Here again, it depends on the delinquency service. Juvenile probation supervision tends to be the administrative responsibility of state executive agencies (12 states). That is the organizational and administrative model that is most often encountered. Another frequent arrangement (9 states) features state executive administration of probation in some places and local judicial control in others. A local (county) executive agency in 1 state (New York), and local and state executive agencies in 1 state (Oregon) also administer probation. However, judicial administration is also quite common: state-level judicial agencies have this authority in 11 states, including the District of Columbia; local courts have it in 9 states; and a combination of local and state-level judicial agencies have it in 1 state (Alabama).

Detention, on the other hand, is generally subject to the administration of executive agencies. This is exclusively the case in 32 states, including the District of Columbia: in 13 of these, detention is administered by state-level executive agencies; in 13, detention is subject to local executive administration; in 5 other states, detention is the responsibility of a combination of local and state executive authorities; and the District of Columbia administers detention through an executive agency. Finally, executive agencies exert administrative control over detention in some places in at least 14 other states.

By contrast, local courts or state-level judicial agencies have exclusive administrative control over detention in only 5 states. Courts or state-level judicial agencies administer detention in some places in at least 14 states.

State delinquency institutions are administered by an executive branch agency in every state. However, these state agencies may be of four very different types.

Aftercare too is most often a matter for executive administration. In 36 states, aftercare services are exclusively administered by a state-level executive agency--almost invariably the same agency that runs the state's secure institutions for delinquents. In the District of Columbia, aftercare is the responsibility of the executive agency that also administers its delinquency institution. In 3 other states, state and local executive agencies share responsibility for the delivery of aftercare services.

On the other hand, in only 4 states are aftercare services administered judicially--either by local courts (2 states), state-level judicial agencies (1 state), or a combination of both (1 state). Aftercare services in 7 states are administered by some combination of judicial and executive authorities.

© 2000 (original copyright); © 2006 (most recent copyright) National Center for Juvenile Justice

Citation: Griffin, Patrick and King, Melanie. 2006. "National Overviews." State Juvenile Justice Profiles. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice. Online. Available: http://www.ncjj.org/stateprofiles/.