Delinquency Services Summary
Combination State: With the exception of secure detention, the state operates most delinquency services for youth in New Jersey. However, responsibility is divided between the state judicial and state executive branches.

County executive agencies are generally responsible for administering detention facilities. In each of New Jersey's 21 counties, the Administrative Office of the Court's Family Division administers delinquency intake screening and predisposition investigation while the Probation Services Division provides probation and some aftercare supervision. Juvenile probation officers in New Jersey are state civil service employees. The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) operates secure and non-secure placement facilities and provides aftercare services to committed youth.

Court(s) with Delinquency Jurisdiction
The Family Division of the Superior Court (sometimes referred to as the trial court) exercises jurisdiction over delinquency proceedings. The Superior Court is a general jurisdiction trial court. For more information, visit the Family Practice Division web page.

Highlights

NGA Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy
The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission is an active member in the National Governors Association's (NGA) Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy. Since participating in this program, the Office of Juvenile Parole and Transitional Services has become the pivotal link in the reentry process by implementing a team approach that combines enforcement and treatment. Reentry teams consist of a case manager, a parole officer, an education specialist, and a project manager who partner with families, institutional staff, and representatives from appropriate community programs and services to develop an individualized case action plan. Legislation requires each youth who re-enters the community to comply with Post Incarceration Supervision, which ensures that all youth re-entering the community are provided with transitional services, monitoring, and supervision. The New Jersey NGA's Juvenile Work Group plans to implement changes within the areas of education, mental health and substance abuse treatment, health, housing, employment and vocational training, and finally community and family reintegration.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
The Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice selected New Jersey as a replication site for the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI). The objectives of JDAI are to reduce the number of youth needlessly or inappropriately detained; to decrease the number of youth who fail to appear in court or reoffend pending adjudication; to redirect public funds toward successful reform strategies; and to improve circumstances of confinement. The Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) will receive a $200,000 grant award, technical assistance on various detention reform strategies, and opportunities to participate with, and learn from, colleagues from other jurisdictions. The project will be piloted at several county sites. The JJC will coordinate the efforts of multiple stakeholders at the state and local level. More information about this initiative is available online.

Detention
New Jersey has 17 juvenile detention centers across the state administered by county boards/ commissions, county executives/managers, and local sheriffs/police chiefs. A few counties share detention center services. On a daily basis, approximately 900 male and female juveniles are being held in detention awaiting court hearings and adjudication. In the course of a year, New Jersey detention centers process approximately 12,000 admissions. Alternatives to detention in New Jersey include electronic monitoring, in-home detention, shelters, and after-school reporting centers.

New Jersey law authorizes the court to detain youth alleged to be delinquent only if they are considered a danger to the community or if they are deemed a risk not to appear in court. The decision to place a juvenile in a detention center is handled through the family court and involves a screening process to determine that detainment is necessary. If a youth taken into custody by a law enforcement officer is not released to an authorized person or agency pending disposition, an initial hearing to determine whether pretrial detention must be held no later than the morning following (including weekends and holidays) the youth's placement in custody.

New Jersey law authorizes the sentencing of adjudicated delinquents to incarceration in secure county detention facilities for periods of up to 60 days. In addition, a court may sanction a violation of any disposition order (including an order of probation supervision subject to written conditions) by substituting "any other disposition which it might have made originally" -- presumably including, in appropriate cases, incarceration in a detention facility. Some youth are detained post-disposition while awaiting program placement.

Standards for Detention are outlined in the New Jersey Rules of Court. The state's role is primarily limited to setting standards, monitoring, and providing technical assistance. The Juvenile Justice Commission conducts training for county juvenile detention officers under the auspices of the Police Training Commission.

Delinquency Intake Screening
Any person with knowledge of the alleged facts or who is informed of such facts and has reason to believe that they are true may file a delinquency complaint. Probation officers in the Juvenile Section (or Unit) of the Family Division receive these complaints, assign them docket numbers, and screen them. Although the prosecutor's office checks all screening decisions, there is some negotiation between the two over close cases.

A Family Division probation officer may: (1) arrange an adjustment conference, typically before a local conference committee, at which certain conditions for having the complaint dropped will be agreed upon; (2) send the case into "counsel not mandatory court," an intermediate procedure in which an actual hearing is held before a judge, but there is no danger of incarceration and no attorneys appear for either side; or (3) send the case to the prosecutor's office with a recommendation that it be given the most formal ("counsel mandatory court") handling.

For more information, read Rule 5:20 on Complaint/Process of the Rules Governing Practice in the Chancery Division, Family Part.

Diversion
A law enforcement officer may take a youth into custody when there is probable cause to believe that the youth is delinquent. In lieu of signing a delinquency complaint, the officer may divert the case through several means, including releasing the youth to a responsible parent or guardian or conducting a station house adjustment. A station house adjustment is a diversionary program that the police department administers locally within a municipality. This program may simply consist of a meeting with a juvenile police officer, the youth, and the parents/guardian; or it may be more structured to include sanctions, such as community service and written essays. The Youth Services Commission coordinates these programs in many counties.

Juvenile Conference Committees (JCCs) and Intake Service Conferences (ISCs) are diversion procedures established by the court and used in select first and second minor offense cases. JCCs are comprised of community residents appointed by the court to review certain delinquency complaints. Court intake staff conducts ISCs to review slightly more serious delinquency allegations. Both diversion procedures occur after the court has signed and filed delinquency complaints.

Predisposition Investigation
The predisposition investigation is the responsibility of the Administrative Office of the Courts, Superior Court Family Division and is conducted by probation officers assigned to that Division. Prior to disposition, the court refers the youth to an appropriate individual agency or institution for examination and evaluation. Before the youth is referred to any institution as an inpatient, the court must first allow the juvenile and the parents, guardian, or custodians of the juvenile to have legal representation. The court may also confer and consult with individuals and agencies appropriate to the juvenile's situation and convene a predisposition conference to discuss and recommend disposition.

Victim Rights and Services
Legislation passed in 2002 amended the definition of "victim" in the Crime Victims Bill of Rights to include persons who have suffered a loss or injury as a consequence of juvenile delinquency.

In each of the 21 county prosecutors' offices, a County Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy assists victims through the court process and helps them obtain necessary services. In some locations, a Victim Witness Counselor is assigned exclusively to supervise the program on the juvenile level.

The Probation Division is responsible for collecting the Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB) penalties that are applied to each docket. These monies are forwarded to the VCCB for central disbursement to victims who apply for compensation.

Probation Supervision
Probation officers assigned to the Administrative Office of the Courts, Superior Court Probation Services Division supervise probationers in accordance with the court order and Probation Outcome Standards. Typically, the Vicinage Chief Probation Officer (VCPO) is in charge of the Probation Division (including juvenile supervision, adult supervision, and child support enforcement), with a Vicinage Assistant Chief Probation Officer (VACPO) overseeing juvenile supervision. Juvenile probation offices are housed within each county’s Superior Court. Note: In some vicinages, it appears that juvenile probation officers in the Probation Division also have a predisposition investigation function. Also, some Probation Divisions combine juvenile and adult supervision into a single operational unit. However, both of these arrangements are atypical.

Probation supervision is the most common disposition and is often ordered together with other dispositions, such as performing community service or paying financial restitution. Probation can also be ordered together with more extensive/restrictive requirements, such as entering a residential program or undergoing counseling. The Supreme Court, under the leadership of the chief justice, is responsible for setting statewide probation policy. There is no standard for probation caseload size; however, for specialized caseloads (such as domestic violence or sex offenders), Supreme Court guidelines limit caseloads to 50 probationers per officer.

Six day-reporting programs operated by the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) serve juveniles who are placed on probation by the courts. These programs provide disposition options for judges who determine that a youth needs structure and supervision but does not need to be removed from his or her home. Day programs serve as alternatives to commitment to JJC.

Juvenile Probation Officer Qualifications, Certification, and Training
Probation officers are state employees. Juvenile probation officer candidates must have a bachelor's degree in a related social service field and pass a Civil Service entry exam. Training includes: (1) a five-day orientation conducted at the county level; (2) a 15-day entrance level training class conducted by the central Administrative Office of the Courts, Probation Services Division; (3) a five-day officer safety course coordinated by the Administrative Office of the Courts; and (4) a one-day aerosol defensive tactics course.

Juvenile Corrections Continuum
The New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) is responsible for providing a continuum of services and sanctions for juveniles in its custody. JJC operates five facilities identified as secure. Educational, vocational programming, counseling, and medical services are provided on the grounds of the facilities.

Community Corrections
In addition to secure institutions, JJC operates less restrictive facilities for youth who have been placed in the custody of the JJC and do not require a secure setting or youth who have been placed on probation. JJC operates 15 Residential Community Homes and contracts with private providers to operate additional homes. The State Department of Health also administers five residential substance abuse programs. A judge may make placement to a community program a condition of a juvenile's probation, or the Juvenile Justice Commission's classification committee may determine that a community program is the most appropriate setting for a juvenile sentenced to its custody.

Commitment to State
Short of waiving juvenile offenders to the adult system, commitment to the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) for placement is the most severe disposition available to the Family Court. Commitments are for determinate terms set by statute and must not exceed the maximum sentences for crimes committed by adults. The Office of Juvenile Parole and Transition Services determines actual periods of confinement (see Release). For certain offense categories, the law sets minimum periods of incarceration. The average term for placement is two years.

All committed adolescents are received by the JJC at the Juvenile Reception and Assessment Center, where they undergo a comprehensive physical, psychological, educational, vocational, and risk assessment. Each youth is assigned to a specific custody level and treatment program based on assessments of the supervision requirements and service needs of the offender. The determination is first made as to whether juvenile offenders are appropriate for institutional or structured non-institutional placement. A Mobile Classification team initiates the classification process. Upon completion of a unified intake assessment packet and a placement recommendation, the team submits this information to the Juvenile Justice Commission's Centralized Intake and Classification Office.

Blended Sentencing
New Jersey does not have blended sentencing provisions.

Direct Placement
As an alternative to committing youth to the Juvenile Justice Commission for placement, counties may place youth in local county-operated or independently operated facilities through the State Incentive Program. The State Incentive Program was created to provide judges with additional dispositional options that will help them craft the most appropriate disposition for each juvenile that is consistent with serving public safety, ensuring offender accountability, and providing to juveniles opportunities for personal growth and skill development through rehabilitative efforts. The State Incentive Program supports counties in their program planning and development efforts to provide a continuum of effective sanctions and services for juvenile offenders at the local level. Youth in direct placement are returned to their respective probation officer at the county level for aftercare services.

Release
The Juvenile Justice Commission's Office of Juvenile Parole and Transitional Services is responsible for pre-release screening and evaluation of all juvenile offenders incarcerated in New Jersey, including juveniles in the state training schools and in certain community residential programs. Generally, the Office of Juvenile Parole and Transitional Services determines when an incarcerated juvenile may be released from confinement. However, where the Office intends to release a juvenile before one-third of the prescribed term of incarceration has been served, it must seek approval from the sentencing court, which has 30 days within which it may block the proposed release. In addition, the court may order an early release on its own: in any case in which a juvenile has been ordered incarcerated, the sentencing court retains jurisdiction for the duration of the incarceration, and may at any time substitute an alternate disposition not involving incarceration. Currently, there is not a risk/needs instrument used to make release decisions for committed juveniles.

Aftercare/Re-entry
All of the adolescents released from JJC facilities are released to some form of juvenile justice system supervision and support. Youth committed to the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) are released to JJC’s Office of Juvenile Parole and Transitional Services. Juvenile parole officers provide post-release parole/aftercare supervision.

The Office releases some committed juveniles prior to the completion of their maximum term. Other committed juveniles complete their maximum term and are released to a term of post-incarceration supervision that can extend up to one-third of the maximum incarcerative term. Juveniles placed in a JJC residential facility as a condition of probation are released to the probation department in the family court vicinage from which they were disposed.

The education component of the Juvenile Justice Commission focuses on providing services that allow pupils to reintegrate into community schools or other placements upon release. JJC's Education Department's curriculum is coordinated with that of the students' high schools to enable youth to return to their school at the same point as their classmates and/or receive their diploma from their home high school whenever possible.

JJC uses day programs to help youth released from JJC Residential Community Homes prepare to return to their communities. This help is in the form of securing employment, returning to school, and compliance with the guidelines of their individual parole plan.

New Jersey is participating in the Office of Justice Program's Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative. For information about New Jersey's involvement, click here. By visiting the State Activities & Resources page, users can read about how other states are using their grants. Descriptions of programs for juveniles follow the descriptions of programs for adults, where applicable.

State Laws

Legal Resources
Rules Governing Practice in the Chancery Division, Family Part, Part 5:19, General Provisions

New Jersey State Bar Association

Purpose Clauses
To read New Jersey's purpose clause for delinquency proceedings and juvenile corrections, click here.

Delinquency Jurisdiction (as of the end of the 2005 legislative session)
Lower Age: None specified
Upper Age: 17
Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: Extends until full term of dispositional order

Juvenile Transfer Laws
For information on New Jersey's juvenile transfer laws, click here.

Juvenile Justice Leadership

Juvenile Justice Commission
The Juvenile Justice Commission convenes the State Advisory Group, which allocates and disburses federal funding and insures compliance with the core requirements of the JJDP Act of 1974.

Association for Children of New Jersey
The Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is a statewide non-profit, non-partisan child advocacy organization governed by a 30-member Board of Trustees. ACNJ collects, analyzes, and distributes information on the well-being of children in New Jersey, so that policymakers can identify problems and work toward solutions.

Youth Services Commissions
In New Jersey, local Youth Services Commissions -- made up of family court judges, prosecutors, detention center directors, family court staff, public defenders, agency directors, and interested community members -- engage in juvenile justice planning and priority-setting, in developing new community programming for juveniles, and in monitoring the effectiveness of existing programs in their jurisdictions.

Resources/Contacts
Association for Children of New Jersey
Family Division of the Superior Court
Juvenile Justice Commission
New Jersey State Bar Association
Office of Juvenile Parole and Transitional Services

Kylthia Roberts
Acting Juvenile Justice Specialist
Juvenile Justice Commission
PO Box 107
1001 Spruce St., Suite 202
Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone: 609-341-5019
Fax: 609-943-4617
kylthia.roberts@njjjc.org

The National Center for Juvenile Justice strives to make each State Profile as accurate as possible. Please bring any errors, updates, or additions to the attention of the State Profiles project manager. Persons listed as state contacts are not responsible for information contained in these profiles.

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

Citation: National Center for Juvenile Justice. 2006. "New Jersey." State Juvenile Justice Profiles. Pittsburgh, PA: NCJJ. Online. Available: http://www.ncjj.org/stateprofiles/.