NCJ Number
129107
Journal
American Jails Volume: 4 Issue: 5 Dated: (January/February 1991) Pages: 16-22
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The development of the Attendant Care Program in Kansas as recommended by the Jail Removal Impact Study Committee in 1984 is described.
Abstract
It involves the selection of a site in a public building, which will preferably be open for 24 hours and be near a law enforcement facility. Same sex trained youth attendants supervise the juveniles during their stay at the facility; they are trained in listening, communication, crisis intervention, de-escalation, adolescent development, short-term relationships, suicide prevention, and substance abuse. The success of the program is attributed to the level of supervision. The doors are not locked, and the attendants focus on being good listeners rather than guards. Two Attendant Care Facilities were licensed and were operating by December 1988. Presently there are 16 sites servicing 38 counties; 9 other sites for 22 counties are still awaiting operating licenses. To fulfill all the mandated requirements, 5 small detention centers are to be constructed in 1991-92 to provide rural areas with access to secure juvenile detention facilities. 1 figure and 6 photographs