Lor i A lb in , Di rectorFisca l Po l i cy Center

Nat ional Juveni le Jus t i ce NetworkJu ly 2011

Show Us the Money: Calculating the Cost of Juvenile Justice

Leads and supports a movement of state and local juvenile justice coalitions and organizations to secure state and federal laws, policies and practices that are fair, equitable and developmentally appropriate for all children, youth and families involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, the justice system.

The National Juvenile Justice Network’s Fiscal Policy Center is supported by generous grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Public Welfare Foundation, and Tow Foundation.

MAPPING THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

BREAKING DOWN THE PROCESS

Costs of Crime

First step in estimating benefit of avoiding crime is to estimate cost of crime

Programs that reduce crime benefit taxpayers, victims, and society

To estimate cost must break down the process

Mapping

What? Me? Map?

Mapping is the process of identifying the stages of the juvenile justice process

To maximize effectiveness of fiscal information must know what each stage costs

For example: No Misdemeanants in detention or secured placement

Must know costs before and after exit point to assert cost avoidance

MAPPING YOUR SYSTEM

Source: United States Department of Justice, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report

Source: Rethinking Detention in New York City, A Report of the Juvenile Justice Project of the Correctional Association of New York (March 2002).

Map of New York City Process

Source: Rethinking Detention in New York City, A Report of the Juvenile Justice Project of the Correctional Association of New York (March 2002).

Map of New York City Process

Source: The Rising Cost of the City’s Juvenile Justice System, New York City Independent Budget Office (January 2008/Revised).

Map of New York City Process – Cost Data

Source: The Rising Cost of the City’s Juvenile Justice System, New York City Independent Budget Office (January 2008/Revised).

Map of New York City Process – Cost Data

ARREST

FOUR PATHS

Juvenile Offender (charged as an adult)

Family/Juvenile Court

Secured Detention Until Court Open

Released – “Must Appear” Citation

ARREST

A standard arrest process includes investigation, arrest, interrogation and booking.

Law Enforcement CostAverage Police Officer Pay (including

benefits)Number of Juvenile Arrests Average Time Between Arrest and

Complaint/Charging Document

INTAKE

Divert or Petition

Assessment Tool Cost

Intake Worker/Probation Agent Cost Number of intakes Average time to process Budget for Intake Division

DIVERSION

Program Cost

Number of Cases Diverted

Length of Probation Supervision Assumption

PREADJUDICATION

Release to Parent – No Supervision

Secure Detention

Non-Secure Detention

Alternative to Detention

SECURE DETENTION

Number of Youth in Secure Detention

Operating Cost of Facilities

Capacity of Facilities

Average Length of Stay

NON-SECURE DETENTION

Program Cost

Number of Facilities/Capacity Per bed contract?

Number of Youth in Facilities

Average Length of Stay

Total Budget for Non-Secure Detention

ALTERNATIVE TO DETENTION

Cost of Programs

Number of Youth Served

Program Budget or Actual if Available

ADJUDICATION

Adjudication includes prosecutorial review, defense attorney interviews, and case processing

Initial Appearance/Arraignment

Fact Finding/Adjudication Hearing (and prep)

Disposition

Subsequent Placement Hearing (if necessary)

ARRAIGNMENT

Number of Youth

Length of Hearing

Prosecutor/Public Defender Cost

Court Cost

FACT FINDING

Number of Youth

Length of Hearing

Prosecutor/Public Defender Cost

Court Cost

DISPOSITION

Number of Youth

Length of Hearing

Prosecutor/Public Defender Cost

Court Cost

PLACEMENT(Commitment)

Secure

Non-Secure

Number of Youth

Length of Stay

ALTERNATIVES TO PLACEMENT

Program Cost

Number of Youth

Length of Stay

Budget or Actual Cost of Program

INTENSIVE SUPERVISION(PROBATION)

Number of Youth

Budget or Actual Cost of Program

Other Initiatives

Discharge Planning

Supervised Probation

Simple Map of a Juvenile Case in Maryland

arrestintakeassessment

adjudication

disposition

25 day review hearing

placement

Mapping a Juvenile Case in Baltimore County, Maryland

Arrest6033

DJS intake6287

Release to family/refer to DJS

Detain/DJS transports to detention center(700)ALOS = 1 day$759/day – boys$704/day – girls--MFR --

State’s Attorne

y

Adjudication

Resolved at intake(3294)

Detention(517)ALOS 19.1 days$758/day

Shelter Care(68) Pg 32 stat report$206/day—boys$254/day – girlsDTC

Petition2996

Alternative to detention(2476)

Petition denied76

petitionFiled2917

$2624 per case

$33.25 per hour @ 6 hours = $199.50 or DTC report $184.69

Intake costs: $33.31/hourUA $7.18 – boysUA $8.20 -- girls

CINS (77) $1077/child

25 Day review hearing

Pending Placement

(169)ALOS 40

Disposition

Fact-Finding

Arraignment/detention hearing

Probation(881)$25.06/dayALOP 183 days

Staff Secure

Hardware Secure

Pending Disposition(205)

Case dismissed/stet/nol pros/other(1453) Committe

d(197)ALOS -172 days$624/day

placement

After-care(144)

$758/day $288

Resources

www.njjn.org/our-work/fiscal-policy-centerwww.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/njcda/www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezaco/asp/method.aspwww.usinflationcalculator.com/

Lori AlbinDirector, Fiscal Policy CenterNational Juvenile Justice Network1319 F Street, NW, Suite 402Washington, DC 20004 202-467-0864 ext. 126 albin@juvjustice.orgwww.njjn.orgFind NJJN on Facebook