Welcome to the Elkhart Rotary Club Noon Division meeting for March 6, 2023 as we welcome Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) new program coordinator Brad Miller & former program coordinator Ray Caples
Indiana joined the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in 2006 and JDAI was added to Elkhart County in 2011.
JDAI is a bipartisan effort with public, private and community partnership for juvenile justice system improvement. The initiative focuses on the reallocation of public resources from mass incarceration toward investment in youth, families, and communities. This reinvestment provides an opportunity for lasting improvement to public safety.
JDAI is the most replicated juvenile justice system reform effort implemented nationwide. For over 25 years, JDAI has proven that the juvenile justice system’s dual goals of promoting positive youth development and enhancing public safety are not in conflict and can be greatly strengthened by eliminating the unnecessary or inappropriate use of secure detention. Indiana is one of approximately 300 JDAI sites in 40 states and the District of Columbia to implement the Eight Core Strategies to enhance and improve their juvenile justice systems. These sites are home to approximately 30% of the nation’s youth ages 10 – 17.
By the numbers:
Marion County joined the JDAI in 2006, becoming the first JDAI site in Indiana. By the end of 2016, the County had reduced admissions to detention by 66.4% and the average daily population in detention had fallen by 40.8%. During this same period of time, IDOC commitments were decreased by 52.5% and the number of felony petitions filed has also been reduced by 59.6%. The County has saved millions of taxpayer dollars previously used for incarceration, through the use of less expensive and more effective community-based alternative supervision programs for youth. In 2009 and 2010, four (4) additional Indiana counties became JDAI sites—Johnson, Lake, Porter, and Tippecanoe. Three (3) more sites were welcomed into Indiana’s JDAI expansion in 2011 and 2012—Clark, Elkhart, and Howard counties. In 2014, the Indiana JDAI expanded to include an additional 11 counties. These counties include: Allen, Bartholomew, Boone, Delaware, Henry, LaGrange, LaPorte, Madison, Monroe, St. Joseph, and Wayne.
Ray and Brad shared Elkhart County's numbers from 2011 (when JDAI began in Elkhart County) through 2022:
ADP = Average Daily Population; ALOS = average length of stay; IDOC = Indiana's Department of Corrections numbers of juveniles incarcerated; and F-Petitions = Felony Petitions
For more about JDAI visit: https://www.aecf.org/work/juvenile-justice/jdai
Congratulations and THANKS to President-Elect Julie Cotton for receiving her Paul Harris Fellowship award at our meeting today, presented by President Todd Stone.
And thanks to Tom McArthur for returning a club flag to our meeting from his travels in Florida, where he visited the LaBelle Rotary Club. LaBelle is located along the Caloosahatchee River and not far from Lake Okeechobee. LaBelle is known for its Curtis Honey House, country architecture, citrus farms, and Swamp Cabbage Festival.
