Detention Reform
You are in the Detention Reform section of the Casey Foundation Knowledge Center, which offers resources that are either published or funded by the Casey Foundation.
See also Our Work: Juvenile Justice, an overview of Casey's investment in this issue.
See all resources from Casey's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).
Featured Slideshow
Our juvenile justice system is badly in need of repair. This slideshow goes inside the juvenile detention systems in Laredo, Texas and Portland, Oregon and points to the need for urgent national reforms. See Casey's related resources on juvenile justice reform.
Photographs by Steve Liss. See his website for more information.
Featured Publications
Two Decades of JDAI: From Demonstration Project to National Standard
2009
This report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation documents the progress of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative’s (JDAI) efforts in reforming juvenile detention practices throughout the nation. Also highlighted in the report are the ways in which JDAI has contributed to the broader juvenile justice reform movement.
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Issue Brief: Reform the Nation's Juvenile Justice System
2009
Juvenile courts and corrections systems often employ strategies that result in increased crime, endangered young people, wasted taxpayer dollars, and inequalities under the law. This brief outlines federal policy recommendations for reforming the juvenile justice system.
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View the Casey Foundation Public Policy Issue Briefs Series >>
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative: A Successful Approach to Comprehensive Reform
This 12-page brochure, complete with full-page black-and-white photographs, highlights the goals and the accomplishments of the Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative since its launch in 1992.
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State-Level Detention Reform: A Practice Guide for State Advisory Groups
2008
This is a “how-to” leadership guide designed for a highly-specialized and specific audience: State juvenile justice advisory group members (or “SAG” members) who advise and guide the implementation of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) in the states, territories and District of Columbia. This guide highlights examples of leadership and the work of SAG members in key states that have been front-runners in advancing the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) via SAG leadership.
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View the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Practice Guides Series >>
14. Pathways to Juvenile Detention Reform: Beyond Detention -- System Transformation Through Juvenile Detention Reform
2007
This report is book #14 in the Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Pathways series on juvenile detention reform. It documents the ways in which detention reforms in general – and JDAI’s comprehensive reform model in particular -- stimulate and support a broad array of other juvenile justice system improvements.
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View the Pathways to Juvenile Detention Reform Series >>
Advocasey: Juvenile Justice at a Crossroads
2003
This news brief examines the reliance on large correctional facilities and the substandard legal representation provided for accused teens. Additionally, the brief highlights four key ways to juvenile justice reform and provides an update on the progress of the Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).
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View the AdvoCasey Series >>
(Video) These Are Our Kids: Transforming Juvenile Detention in Three American Cities
2000
This video by Casey's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative documents the power and effectiveness of juvenile detention reforms in Cook County (Chicago), Illinois, Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon, and Santa Cruz County, California.
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Juvenile Jailhouse Rocked
2000
A report on the Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, this story documents the successful efforts of three urban counties -- Cook, Multnomah, and Sacramento -- to reduce the unnecessary and inappropriate use of secure juvenile detention without compromising public safety.
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View the AdvoCasey Series >>