M Idaho » Juvenile justice services

Basic services, 2022

• Overall

  Locally operated

• Detention

  Locally operated

• Probation

  Locally operated

• Reentry

  Locally operated

Purpose clauses, 2016

• No clause

• Parens patriae

• Due process era

• Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)

• Developmental Approach

Corrections agency, 2015

• Independent juvenile corrections agency

• Family/child welfare agency or division

• Broad human services agency

• Adult corrections agency or division

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections (DJC) administers commitments to state juvenile correctional facilities. Reentry services are provided by local juvenile courts.

Intake and diversion, 2016

Initial intake and diversion decision is at the discretion of the juvenile court intake officer.

No statutory time limit/s for court diversions exist.

Solitary confinement, 2016

• Prohibits punitive confinement

• Limits punitive confinement

• No limits on punitive confinement

• Did not respond

Solitary confinement for punitive purposes is not allowed in Idaho's juvenile correctional facilities. Solitary confinement may be used for safety and security reasons only and youth must receive a hearing within 24 hours of placement. Additional hearings are required if confinement exceeds 24 hours.  (Adapted from 51 Jurisdiction Survey of Juvenile Solitary Confinement Rules in Juvenile Justice Systems, 2016. Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest at Lowenstein Sandler LLP)

Release decision, 2016

• Agency

• Court

• Parole board

• Agency and court

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections (IDJC) sets an anticipated release date based on a comprehensive assessment process. The process includes risk assessments, percentage of treatment goals that the juvenile has completed, and input from all treatment team members and stakeholders. Every 60 days, youth are reclassified using a tool informed by a risk/assessment tool. Progress reports are shared with the court every 60 days as well. Following a juvenile's release from IDJC custody or before the juvenile's release if the court deems it appropriate, the court may hold a hearing to review the conditions of probation. In 2002, legislation created the Custody Review Board to review the release of 19- to 20-year-old high-risk juvenile offenders from IDJC commitments. After weighing community risk factors and the effect of appropriate aftercare, the Custody Review Board may recommend release or continued confinement.

Risk assessment, 2020

In Idaho, juvenile probation is administered at the county level by juvenile courts. There is no state legislation or policy requiring juvenile courts to use any risk/needs assessment, however various tools are in use across the state. Ada County, the state’s most populous county, and most other counties use the Youth Level of Service/ Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) and the Washington State Risk Assessment.

Information gathered from these tools is used to guide diversion from formal process decisions and informal adjustment planning, develop/inform pre-disposition investigation reports and/or planning, develop probation disposition recommendations to the juvenile court, assign probation supervision level, and develop probation case plans.

Sex offender registration, 2015

Registers

Risk instruments, 2017

• Statute or agency policy

  Required by state or administrative regulation

• Agency recommended

  Recommended by probation oversite agency

Risk instruments tool used

No statewide tool in use

Mental health screening, 2014

Does not require a research-based mental health screening

• Secure detention

• Probation

• Corrections

Mental health screening tool used

Screening not required

Mental health screening efforts are in place in all 12 juvenile detention centers across the state. What began as a pilot study, blossomed into a statewide effort to provide mental health treatment to detention residents. Each detention center has an on-site mental health clinician who screens youth with the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument, 2nd Edition (MAYSI-2) and the Alaska Screening Tool. While this work is uniformly adopted, it is not required by statute or policy. Data from the mental health clinicians is aggregated and reported on a regular basis.

Frameworks for evidence-based practices, 2014

• Statute

  Supporting commitment to EBPs

• Administrative regulations

  Either in corrections, probation, or the juvenile court

• Support center

  Or collaboration dedicated to coordinating activities around implementing, evaluating, and sustaining EBPs

• No stance

  No official stance on EBPs

• Did not respond

  State did not respond to the survey

The Idaho Juvenile Justice Commission is the State Advisory Group tasked with coordinating both federal and state grant monies. Programs receiving funds from the commission are not required to be evidence based but must submit a logic model which illustrates an evidence base to the program. The Commission also funds specific evidence based intervention programs including Motivational Interviewing and Family Group Decision Making. The Commission funds training and technical assistance related to evidence based programs.

Programs funded from the Commission must provide implementation and outcome data to Boise State University, which analyzes the data for the Commission. Data will be publicly available, but this process is fairly new and therefore there not yet published.

Recidivism reporting, 2016

Study populations

The group(s) of youth being studied in states that publicly report recidivism data.

• Arrest

• Court action

• Supervision

• Placement

Re-offense events

Events that are used to measure recidivism in states that publicly report recidivism data.

• Arrest

• Court action

• Supervision

• Placement

Follow-up periods

Details regarding the length of time and frequency that youth are tracked in states that publicly report recidivism data.

12 months with adult systems reporting

Details

Additional levels of analysis provided in states that publicly report recidivism data.

• County

• Age

• Gender

• Race/ethn.

• Risk level

• Initial offense

• Re-offense

• Prior history

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections (IDJC) publishes recidivism rates for youth released from IDJC custody. IDJC defines recidivism as being adjudicated or convicted of a new felony or misdemeanor that is not a status offense or probation violation. Youth are tracked for a period of 12 months.

Data sources

Juvenile Recidivism in Idaho 2008

Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections