The Public Safety Impact of a Detention Alternative Instrument - CANCELLED

• In Event: Keeping Kids Out: Strategizing Alternatives to Juvenile Detention

Abstract

The Annie E. Casey’s Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) began over 25 years ago as a way to reduce the use of detention for youth. As part of the initiative, many jurisdictions incorporated tools to assess risk and identify opportunities for detention alternatives. This study focuses on one juvenile jurisdiction implementing a detention alternative instrument (DAI) in response to the larger initiative. By using the instrument, the agency sought to reduce unnecessary incarceration while maintaining public safety and address the disproportionate use of detention for youth of color. Using administrative data from the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice, the present research analyzes the impact of the DAI on public safety by assessing rates of reoffending and failure-to-appear charges for youth placed in detention alternatives. Using hierarchical linear modeling, researchers hypothesize that youth placed in detention alternatives will not impact public safety in the jurisdiction studied. In fact, researchers believe that when decisions are based on DAI scores, rates of reoffending and failure-to-appear for court hearings will be less than when decision-makers override the outcomes.

Authors

• Jacqueline Clardy-Josephs, Marymount University

• Courtney Porter, Marymount University

• Kailyn Alderman, Marymount University