How to Calculate the Average Costs of Detaining a Youth Wednesday, May 29, 2013 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST

1. How to Calculate the Average Costs of Detaining a YouthWednesday, May 29, 2013 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST Photo: Richard Ross

2. Leads a national movement • State-based juvenile justice coalitions and organizations (43 members in 33 states) • Laws, policies and practices that are fair, equitable and developmentally appropriate for all children, youth and families Photo: Moriza

3. NJJN Fiscal Policy Center The FPC provides reformers with fiscal tools and resources to improve juvenile justice policy in their own states. Cathy Conly Director of the Fiscal Policy Center Julius Chaidez Fiscal Policy Associate Photos: IditKnaan

4. Focus of Today’s Presentation • Demonstrate how to calculate the average costs of housing a youth in detention • Detention centers are typically short-term, secure, or non-secure facilities for youth who are awaiting trial, sentencing or post-adjudication placement in a juvenile correctional facility

5. NJJN Toolkit • One of several toolkits in a series • How to use budget data and statistics to estimate costs for different stages of the juvenile justice system

6. NJJN Toolkit • Download from www.njjn.org or our FPC Resource Center http://bit.ly/YxAvWY

7. Topics We Will Cover • Identifying relevant information for calculating costs • Locating information • Calculating average costs using real data • Reviewing frequently-asked questions about the costs of detention

8. Information You Will Need Expenditure Data: • Budget information (e.g., personnel services, fringe benefits, contractual services, supplies and materials) Population Statistics: • Average daily population • Average length of stay, if available .

9. Basic How-To • Divide the annual expenditure for detention by the average daily population • Divide the result by 365 days to obtain the average cost per youth per day • Multiply the result by the average length of stay (if available) to obtain the average cost of a youth’s entire stay in detention

10. Which Agencies Have the Info You Need ? In order to calculate the cost of detention, you will need to consider the following issues: • Who operates youth detention facilities? • What services are offered and by whom? • What is the best method for locating data?

11. ID the Best Method for Locating Data • Contact agency or organization directly • Conduct internet search • File a public information act request

12. Locate the Budget Information • Find the annual operating budget for the agency responsible for operating detention facilities • Locate budget categories—actual, appropriated, operating, requested—may be shown • Review what types of services are included in the annual operating budget • Determine if you may need to review several different budgets to construct a complete picture of the annual detention expenditure in your jurisdiction

13. Additional Cost and Revenues • Capital improvement costs • Other costs of doing business • Capital costs of construction • Revenues

14. Other Detention Costs and Revenues • Including additional costs and revenues is likely to result in cost estimates that are different from the ones reported by a detention facility • Excluding these costs and revenues will simply result in a conservative estimate of the costs of detention

15. Locate Detention Statistics • In order to locate detention statistics you will need to: • Contact the detention center directly • Locate the detention center’s annual reports (e.g., Department of Juvenile Justice Annual Report, Juvenile Justice Annual Statistical Report) • Collect information on average daily population and average length of stay

16. Example: Cook County, IL • In the following example we will review: • Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) operating budget • Health and mental health expenditures • Population statistics • Average cost calculation

17. JTDC Operating Budget Example • NJJN located the JTDC budget under the public safety portion of the County’s budget • Extracted the total appropriated expenditure for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 from the summary budget sheet

18. JTDC Appropriated Expenditure - FY 2011

19. Health Services Budget Example NJJN contacted staff at the JTDC to determine: • JTDC pays for mental health through contractual agreement with an outside provider • Medical services are funded by the Cook County Health and Hospitals System

20. JDTC Health Svcs. Appropriation - FY2011

21. Education Budget Example NJJN staff contacted JTDC staff to determine: • Chicago Public Schools pays for education services • Nancy B. Jefferson is an alternative school in the detention facility

22. Education Budget Example

23. Total Detention and Services

24. JTDC Population Statistics Example NJJN staff contacted the JTDC administrators and obtained the following statistical data for FY2011 data --

25. Cook County Juvenile Detention Statistics

26. Do the Math In the following steps we will show you how to calculate: • Average annual cost per youth (or, average annual cost per occupied bed) • Average cost per youth per day • Cost of an average stay in detention

27. First • Select the detention and services expenditure summary:

28. Then • Divide the total annual detention expenditure by the average daily population:

29. Next • Divide the average annual cost per youth by the number of days in a year:

30. Finally • Multiply the average cost per youth per day by the average length of stay:

31. How to Use this Toolkit • Initiate more complex cost-benefit analyses aimed at understanding the effects of detention policies on society, communities, and individual youth in the juvenile justice system • Compare the cost of detention with the cost of community-based alternatives • Help in assessing the cost implications of proposals to construct more detention beds or limit the funding for alternatives

32. Frequently Asked Questions • If policy changes I’m working on will reduce the number of youth detained in my jurisdiction, can I work through the toolkit and determine how much money the corrections agency will save? • Am I likely to obtain different cost estimates if I use the number of detention beds rather than the average daily population to calculate the average cost per youth per day?

33. Frequently Asked Questions • Should I include or exclude the cost of education? • What other costs should I consider when thinking about the costs of youth detention?

34. Questions? Julius C. Chaidez 202-467-0864 x129 chaidez@juvjustice.org Cathy Conly 202-467-0864 x126 conly@juvjustice.org Fiscal Policy Center (FPC) National Juvenile Justice Network 1319 F Street, NW, Suite 402 Washington, D.C. 20004 www.njjn.org FPC Resource Center http://bit.ly/YxAvWY