JDAI Strategic Goals

The Annie E. Casey Foundation developed the Juvenile Detention Alternatives (JDAI) in response to national trends reflecting a drastic increase in the use of secure detention for juveniles, especially for youth of color, despite decreases in juvenile arrests and the resulting overcrowding of youth detention centers nationwide. What began in 1992 with five counties in different states participating in the pilot project has since grown to include over 250 sites. In implementing JDAI, the Annie E. Casey Foundation provides sites with eight core strategies that guide them in their reform efforts. Overall, JDAI sites have seen a 43% reduction in detention populations, all while maintaining or improving public safety. In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation selected Massachusetts to be among the jurisdictions to replicate JDAI. The Department of Youth Services was chosen as the home for JDAI in Massachusetts. The JDAI Team supports our stakeholders and county committees in this vital work.

The eight core strategies are:

• pro­mot­ing col­lab­o­ra­tion between juve­nile court offi­cials, pro­ba­tion agen­cies, pros­e­cu­tors, defense attor­neys, schools, com­mu­ni­ty orga­ni­za­tions and advocates;
• using rig­or­ous data col­lec­tion and analy­sis to guide deci­sion making;
• uti­liz­ing objec­tive admis­sions cri­te­ria and screen­ing instru­ments to replace sub­jec­tive deci­sion-mak­ing processes;
• imple­ment­ing new or expand­ed com­mu­ni­ty-based alter­na­tives to locked facil­i­ties — such as day and evening report­ing cen­ters, home con­fine­ment and shel­ter care;
• insti­tut­ing case pro­cess­ing reforms to expe­dite the flow of cas­es through the system;
• reduc­ing the num­ber of youth detained for pro­ba­tion rule vio­la­tions or fail­ing to appear in court, and the num­ber held in deten­tion await­ing trans­fer to a res­i­den­tial facility;
• improv­ing racial and eth­nic equi­ty by examining data to iden­ti­fy poli­cies and prac­tices that may disadvantage youth of col­or at var­i­ous stages of the process, and pursuing strategies to ensure a more lev­el play­ing field for youth regard­less of race or eth­nic­i­ty; and mon­i­tor­ing and improv­ing con­di­tions of con­fine­ment in facilities.

The work of JDAI is ever evolving. In 2019, Nate Balis, the director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, reimagined the JDAI acronym to convey the current values driving the network:

• Just — being com­mit­ted to racial and eth­nic equi­ty and to fair­ness for girls and LGBTQ youth.
• Devel­op­men­tal­ly appro­pri­ate — divert­ing as many youth as pos­si­ble from the jus­tice sys­tem, trans­form­ing pro­ba­tion, min­i­miz­ing con­fine­ment and ensur­ing that facil­i­ties are safe and designed to help young peo­ple grow and mature;
• Account­able — mak­ing sure the sys­tem — police, courts, pro­ba­tion, cor­rec­tions — is account­able to the youth, fam­i­lies and com­mu­ni­ties it serves; and
• Inclu­sive - part­ner­ing with fam­i­lies and com­mu­ni­ties to ensure youth of all races and eth­nic­i­ties are con­nect­ed to a rich array of pos­i­tive youth devel­op­ment opportunities.

Watch the 2019 State of JDAI address here. 

Massachusetts JDAI Current Strategic Goals

When JDAI came to Massachusetts in 2007, large numbers of youth were entering detention from the juvenile courts. In 2007, there were 4,345 detention admissions. By the end of 2024, this number had dropped to 909 youth entering detention, a decrease of 79 percent. This has led Massachusetts JDAI to focus beyond its initial mission and to examine the equity of past reform efforts to ensure that moving forward, disparities based on race, age, gender/sexual orientation, and other aspects of a youth’s identity are not perpetuated by the juvenile justice system.

Massachusetts JDAI has set several high-level strategic planning goals:

1. Reduce the number of low-risk youth entering DYS detention
2. Reduce the length of stay of youth in detention
3. Reduce ethnic and racial disparity for youth in the juvenile justice system
4. Increase utilization of community-based alternatives to detention

From these goals, JDAI leaders at both the county level and state level determine objectives and activities necessary to make progress on each of these goals.