This report shares findings from the most comprehensive review ever conducted of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s ambitious Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). It amasses the latest statistics from 112 JDAI sites while drawing clear comparisons to pre-reform data. The goal? Find out if two decades of JDAI-driven changes have helped reduce the use of detention while creating a safer, fairer juvenile justice system for today’s youth. The answer? An overwhelming two thumbs up. The report offers a renewed sense of progress, information about problem areas and statistical successes sure to inspire further action.
This report offers statistic after statistic that suggests Casey's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) is succeeding. Sites are reducing their reliance on secure detention — and their 2012 results represent some of the most notable gains the initiative has seen to date. However, data from JDAI sites also indicate that there is more work to be done, particularly in the area of reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the use of detention.
