Just How Innovative are Criminal Justice Systems in the United States?

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How willing are agency leaders to adopt new ideas and make changes to criminal justice policies and programming? A recently released report from the Center for Court Innovation attempts to answer the question. The report, “Innovation in the Criminal Justice System: A National Survey of Criminal Justice Leaders,” is the first of its kind. Supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, more than 600 agency heads across the country were surveyed for the study, including police chiefs, juvenile justice officials and state court administrators across the nation. Respondents cumulatively scored a 2.89 on a four-point scale that measured systemic innovation in terms of data sharing and evidence-driven practices.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Ruling Keeps Kids Out of Adult Prisons

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Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled last month that young people may no longer be held in adult prisons while awaiting juvenile court hearings. The high court ruling redefines “detention facilities” to expressly exclude state- or county-level jails or prisons, while similarly altering the state’s definition of “juvenile” to include youths who have been placed in detention for probation violations. Under Pennsylvania law, all minors ages 10 to 17 must have their cases heard in juvenile court. In some instances, youth as old as 21 may remain under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. “Every once in a while a judge would find someone who is under juvenile court jurisdiction, but over age 18, and want to teach them a lesson and put them in county jail,” Robert Schwartz of Philadelphia’s Juvenile Law Center told The Scranton Times-Tribune.

[Photos] Changing Confinement Culture in Olathe, Kansas

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Last month, Richard Ross, the creator of Juvenile In Justice, visited and photographed two juvenile detention facilities in Olathe, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City. This week the photos are featured on Bokeh, JJIE's multimedia site. Through the lens of architecture, the photographs investigate changes and reforms in the state's detention practices. The two facilities, one old and one new, are situated across from one another. The new facility, the Johnson County Youth and Family Services Center, is an airy LEED-certified building. Ross describes the older facility, Johnson County Juvenile Detention Center, as having architecture reminiscent of TV movies dealing with punishment.

Amid Widespread Inaction on Evidence-Based Care for Troubled and Delinquent Youth, a Few States Get it Right

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In a pair of feature stories published yesterday, (on Georgia's reform efforts and issues and two young men in the system) JJIE described two modes of intensive at-home treatment that show great promise to improve outcomes for emotionally disturbed youth in the delinquency system, both of which cost far less than incarceration or treatment in a residential treatment center.

New Guide to Program Evaluation Released

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The Vera Institute has released a guide to help organizations interested in creating or strengthening a research base for their work. Although written primarily for juvenile justice initiatives, the guide may be helpful for other youth-serving programs as well.