The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) electronic newsletter provides readers with JDAI site updates and results of policy and practice reforms from the more than 100 JDAI sites in 23 states.
Recent print and electronic JDAI newsletters are available on the Annie E. Casey Foundation website.
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Feature Story
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Facility Self-Inspections Prove Valuable in New Mexico
Juvenile detention facility self-inspection is the method promoted by JDAI to achieve improved conditions of confinement. The JDAI model site in Bernalillo County (Albuquerque), New Mexico, recently completed the first self-inspection of its 80-bed detention facility housing boys and girls and plans to make improvements based on the results. |
JDAI Site Updates
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Hawaii Joins JDAI Ranks
Officially joining JDAI in April, Hawaii participated in the Annie E. Casey Foundation's "quick launch" process designed to speed the establishment of core strategies and offer direction and resources for new sites. |
JDAI in the News
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Alabama Governor Signs Juvenile Justice Act
Legislation designed to reform Alabama's juvenile justice system is intended to reduce the number of children in state custody and redirect them toward community-based programs. The new law prohibits juvenile judges from locking up children classified as "in need of supervision," children who have committed non-criminal offenses such as truancy, running away, and missing curfew. Instead, these low-risk juvenile offenders will participate in community-based programs designed to change their behavior.
To read all JDAI-related news >>
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JDAI Newsmakers
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Swisstack Wins Mayoral Contest
Thomas A. Swisstack won 57 percent of the vote to become the new mayor of Rio Rancho—the third-largest city in New Mexico. |
Juvenile Justice News
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Racial Impact Statements Proposed as Means of Reducing Unwarranted Sentencing Disparities
A Sentencing Project report, published in the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, proposes "racial impact statements" as a means of assessing ahead of time the impact of any proposed sentencing policies. The racial disparities in rates of incarceration in the United States result from a complex set of factors, including sentencing and drug policies.
The report argues that many of these effects could have been predicted, and in order to reduce unwarranted disparities, policymakers should address the potential racial impact of proposed policies and legislation prior to enactment, rather than after the fact when reform is more difficult to achieve. Similar to fiscal or environmental impact statements, racial impact statements would enable policymakers to anticipate potential racial disparities and to consider alternative policies that do not result in racial bias.
For more information visit the Sentencing Project website>>
Download the report>>
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2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book Focuses on Juvenile Detention Reform
The 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book is a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America's children. This year's Data Book includes the essay, "A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform," which outlines the inherent challenges in today's juvenile justice system while identifying a number of proven solutions and system reforms that demonstrate better outcomes for children and their families. The essay provides a clear and compelling roadmap for reform and urges local, state and federal officials to accept responsibility for charting a course that addresses six pervasive deficiencies that face our nation's juvenile justice systems:
- Trends in juvenile justice blur or ignore the well-established differences between youth and adults.
- Indiscriminate and wholesale incarceration of juveniles is proving expensive, abusive, and bad for public safety.
- Juvenile justice systems too often ignore the critical role of families in solving delinquency.
- The increasing propensity to prosecute minor cases in the juvenile justice system harms youth, with no benefit to public safety.
- Juvenile justice has too often become a dumping ground for youth who should be served by other public systems.
- System policies and practices have allowed unequal justice to persist.
Order or download the 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book>>
Order or download A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform>
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Please let us know if this newsletter is helpful to you and how it might be improved to meet your needs. Contact JDAInews@aecf.org with questions or suggestions. Thanks! |
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