Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) awards grants nationally to implement their Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). Washington State was selected in 2004 by the AECF to receive technical assistance and $200,000 funding, annually for three years. The AECF has committed two additional years of funding ($200,000 each year), beginning July 1, 2007. In addition to the AECF, the Washington State legislature allocated $400,000 this biennium (July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2009) to expand and enhance JDAI is Washington State, including data analysis capability.
These funds are administered by the GJJAC/Office of Juvenile Justice. The goal statements of the Washington State JDAI efforts is “to provide the right service to the right juvenile at the right time, and to hold only those juveniles that must be held in locked detention to ensure their appearance at a hearing while protecting the community.”
The JDAI is a proven detention and system reform model of eight core strategies that enable Juvenile Courts to safely remove certain youth populations from secure detention. These youth have not committed a serious crime, and are in fact youth who do not pose a risk to public safety: runaways, truants, youth without a home or available state placement, youth needing mental health services, or youth who have been detained for a minor offense.
The JDAI eight core strategies are:
Benton-Franklin, King, Pierce, Spokane, and Whatcom County Juvenile Courts are the JDAI replication sites. These five Juvenile Courts represent:
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