Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan
In fall 2013, the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety (JPS) directed the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice to conduct a comprehensive review of its youth development facilities. A collaborative and comprehensive group of leaders from across the Division and the state decided that the end result of this review would not be limited to juvenile facilities, but would become a blueprint for the proposed operations of North Carolina's juvenile justice system.
Once developed, the Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan was presented to JPS in spring 2014, and then adopted by the General Assembly as part of the state budget. The report provides a strategic vision for juvenile justice in North Carolina, outlining how the Division can best use its resources to continue to provide excellent services to the youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system. The strategic goals of this plan include:
- Phasing out outdated/unsafe/underutilized facilities;
- Closure of C.A. Dillon YDC (estimated January 2016) and Dobbs YDC (estimated June 2016)
- Renovating/expanding facilities that are safer, more secure and more cost-efficient;
- Reopening Edgecombe YDC (estimated January 2016) and Lenoir YDC (estimated June 2016) and
- Expanding Chatham YDC (date to be determined)
- Enhancing support operations, such as transportation;
- Continuing to provide treatment and education rooted in a cognitive-behavioral approach, targeting criminogenic needs;
- Reinvesting cost savings into community-based programming;
- Open 16 new crisis beds;
- Open five new transitional homes, totaling 40 beds; and
- Fund expanded reentry services
- Planning and preparing for potential future changes to the juvenile justice system.