JDAI Site Updates
Multnomah Approves Policy Designed to Keep Youth in Detention
The Board of Commissioners for Multnomah County, Oregon, unanimously approved a resolution (Ballot 11) to place youth pending transfer to adult court in juvenile detention rather than the county jail.
"We have an opportunity to protect young people and enhance public safety," former Commissioner Lisa Naito said. "Thankfully, our corrections deputies are doing their jobs and protecting these young offenders that end up in jail instead of the Donald E. Long Center. We haven't had any recent incidents between adult and juveniles in Multnomah County jails, but we don't want to wait and act after something has happened."
Current policy in Multnomah County allows youth to be placed in the county jail if they are charged as adults. In practice, the county usually does not house youth in the adult jail. However, there have been instances in recent months in which youth have been placed in the adult jail. To clarify Multnomah's guidelines, Naito spearheaded an effort to pass a countywide policy.
"Multnomah County has been leading the nation in developing approaches to reduce youthful offending that are now being used in 100 communities around the country," says Judge Nan Waller, the county's chief family law judge. "By memorializing what we have been doing, the county is keeping pace with national best practices to enhance public safety and keep young people safe."
The resolution cites recent research documenting how youth are developmentally different from adults and it notes the absence in county jails of programs designed for youth. The resolution requires that youth in custody in Multnomah County be held at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home unless the sheriff and the director of the Department of Community Corrections, or their designee, agree to alternate placement.
"With our partners, we will continue to safely manage these young people, meet their educational, treatment and counseling needs, and provide services geared to reduce their chances of re-offending," says David Koch, assistant director, Juvenile Services Division, Department of Community Justice.
For more information contact Rick Jensen at rick.k.jensen@co.multnomah.or.us.
To read the Multnomah resolution visit the JDAI Help Desk.
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