OJJDP�s Performance-based Standards (PbS) for Youth Correction and Detention Facilities was one of five recipients of the 2004 Innovations in American Government Award from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University and the Council for Excellence in Government. Barbara Allen-Hagen, Senior Social Science Analyst with OJJDP�s Child Protection Division, has been instrumental in the project�s design and development, working closely with the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA), Braintree, MA, and the PbS project team. (For more information about CJCA, click here.) OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores represented the Department of Justice at the award ceremony held on July 28, 2004.

The annual Innovation Award recognizes federal, state, and local programs that exemplify creative and effective government at its best. Winning programs receive $100,000 grants to support replication and dissemination activities. The 2004 winners were chosen from among nearly 1,000 applicants.

OJJDP launched the PbS program in 1995 to collect and analyze data to improve conditions and services in juvenile facilities. Developed under the direction of Edward J. Loughran, Executive Director, CJCA, PbS sets national standards for safety, education, health and mental health services, security, justice, and order within facilities and gives agencies tools to collect data, analyze performance results, design improvements, implement change, and measure effectiveness.

To be successful, correctional and detention facilities for young offenders must be held accountable for the conditions of confinement and the quality of services they provide to juveniles in custody. The PbS program provides these facilities with a strategy and the tools they need to improve and enhance the services they provide. �J. Robert Flores, OJJDP Administrator

The PbS system is used in 26 states and the District of Columbia to improve the quality of life for youth in custody. In keeping with President Bush�s Management Agenda, which focuses on performance and results, the goal of the PbS program is to integrate PbS into facility operations as a management tool for continuous self-improvement. An example illustrates how it works. When the PbS system showed that the average time for keeping a youth in isolation in an agency�s facility exceeded the PbS standard, the agency wrote a new policy, developed a behavior management program, and trained staff to use options other than isolation. Within 18 months, the average time in isolation dropped from 11.25 days to less than 48 hours.

For additional information about the PbS program, visit www.pbstandards.org.

CJCA The Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, OJJDP�s partner in the PbS program, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement of juvenile correctional services and practices. Established in 1994, CJCA brings together the nation�s top administrators in a collaborative effort to improve and advance juvenile corrections systems. Through CJCA, chief executive officers of juvenile correctional facilities exchange ideas and philosophies about best practices, discuss common issues, and work together to develop a national strategy for juvenile corrections.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime.

News @ a Glance is OJJDP�s bimonthly newsletter, bringing you up-to-date notices of agency activities, recent publications, funding opportunities, and upcoming events�with an emphasis on providing quick access to online sources for publications and other resources. Let us know what types of features would be most useful to you (e-mail [email protected]). Subscribe to and receive OJJDP News @ a Glance electronically so you can be sure to receive every issue. Visit the OJJDP home page at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp and click on �subscribe� to News @ a Glance in the �Get Information� box.

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Office of Justice Programs · Partnerships for Safer Communities · www.ojp.usdoj.gov