinent to juvenile confinement conditions. The video concludes with a statement by John Wilson, the acting director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) regarding OJJDP's efforts to implement the Abt report's recommendations.