Recalibrating Juvenile Detention chronicles the lessons learned from the 2007 to 2015 landmark US District Court-ordered reform of the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) in Illinois, following years of litigation by the ACLU about egregious and unconstitutional conditions of confinement. In addition to explaining the implications of the Court’s actions, the book includes an analysis of a major evaluation research report by the University of Chicago Crime Lab and explains for scholars, practitioners, administrators, policymakers, and advocates how and why this particular reform of conditions achieved successful outcomes when others failed. Maintaining that the Chicago Crime Lab findings are the "gold standard" evidence-based research (EBR) in pretrial detention, Roush holds that the observed "firsts" for juvenile detention may perhaps have the power to transform all custody practices. He shows that the findings validate a new model of institutional reform based on cognitive-behavioral programming (CBT), reveal statistically significant reductions in in-custody violence and recidivism, and demonstrate that at least one variation of short-term secure custody can influence positively certain life outcomes for Chicago’s highest-risk and most disadvantaged youth. With the Quarterly Journal of Economics imprimatur and endorsement by the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, the book is a reverse engineering of these once-in-a-lifetime events (recidivism reduction and EBR in pretrial detention) that explains the important and transformative implications for the future of juvenile justice practice. The book is essential reading for graduate students in juvenile justice, criminology, and corrections, as well as practitioners, judges, and policymakers.

Describes aspects of the juvenile justice system including sentencing, types of detention facilities, the rules of detention, and life after leaving a facility.

Juvenile detention is one of the most important elements of the juvenile justice system, and one of the most difficult to administer. This resource manual presents a collection of innovative program ideas known to be effective in the management and treatment of youth who require some level of restrictive care and custody. Resource listings include the facility address; contact; program description; program evaluation; publications, honors, awards, etc.; date program began; funding source; and availability of additional information. Indexed alphabetically, by state and by subject.

Juvenile detention facilities confine more youths than do any other type of institution in the United States. Essentially jails for juveniles who have been arrested and are awaiting trial, these centers tend to be overcrowded, inadequately staffed, and expensive to operate. Juvenile justice officials and state and local policymakers throughout the country are desperately trying to determine the proper use of these facilities and, more important, how to bring detention systems under control. The eleven essays in this collection assess today's juvenile detention system, bringing to light problems and inefficiencies and suggesting strategies for improving conditions and eliminating these problems. The authors of these essays pull together data on national trends in detention policies and practices and examine specific cases to paint a grim picture of a system badly in need of reform. They also provide practical summaries of reform targets and strategies, and case studies of successful reform attempts, thus offering clear and much needed guidance toward possible solutions to the nation's juvenile detention crisis.