NCJ Number
164200
Journal
Juvenile Justice Update Volume: 2 Issue: 3 Dated: (June/July 1996) Pages: 3-4,14-15
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Under grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice mounted a two-phase program designed to reduce the proportion of minority juveniles detained in secure detention facilities, jails, and lockups.
Abstract
The phase I final report documented the extent of minority overrepresentation at each point in the juvenile justice system; African-American youth had significantly higher rates of system involvement than other juveniles. The report contained five recommendations that became the basis for a grant to implement phase II of the project. Under phase II Hillsborough County was selected as the site for a pilot intervention project. Project goals were to establish a core group of community members to set the local agenda and identify community resources; organize a coalition of existing service providers to dedicate slots to minority juveniles diverted from the justice system during assessment; and provide diversion advocacy and planning for African-American youths admitted to the Juvenile Assessment Center. A civil citation project was mounted with two major diversion components: teen court and arbitration. Other projects in Hillsborough County were Project SAVE, under which the community service specialist provided case management services to 15 minority youths per quarter who had failed to appear for diversion programs; and Project END, which intervened to help minority youth complete diversion programs. Evaluation data show that the project has significantly reduced the number of minority juveniles who are formally processed by the juvenile justice system and has gained the commitment of various community agencies in assisting with diversion programs for minority youth. 2 tables