James E. Gould Memorial for Training and Technical Assistance for Juvenile Corrections and Detention

The American Correctional Association will focus on critical issues in the juvenile justice system such as, reentry and aftercare, best practices, program evaluation, crowding, managed care for mental and physical health, adultification of juvenile justice, security, safety, suicide prevention, workforce issues, special needs of juvenile offenders, litigation, co-located facilities, juvenile rights, organizational change, and privatization challenges by enhancing the ability of juvenile justice practitioners and state juvenile corrections and detention administrators to provide services to a diverse and demanding population of juveniles in detention. This will be accomplished by (a) organizing a national three-day leadership forum for state juvenile corrections and detention administrators, (b) administering technical assistance, (c) conducting a leadership training for mid-level managers in juvenile corrections and (d) generating, collecting and disseminating relevant information on juvenile justice issues.

The ACA will develop survey instruments and collect data based on a level one construct to measure participants' reactions to the trainings and technical assistance and the relevancy of the topics for the work environment. In addition, the leadership training will undergo a 12 month follow-up survey to determine if it results in improved job performance.

NCA/NCF

ACA proposes to conduct a performance gap analysis. Based on the findings of the analysis, a three-day, national forum will be designed to build knowledge on topics most relevant to approximately 100 state and local juvenile corrections and detention administrators. Past Forums have fostered information exchange and collaboration building among these professional. It also encourages administrators to share issues and concerns, network with new leaders, and obtain knowledge on current issues and emerging trend on juvenile justice issues that may affect their facilities. A survey will be conducted at before the close of the event to collect data on the benefits and areas needing improvement and future topics of concern relevant that may contribute to the improved performance of these administrators. NCA/NCF