Juvenile Case Filings

WHAT YOU CAN DO

In 2022, Governor Holcomb signed HEA 1359, “Juvenile Law Matters” into law. This bill included major juvenile justice reforms, like diversion and community-based programs, designed to improve youth outcomes while efficiently using state resources. Many of the reforms stemmed from Indiana’s Improving Outcomes for Youth (IOYouth) initiative and included a bipartisan and data-driven review of the juvenile justice system in Indiana. The data revealed that more than half (56%) of youth detained before appearing in juvenile court in 2019 were there for misdemeanor, or low-level and nonviolent, offenses. It also showed that 64% of youth in custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections were assessed as low or moderate risk.

TAKING ACTION

Local

Advocate for the implementation and use of Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiatives (JDAI) policies and screening tools within your county.

State

Build upon the work of HEA 1359 by committing to the goals outlined in the Youth Justice Oversight Committee Final Report, including stronger data collection.

Federal

Continue to support states undertaking juvenile justice reform through competitive Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) grants.

Click the arrow below to discover Promising Practices!

Promising Practices are programs or policies that have shown early signs of measurable success following implementation. Highlighting these programs is part of IYI’s commitment to bring high-quality practice models and provide resources to youth workers and leaders in the state. The Promising Practices highlighted within “Data in Action” include accompanying evidence that demonstrates either proof of concept or shows successful replication.

Promising Practice

Diversion Programs and Community-Based Supports

Juvenile Justice reform has been a focus of many states, including Indiana, for the past several years. Many of the uniform changes throughout the juvenile justice process that Indiana is working towards have resulted in a reduction in out-of-home placements and a subsequent decline in juvenile detention and incarceration in other states. Kentucky’s efforts saw the number of incarcerated juveniles fall 34% over three years after implementation.ⁱThis decline generated $4 million in savings and allowed the state to invest up to $1 million in a fund dedicated to supporting local community-based programs. Kansas saw similar success following reforms in 2016 when the out-of-home juvenile population fell 63%, allowing the state to invest an estimated $72 million in evidence-based strategies in all their judicial districts as of 2019.ⁱⁱ

Published

July 30, 2024

Type

Data in Action