OJJ Needs to Improve Rehabilitation, Treatment Programs in Its Secure Care Facilities

An evaluation of the Office of Juvenile Justice’s oversight of rehabilitation and treatment programs in its secure care facilities found that the agency needs to complete risk assessments and treatment plans more quickly, collect more information to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs, and work to improve the overall quality of its treatment programs.

This report is the second of two evaluations of OJJ’s oversight processes. The previous report focused on the agency’s oversight of safety for staff and youth in its secure care facilities.

In fiscal year 2016, OJJ began using a disposition matrix to determine which youth should be placed in secure care, which resulted in a 71 percent decline in the number of non-violent youth placed directly into secure care. However, 21 percent of youth were placed into secure care based on past violent offenses instead of a current offense, as policy requires. Auditors said OJJ should clarify which offenses are to be used to made placement decisions or allow staff to use the override process when they believe it is more appropriate to consider past offenses.

Auditors also found that between fiscal years 2013 and 2017, OJJ did not always complete required risk assessments and intervention plans within the required timeframes, nor did it always complete mental health assessments in a timely manner.

In addition, OJJ did not ensure that the 65 percent of youth placed in general population dorms were engaged in individualized, meaningful treatment programs, which means youth may not be effectively rehabilitated before re-entering the community. Auditors found, too, that OJJ did not consistently document group therapy sessions and did not collect data on who completes treatment programs, thereby limiting its ability to determine which programs are most effective.

Auditors found that OJJ’s recidivism rates improved – from 22.3 percent in fiscal 2014 to 17.7 percent in fiscal 2016 – but said better tracking of outcomes could help the agency determine what programs have the most impact on those rates. OJJ also did not ensure that youth receive re-entry planning designed to help them once they are released from secure care.

Auditors noted, as well, that while OJJ has a new, 72-bed secure care center, the facility is not yet operating because of a lack of funding. If the facility is not opened by fiscal year 2022, OJJ will have spent at least $918,000 since its completion to maintain an empty building.