Jurisdictional Planning Assistance

Is your detention or correctional facility housing more youth than it was designed to hold? Are you or others in your community or jurisdiction concerned about conditions of confinement in your facility or facilities? Do you feel like you are in charge of a “one size fits all” system without a sufficient range of options to meet the many different needs of the youth you are to serve? Do you live in fear of a lawsuit because of conditions of confinement or crowding in your jurisdiction? Is your juvenile justice system under fire from the community or the media due to these or similar issues? If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions, you may want to read further. NJDA has initiated a program to assist jurisdictions across the country to successfully address these and related juvenile justice concerns.

While NJDA is primarily focused on juvenile detention issues, the Association is committed to improving all facets of juvenile justice. The net result has been a shift in training and technical assistance away from just juvenile detention to the broad range of juvenile confinement, as well as valid confinement alternatives. Recently, an NJDA officer suggested that NJDA now stands for not just detention anymore. One way that we are expanding our role has been through a formal process to acquaint core groups of leaders in jurisdictions with effective practices and lessons learned across the country in solving the very problems being encountered in their own jurisdiction. This training and technical support is provided to local, state, regional or tribal jurisdictions through involvement in a strategic planning process. NJDA views Jurisdictional Planning Assistance as a means to further the organization’s commitment to high quality and cost effective juvenile justice programs and systems.

Through an OJJDP funded project, the NPJS Center for Research and Professional Development located at Michigan State University provides Jurisdictional Planning Assistance to selected jurisdictions nationally. This planning model applies research on effective practices, operations, and systems in juvenile justice jurisdictions in both juvenile detention and corrections. The NJDA/Youth Law Center curriculum is applied through intensive strategic planning involving core jurisdictional team members, promoting the reduction of the use of juvenile confinement as the focal point for the local juvenile justice system to evaluate its goals, objectives, and practices. The approach is a logical extension of the concepts and principles promoted through the Annie E. Casey Foundation efforts at juvenile detention reform.

The project focuses its resources on jurisdictions which identify significant problems in their juvenile justice systems such as those identified above, e.g. crowding in detention or correctional facilities. Local recognition of the problem(s) and a desire on the part of key stakeholders in the jurisdiction to develop a plan with our assistance as well as a commitment by them to follow through in implementing the locally-developed plan are key elements in the identification of participating jurisdictions. Following the application and assessment leading to selection, key stakeholders from within the jurisdiction work intensively during the strategic planning process to review and revise their system of juvenile confinement--detention and corrections--to achieve an improved juvenile justice system.

What is Jurisdictional Planning Assistance?

• Two days of constructive group interaction and team development facilitated by a select group of nationally recognized experts in juvenile justice
• A forum that brings stakeholders from agencies connected to juvenile justice together to critically examine their system.
• Structured activities that lead to greater agreement on the purpose of the local juvenile justice system, including hands-on group problem-solving simulation using actual juvenile justice system data.
• Exploration of strategic planning issues, values, and demographics specific to the jurisdiction and its use of secure juvenile confinement.
• Exposure to exemplary practices and programs in juvenile justice.
• Provision of follow-up planning and technical assistance.

What are potential outcomes for my jurisdiction as a result of participation?

• A jurisdiction-wide vision and mission for the juvenile justice system, and an action plan for change.
• A cohesive core group with a commitment for further involvement in and advocacy for reform of its juvenile system.
• Stakeholders who have examples and practice making data-driven decisions.
• Resource materials and manuals for best practices in implementation of reform.
• An on-going, community-focused, data-driven, decision-making model for a community corrections continuum.
• Improved data collection and application through communication.

The approach, relying heavily upon the stakeholder group’s exploration of successful methods of change in similar situations with nationally recognized experts, can develop and support community synergy leading to a more effective juvenile justice system. Broadened understanding and ownership of the system will lead to greater involvement of the stakeholders to become and continue as partners in juvenile justice in the jurisdiction. Many of the problems in a juvenile justice system develop in part due to isolation of the system or a component of the system. Our experience has shown that expanded stakeholder involvement reduces the isolation and brings about broadened investment leading to strength, quality, and economy.

NPJS encourages jurisdictions, local, state, regional or tribal, to consider this strategic planning approach to address crowding in facilities, unacceptable conditions of confinement, potential litigation and similar problems through this process of intensive analysis and planning involving the community stakeholder group. Priority will be given to those jurisdictions demonstrating a consensus for reform and a commitment to participation by key stakeholders. To explore the potential for your jurisdiction to participate in this strategic planning program, contact CRPD.