Editorial: Innovation benefits all

Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 | 9:01 a.m.

There is a program at work within the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services that we believe should be a model for every jail administrator in the country who complains about overcrowding. The department oversees the Juvenile Detention Center, which has room to hold 235 youths. A year ago the average number of youths being detained each day was 243. Today the average is 191, and the number is expected to drop even more.

With Clark County's growth leading the nation, and the detention center already overcrowded, newly elected Juvenile Judge William Voy's first thought in late 2003 was that a new facility, costing millions, would have to be built. But as Voy discussed the problem with department director Kirby Burgess, another idea was born. Burgess proposed a radical departure from past practice, which had been to detain all youths who were waiting for charges to be formally filed, or for hearings to take place or for a trial to start. "Make room for the kids who need to be there and don't detain the kids who don't need to be there," he proposed.

It's not easy in government to depart from long-standing practices, because new ways of doing things affect other departments, in this case Juvenile Court and the district attorney's office. But both quickly gave a warm reception to this idea, and the result was the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Offering help was the national Annie E. Casey Foundation, whose mission is to help create public policy that ensures justice for families and children.

Today two Clark County prosecutors -- a third is about to join -- are assigned to the booking room of the Juvenile Detention Center. There they evaluate the charges against the juveniles to determine if they can be released to their parents or guardians. If the juveniles have a drug problem or mental illness, the prosecutors evaluate whether the youths can be placed in a halfway house or treatment program. The prosecutors are also speeding up the formal filing of charges, reducing the time jueveniles spend in detention.

The program is a model of innovative thinking and cooperation among departments. We believe it could work in adult jails as well. Unlike prisons, jails often hold people accused of minor offenses. We bet there would be far fewer overcrowded jails if each had an evaluation team on duty.