New Jersey has seen a big drop in the number of incarcerated juveniles. 

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According to a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, New Jersey's juvenile population fell from 2,250 to 1,179 between 1997 and 2010.   The report attributed the drop in juvenile incarcerations to the implementation of the Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).

Thanks to the initiative, New Jersey counties have implemented a wide array of detention alternative programs, including electronic monitoring, evening reporting centers, supervised home detention, and shelter care.

Sixteen counties are currently involved with the initiative, including Atlantic, Camden, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean, Union and Somerset.

“JDAI continues to be a great story in New Jersey,” said Judge Glenn Grant, acting administrative director of the courts. “Today’s report from the Casey Foundation shows what can be achieved when we work together to do the right thing by kids who need supervision, not incarceration, to address their issues.

But not all the news is good.  While these decreases in juvenile incarceration have taken place, nationally down by 37 percent, juvenile arrests rates have not increased.

The report can be found at here.

 

 

 

 

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