NCJ Number
161363
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This assessment of conditions of confinement in juvenile correctional and detention facilities presents recommendations that address overcrowding, injuries and suicides, performance- based standards, and future issues.
Abstract
In 1988 Congress directed the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to assess conditions of confinement for juveniles and to report its findings to Congress along with recommendations for improvement. Such a study was conducted, and in 1993 the National Juvenile Corrections and Detention Forum, a gathering of leading juvenile corrections administrators and juvenile detention administrators from each of the 50 States, discussed the findings and recommendations of the Conditions of Confinement study. The Forum focused its efforts on what are apparently the most critical issues in the study: overcrowding, injuries and suicides, performance-based standards, and future issues. During the forum, the leaders formulated recommendations that represent the thinking of the leadership of juvenile corrections and detention in the United States. Several of the recommendations refer to a Juvenile Vision Statement and a Juvenile Mission Statement, which were developed in June 1992 by the Juvenile Executive Assembly. Among the recommendations pertinent to overcrowding are to prohibit the use of detention as a dispositional placement and to develop and implement a juvenile justice philosophy of using the least restrictive placement that is consistent with providing for public safety. Recommendations designed to prevent injuries and suicides are in the areas of architecture, training, programming, and the collaboration of services for juvenile offenders. The Forum favors performance- based standards that should cover system, staff, and youth performance tied to the quality of life. Recommendations pertinent to future issues include recommendations for leadership strategies.