This report provides a detailed update on the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative's progress since 2009. The number of jurisdictions adopting the model has continued to climb year-after-year, and state governments are taking an increasingly central role in supporting effective JDAI replication. Participating sites continue to report impressive results in reducing reliance on detention of court-involved youth awaiting court hearings or pending placement to correctional programs, and are doing so while protecting public safety and safeguarding taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, the Foundation has launched an effort that will expand JDAI beyond the detention phase of the juvenile court process to focus on reducing reliance on incarceration in longer-term juvenile corrections facilities.
By 2012, JDAI jurisdictions had achieved a cumulative reduction of 43% in average daily population, according to available data. Of the 112 sites reporting, 68 reduced the daily detention population by one third at least, and 38 saw reductions of at least 50%.
Overall, the average daily population of youth of color has fallen by 40% across all JDAI sites nationwide, nearly the same decline seen for white youth, even though youth of color have risen significantly as a share of the total youth population.
Jurisdictions participating in JDAI have seen a steep decline in the number of youth they commit to state juvenile correctional facilities. Overall, 94 of the 112 sites reporting data have reduced commitments.
Most JDAI sites show safety outcomes improving.
Since the Foundation’s last update report on the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative in 2009, the pace of JDAI replication has accelerated, participating sites continue to report impressive progress in safely reducing the use of detention in the early phases of the juvenile court process, and the Foundation has begun to expand JDAI’s focus to address overreliance on confinement in the later phases of the juvenile justice system.
