In 2004, Idaho had approximately 170,500 10 to 17 year olds. Of this total, 85% had not had a run in with the Idaho’s juvenile justice system. However, there are youth who have some contact with the juvenile justice system. Approximately 16,700 or 8.4% of youth in this age group were arrested; 12,700 or 6.4% of Idaho’s youth ended up standing before a judge. Roughly 400 or .2% are ordered to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Corrections.

Idaho Population

The Department of Juvenile Corrections mission is to prevent and reduce juvenile crime in partnership with communities. In an effort to fulfill this mission, the Department has worked very hard to develop and maintain active partnerships with agencies, courts, counties, and others. These partnerships have been key in keeping the Department’s juvenile population well below 1998 projections resulting in only .2% of the entire 10 to 17 year old population being in its custody. The difference between the actual population and the projected population has produced a cost avoidance of approximately $61 million. This avoidance is based on the cost per day figure of $166.86.

"Then . . . Now . . ."

So, who makes up the .2% that is within the Department’s custody? As of June of 2005, the incarcerated population includes juvenile offenders who are assessed with Seriously Emotionally Disturbance, Drug and Alcohol issues, Mental Health issues, Dual Diagnosis, and Sexual Deviance.

Who's in the state's custody?

Once these juveniles have been released from the state’s custody, it’s important to consider who returns to the juvenile justice system. The proforma data is detailed in the following chart. It’s important to note that only 15.2% are actually recommitted to state’s custody.

Proforma Data (study not complete)
Classification	Recidivism
Serious Emotional Disturbance	55.7%
Drug & Alcohol	50.5%
Mental Health	46.2%
Sexual Offenses	17.3%
Comparison Group (all 835 juvs in study)	48.2%
*12 month follow up group and 24 month follow up group

 

In sum, there’s the good and the bad. The Department plays a critical role in working with those juveniles that are ordered to its custody. The efforts undertaken are designed to protect the community and to reform a juvenile through treatment and programming with the goal of returning the juvenile to the community as a productive citizen.

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