In addition to the CJRP, OJJDP funds a number of other detention- and corrections-related activities. In 1994, OJJDP released the results of the Conditions of Confinement study, which pointed out the need for measurable goals in several areas of residential juvenile placement including security, order, safety, and programming. In response to this need, OJJDP initiated the Performance-Based Standards for Juvenile Correction and Detention Facilities Program, a multisite, multiyear program designed to develop objective measures of facility performance. These measures can help a facility determine its most pressing problems and begin efforts to remedy the problems. In FY 1995, OJJDP awarded a grant to the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA) of Boston, MA, to develop and test performance-based measures for both long-term corrections and short-term detention. CJCA developed a list of six critical areas—security, order, safety, programming, health and mental health, and justice—and a set of standards for each area that reflect expected performance generally accepted by experts in the field. These standards were translated into objective, measurable outcomes. For each outcome, CJCA developed a set of specific measures and defined the data sources for each measure. By 1997, CJCA had developed a complete set of standards and outcome measures. OJJDP then selected 18 sites to test the data collection instruments, protocols, and procedures. Based on these tests, CJCA revised the tools and processes and included a commitment to automated data collection.
In 1998, the project began full implementation of the performance-based standards in the 18 test sites and 12 additional sites. Using funds from the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants (JAIBG) program, OJJDP made financial assistance available to support activities and services designed to improve facility performance. Also, an independent evaluation was funded. This project will continue for several years as OJJDP increases the number of implementing facilities and revises the data collection and analysis processes.
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| OJJDP Annual Report 1998 | October 1999 | |