When a young man convicted of an adult offense began to act out in the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority, he wasn’t sent to an adult facility, as was often done in the past. Instead, case managers looked at his history — a data-rich map of his background, behavior and contact with the juvenile justice system. His profile also included family information and personal behaviors with drugs and alcohol.
The agency decided that based on his individual record, he would have been best served staying within the juvenile justice system and, with his input, enrolled him in a vocational program.
“He turned into one our best young men,” said Amy Snyder, spokeswoman at the Oregon Youth Authority. “We wouldn’t have been able to give him the options — we used the data about him.”
Oregon has been seen as a leader among juvenile justice workers for collecting comprehensive data on recidivism and positive youth outcomes, and for using that data to shape policies. The information collected has been used to better understand a youth’s risk of reoffending and what type of treatment programs would work best for an individual, Snyder said.
But not all states are following suit in tracking such data. A quarter of state-level agencies across the country do not currently collect or report recidivism data, according to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators and the Council of State Governments.
The rate of recidivism is often used as a basic measure of success of a criminal or juvenile justice agency. ..Continued.. by Elly Yu
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