State in Focus: South Dakota
According to South Dakota’s Juvenile Justice Oversight Council’s 2024 report, the state has increased both the number of young people participating in diversion programs and the number of youths who successfully complete alternatives to formal court processing compared to previous years.
In 2015, South Dakota lawmakers enacted comprehensive juvenile justice reforms which included establishing the Juvenile Justice Oversight Council, expanding access to community-based alternatives for system-involved youth as well as providing a $250 monetary incentive to counties for each young person that completes a diversion program.
Over the years, the Legislature has built upon these reforms by passing subsequent bills to extend the termination date of the council and increase the amount of money available to counties from $250 to $750 for each successful diversion. Since the incentive program took effect almost a decade ago, counties across South Dakota have received approximately $4.2 million in reimbursements from the state’s Department of Corrections and 14,722 young people have avoided being formally petitioned in the juvenile justice system. During the incentive program’s first year, a total of 1,415 cases were diverted with about 69% of youth fulfilling the diversion agreement requirements. However, in 2024, these numbers jumped to 2,439 diverted cases and a successful completion rate of approximately 82%.
Kristi Bunkers, a member of the council and director of juvenile services remarked, “[2024] saw two times as many kids getting diversion opportunities from where we started with reforms nearly 10 years ago. The research continues to come out in support of diversion. It’s a really promising window of opportunity for the system to get it right.”
Petitions Filed by Type | Read More
Research and Response: Maine’s Regional Care Teams
As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Southern Maine, the Maine Department of Corrections and University of Maine Law School came together to launch the Regional Care Teams initiative. The initiative brings together various agencies and youth justice stakeholders to facilitate the use of community-based programming as an alternative to detention or incarceration for system-involved young people. Regional Care Teams include individuals from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Labor, the state’s disability rights agency as well as direct service providers. With diverse stakeholder engagement, the teams review case referrals for justice-involved or at-risk youth and work to find diversion or early intervention opportunities. The teams also connect youth and their families with mental health services, education supports as well as resources for basic needs such as food, clothing and transportation.
Since the inception of Maine’s Regional Care Teams, the number of youths who are detained decreased from 25% to 8% and the number of young people committed was reduced from 15% to 3%. Approximately $71,248 has been allocated to support young people and their families from 2020 to 2023 with an average of $565 spent per youth. Funding for the teams is provided by the state’s Department of Corrections as well as Title II federal grants allotted by the state’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Group.
In a 2024 report examining the past three years of Regional Care Teams outcomes, it was noted that 165 young people have been referred to the program. And while researchers acknowledge limitations in estimating recidivism rates, it was determined that following engagement with a Regional Care Team, 76% of youth were no longer formally involved with Maine’s Department of Corrections. Christine Thibeault, associate commissioner for juvenile services remarked, “Supporting the Regional Care Teams enhances our efforts to divert youth from the formal juvenile court process and increase collaborations that build stronger communities.”
Looking ahead, stakeholders are exploring ways to expand the role and scope of Regional Care Teams, increase access to housing and behavioral health treatment, improve reentry planning and supports as well as address service gaps and equitable access to care and employment.
Related Resources:
Working Across the Aisle: Pennsylvania Enacts Bipartisan Youth Justice Reforms
Last October, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed Senate Bill 169 and Senate Bill 170. Both bills received bipartisan support as well as support from several youth justice stakeholders including the Office of Victim Advocate, Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, the Pennsylvania District Attorney Association and the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police.
The new laws which take effect next year address recommendations made in a 2021 report prepared by the state’s Juvenile Justice Task Force related to use and length of stay related to out-of-home placement as well as record expungement. Under Senate Bill 169, courts are now required to hold a disposition review hearing at least every three months—previous law mandated these hearings occur every six months—to ensure that youth committed to detention or residential facilities are receiving the care and services essential for reentry and are not in out-of-home placement longer than necessary.
Senate Bill 170 reduces the time for record expungement eligibility from five to two years after the qualifying misdemeanor offense as long as the young person has not had subsequent charges or adjudications. The bill also expands record clearance to young people who have committed certain felonies as long as five years have elapsed since the offense and the individual has not committed additional law-breaking behavior.
The bill also establishes circumstances under which the chief juvenile probation officer is required to notify and request the court to initiate the record clearance proceedings. A provision under the new law gives the state’s Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission the ability to develop and implement technology and case management tools needed to identify and alert appropriate court personnel of eligible records.
Republican Sen. Lisa Baker, majority chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of both bills stated, “These reforms are designed to align our juvenile justice system with proven methods for improving youth outcomes and addressing significant gaps in current practices. By improving the law, we are taking important steps to give young people a true second chance.”
The Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force Report and Recommendations | Read more
The Latest in Data: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Processing of Delinquency Cases
Recent data released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention analyzes racial and ethnic disparities in the processing of delinquency cases between 2005 and 2022. Findings include:
- Black youth were more than twice as likely to be referred to juvenile court compared to white, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander youth.
- White youth were more likely to be diverted away from formal court processing between years 2005-2021. In 2022, delinquency cases involving Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander youth were most likely to be diverted.
- Each year from 2005 to 2022, delinquency cases involving white youth were least likely to result in detention.
- Black, Hispanic and American Indian youth were most likely to be sentenced to out-home-placement since 2007.
Juvenile Justice Publications and Resources
See the latest research and publications on juvenile justice policy.