Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)

The Department of Youth Services (DYS) operates the Commonwealth's pre-trial detention programs for youth who are being held on bail in delinquency matters before the Juvenile Court. Research has shown that incarceration in a locked-secure detention facility has a negative impact on low risk youth as a result of contact with more delinquent youth in detention. As a result, Massachusetts has joined 110 jurisdictions in 27 states and the District of Columbia in adopting the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a nationally recognized detention reduction framework of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF). Using the core strategies of JDAI, DYS in collaboration with its juvenile justice system partners, has achieved significant reductions in the reliance on secure detention in Massachusetts while at the same time maintaining public safety and improving the conditions of confinement in its detention facilities.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Meetings

• JDAI Meeting Schedule  (January 2012-February 2012)

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI ) Documents

• Commissioner's Corner 2-09 - JDAI Focus on Reducing Disproportionate Minority (Word) 
• Commissioner's Corner - 6-06 JDAI and Public Safety (Word) 
• 2009 JDAI Accomplishments (Word) 
• 2008 JDAI Accomplishments (Word) 
• 2007 JDAI Accomplishments (Word) 

 

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This information is provided by the Department of Youth Services.