NCJ Number
196956
Date Published
June 2002
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes the basis for and the contents of an Implementation Guide, which draws on the ideas and experiences of many who work in juvenile holdover programs across the United States.
Abstract
A juvenile holdover program provides a safe, supervised short-term location facility for a youth, status or delinquent, which is available to law enforcement authorities as the need arises, allowing the law enforcement officer to return to his or her primary duties until a responsible party or parent can be located. This article discusses the concept of a juvenile holdover program and the difficulties and expense issues that are resolved by communities when they implement such a program which can be funded by the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974. The juvenile holdover program is described as being both new and old, with the old concept including the juvenile sleeping on office floors, riding in the back seat of squad cars for hours, even going to a sheriff's home for a warm meal and a couch to sleep on. The new concept of juvenile holdover program allows officers to carry on their duties while a youth who is being held pending an action in an investigation or court process, and not meeting detention criteria but requiring a place to stay, is given a safe, supervised location to stay temporarily until other arrangements can be made. Due to the fact that a separate set of statues must be referenced and followed when taking a juvenile into custody, law enforcement officers face a much more difficult task than taking an adult into custody. For example, the JJDP Act of 1974 requires that a juvenile be separated by sight and sound from adult offenders when in custody. The Implementation Guide's 10 chapters are listed and their contents identified, such as: Overview of Juvenile Holdover Programs; Beginning the Planning Process; Defining the Problem; Strategic Planning, Developing a Framework; Legal Issues; Defining a Target Population and Establishing an Admission Process; Program Design and Operations; Site and Facility Issues; Staffing and Staff Training; Assuring Your Success; and Celebrating Your Success. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the manual is designed to provide program planners with theory and tools to assist with the design, planning, and implementation process. Appendices also are provided containing a list of juvenile holdover programs, a matrix of elements of the identified programs, samples of assessment instruments, and sample forms. A compact disk is also provided containing the sample forms for juvenile holdover programs. References