Sustainable Facility Focuses on Improving Futures for Offenders

OLATHE, Kan. — Johnson County Youth and Family Services Center in Olathe has recently been awarded LEED Platinum certification. After review of LEED awards to date, the facility seems to be the first juvenile detention center in the nation and possibly even the world to be certified LEED Platinum, according to Treanor Architects P.A., project architects for the facility.

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U.K. Company Helps Young Offenders

WARRINGTON, United Kingdom — British manufacturer Rixonway Kitchens has donated kitchen units to Thorn Cross Prison in Warrington to teach juvenile offenders new skills in a bid to reduce recidivism rates.
 
The program offers a fitted interiors course run by the Open College Network North West Region and allows offenders to earn a diploma or certification.
 
The course trains 10 students at a time in kitchen fitting, providing them with a trade and social and life skills that are hoped will help them find meaningful employme

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Number of Confined Juveniles Drops 12 Percent Nationwide

OAKLAND, Calif. — The number of juveniles in U.S. custody decreased by 12 percent from 1997 to 2006, according to a study by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

In 2006, 92,854 juvenile offenders were in residential custody, down from 105,055 in 1997, according to the study. The decline includes a 6 percent drop in the number of juvenile offenders in detention and a 14 percent decrease in the number of wards in post-adjudication placements.

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