Md. Youth Jail To Be Scaled Back

BALTIMORE Construction of a juvenile detention center in East Baltimore could be delayed by a year after state prison officials announced they would reduce the size of the proposed $70 million facility.
 
Officials made the decision after the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that conducts research on juvenile justice, released a study contending the state will only need 117 juvenile beds over the next 30 years under current sentencing policies.

Read more

Moving Juveniles Will Save Millions, Experts Say

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Jerry Brown says his proposal to eliminate California’s youth prisons and house juvenile offenders in county jails would save the state almost half a billion dollars next fiscal year and $1.4 billion annually while relieving prison overcrowding.

Eliminating the entire Division of Juvenile Justice would save the state $250 million a year, according to brown. Many counties have empty beds in their jails and juvenile halls.

Read more

California Youth Facility Closure Could Save Millions

IONE, Calif. — Plans to shut down the Preston Youth Correctional Facility — something that could save the state tens of millions of dollars — is running into opposition. The fight over closing one of California’s few remaining juvenile justice facilities is showing the difficulty that state leaders face as they attempt to close a $25.4 billion budget gap.

Read more

Michigan Mulls Privatization of Juvenile Justice

LANSING, Mich. — In an effort to make up a $2.8 billion shortfall in statewide revenue, Republican state legislators introduced a bill that would complete the privatization of Michigan’s juvenile justice system.
 
The long-term plan, which will be considered for the 2011 budget cycle in an effort to streamline government services and avoid statewide tax increases, would result in the state closing at least four high-security facilities and the estimated loss off 274 state employees.

Read more

Pima County Upgrades Juvenile Facility for Violent Offenders

TUCSON, Ariz. — Pima County is spending almost $1.2 million to upgrade its juvenile detention facility to house violent juvenile offenders currently held at the county jail.

Next year, officials will begin housing violent juvenile offenders at the existing juvenile detention facility in an effort to free up much needed bed space at the county’s overcrowded adult jail.

Read more

Detention School: An Incarceration Alternative

In 1992, the people in Douglas County, Kan., began construction of a regional juvenile detention facility, intending to keep their kids close to home. Prior to that time, juveniles were transported to an adjacent county for detention, requiring officials and family to make a 50-mile roundtrip for each visit.

 

Read more