The Annie E. Casey Foundation (Casey) partnered with the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center to study the implementation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and New Mexico.

JDAI is a complex, multipart reform initiative developed by Casey to reduce reliance on the use of detention for low-risk young people in the juvenile justice system prior to disposition.

Casey has worked closely with local jurisdictions and states across the country since the 1990s to implement the initiative and bring it to scale.

This report:

  • Describes how the four states have scaled-up the JDAI
  • Summarizes the lessons learned from JDAI implementation both in and across the states
  • Presents findings that can be used to inform practice and guide future scale-ups of the JDAI and other complex juvenile justice reform initiatives