NCJ Number
189370
Journal
Large Jail Network Bulletin Dated: 2001 Pages: 17-21
Date Published
2001
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper profiles Prince George's County's (MD.) Juveniles in Adult Correctional Systems (JACS) comprehensive strategy for managing this special population of juvenile offenders.
Abstract
As violent crime by juveniles proliferated in the mid-1990's, the Department of Corrections in Prince George's County found itself faced with an influx of juveniles who, because of their violent crimes, had been waived to the adult system. A task force was convened to provide programming and treatment services specific to needs intrinsic to adolescents but often overlooked in adult-oriented facilities, as well as to provide a management strategy within the context of a direct supervision model to reduce the incidence of aggressive behavior by juvenile inmates. The outcome of the task force's work was the creation of JACS, which focuses on meeting the developmental, cognitive, emotional, and social needs of this special juvenile population. JACS introduces a management strategy that is effective with adolescents and identifies specific treatment protocols to address issues that face today's youth. It can be used for both males and females. In compliance with ACA standards, juveniles are placed in dedicated housing, and programs and services are brought to that housing unit. The intent of the JACS plan is to populate the unit only with offenders under age 18. Juveniles in this setting are reviewed weekly by a Special Housing Board composed of the classification supervisor, correctional officers assigned to the unit, a medical services representative, a social worker, and the juvenile program coordinator. The JACS program relies on a "token economy," the principles of which incorporate both immediate and delayed gratification. The immediate reward is the points earned for appropriate behavior; the delayed action is the ability to cash in those points for rewards at a later time. The range of program options includes education, anger management, moral reconation therapy, mental health services, spiritual development, transition to adulthood, recreation, art therapy, substance abuse education, gang resistance, family counseling, and aftercare. The paper concludes with a description of the evaluation design for the program. 3 notes