Pathways to Juvenile Detention Reform No.12; Replicating Detention Reform: Lessons from the Florida Detention Initiative

• NCJ Number: 187587
• Author(s): Donna M. Bishop; Pamala L. Griset
• Date Published: 2000
• Length: 46 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Sale Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other publications in this series, see NCJ-187575-82, 187584, and 187586.

Annotation

This final report in a series of 12 publications entitled, "Pathways to Juvenile Detention Reform," presents the lessons from the Broward Detention Initiative (Broward County, Fla.), which was the predecessor program for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.

Abstract

This publication, along with the rest of the publications in the series, is a product of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The project's objectives were to eliminate the unnecessary use of secure detention for juveniles; minimize failures to appear and the incidence of delinquent behavior; redirect public finances from building new facility capacity to responsible alternative strategies; and to improve conditions in secure detention facilities. The Broward Detention Initiative (BDI) was a successful juvenile detention reform effort in the late 1980's. The BDI was a comprehensive and multifaceted project designed to reduce the detention center population and improve conditions of confinement for juveniles in the county. Over the next 2 years, despite increasing numbers of delinquency referrals, Broward County realized dramatic reductions in average daily populations. New alternatives to secure detention were created, and new and previously under-used alternatives to detention became active at unprecedented levels. These changes occurred at substantial cost savings and without increasing the risk to public safety. After summarizing key factors in BDI's successful reform, a chapter discusses the various political factors that influenced the results of the BDI as well as subsequent replication efforts throughout the State. This is followed by a chapter that discusses efforts to replicate the BDI in other jurisdictions under the rubric of the Florida Detention Initiative (FDI). The outcomes of the FDI are discussed in the next chapter, as it notes that the FDI had a minimal effect on detention policies and practices in the three replication sites. In the fall of 1997, the initial plan to expand the project to other areas of the State was abandoned, and funding for the program was discontinued. Lessons learned from the BDI and the FDI are discussed in the concluding chapter.