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The Department of Juvenile Corrections manages only the most challenging juveniles, youth who have repeatedly failed to change their behavior despite the best efforts of Arizona’s 15 county juvenile courts. How many kids do you get? Fewer than 900 youth a year are sent to ADJC by the counties. Approximately 74,000 youth enter the juvenile system in Arizona each year. Most of them are handled by the counties, which have short-term holding facilities known as juvenile detention centers that are used mostly for short-term incarceration. What do the counties do with most of these children? The counties have a number of options – mandatory counseling, special programs such as drug courts, community panels that evaluate youth and determine consequences, residential treatment centers, family and individual counseling. Youth can be placed on probation, which means their behavior and associations are monitored, or if they repeatedly fail to change behavior they can be placed on Juvenile Intensive Probation Services (JIPS), which has been likened to a form of house arrest. What happens if none of these programs work? The youth who experience all or many of those options, and fail to change their behavior, are the ones who are sent to ADJC. Very few youth who enter the juvenile justice system for the first time go straight to state-run secure schools. Most ADJC youth have three, four or more referrals to the juvenile courts before they are sent to the state for incarceration. What happens to these youth once they arrive at ADJC? All youth entering ADJC go through a comprehensive classification Process known as Reception, Assessment and Classification (RAC). This process includes an assessment of the youth’s family structure, educational status, emotional and psychological profiles, physical and dental examinations, and an assessment of their offense history. A profile of the strengths and weaknesses in each youth’s background is developed, and an individual plan is developed that will guide the youth’s progress through secure care, eventual release on parole status, and re-entry into the community. Youth are assigned to housing units based on their individual needs. Do ADJC youth go to school? They attend classes six hours a day, five days a week, in a year-round school operated by ADJC. The academic programs are fully accredited through NCA. All classes are taught by licensed and certified teachers. Youth attend classes that focus on a traditional curriculum that emphasizes classes in reading, math and writing, and special education. Nearly half of all ADJC youth qualify as special education students. In most schools, special education students account for just a small fraction of the student body. Classes taken by ADJC youth apply toward a regular high school diploma or eighth-grade certificate. The Department also offers youth an opportunity to obtain a GED. Regular graduation ceremonies are held several times a year at secure schools, where families are invited to see their students presented with 8th-grade certificates, high school diplomas or GEDs. A number of youth take college-level courses each year and can receive dual credit for high school if needed. The department also has staff who work with youth who are transitioning back into their communities to make sure they return to school. Do ADJC youth go through treatment programs? The Department has a number of programs targeting anger management, impulse control, substance abuse, sexual offenses and mental-health needs. The RAC process determines which special programs the youth need. All youth participate in several hours of group programs every day. Are ADJC facilities safe? The Department makes safety and security a top priority. However, ADJC’s population by definition consists of highly delinquent youth who were placed with the Department because of inappropriate behavior. Staff are carefully trained to recognize the warning signs and intervene safely when conflict occurs. When there is a problem, such as a fight between youth or an assault on a staff member, the Department uses its training and manages the issues in a way that minimizes the risk to staff and youth. What is being done to prevent suicide? The tragedy of teen suicide is a nationwide problem that is especially acute in secure schools. The Department has spent millions of dollars to make its facilities as safe as possible. Every youth is evaluated within 24 hours of arrival at an ADJC facility, and assessments of suicide risk are ongoing. Whenever a youth is identified as at-risk for suicidal behavior, a carefully designed process is initiated. Youth are placed on a special high-risk status that mandates close observation every 15 minutes, every 10 minutes, every five minutes, or on a continuous observation basis, depending on the severity of the potential risk. What was done to answer the concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice? ADJC developed a comprehensive plan to address the recommendations issued by the Justice Department under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). ADJC changed many of its programs and practices to improve the safety, security and treatment of incarcerated youth. ADJC focused on five main areas: suicide prevention, juvenile justice, education, medical and mental health services. On September 14, 2007, the CRIPA Consultants issued their Sixth Semi-Annual Report in which they found ADJC to be in substantial compliance with every provision of the Agreement. The Department of Justice and State of Arizona filed a Joint Motion of Final Dismissal of the case. The Order for Final Dismissal was signed on September 25, 2007. CRIPA documents can be found on the ADJC public website at http://www.azdjc.gov/CRIPA/CRIPAHome.htm
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