Secure Court Holding Facilities now qualify as Adult Jails or Lockups for the purpose of monitoring

Oregon Department of Education sent this bulletin at 06/14/2021 05:04 PM PDT

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Youth Development Division

Greetings,

 

States were notified in March 2021 that the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP Act),[1] as amended by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (JJRA) of 2018, has expanded its definition of Adult Jail or Lockup[2] to include secure facilities that are used by a State, unit of local government, or law enforcement authority to detain adults (effective October 1, 2020).

This expanded definition broadens the scope of responsibility for Oregon’s monitoring agency[3] to include temporary hold facilities (ORS 169.005(8)) utilized by a court when secured by the presence of construction features.[4] Prior to passage of the 2018 JJRA, these were previously referred as “court holding facilities” and made subject only to the Separation requirement.

Court Holding Facilities now qualifying as Adult Jails or Lockups must comply with the "Separation" -- Section 223(a)(12); and "Jail Removal" -- Section 223(a)(13) requirements of 34 USC 11133 whenever a juvenile becomes "detained or confined" therein. Application of these standards requires that each Jail or Lockup annually demonstrate the absence of core violations by submitting a detention[5] or declaration[6] report to the Oregon Youth Development Division (YDD) at the end of every federal fiscal year and covering the previous 12-months.   

Because this announcement comes after the effective date of this requirement, we ask agencies with secure court holding facilities begin to assign persons responsible for the documenting of juveniles and reporting of compliance moving forward. This can be a person employed by the judicial district, sheriff’s office, or county juvenile department such as parole/probation. The principle purpose of this assignment is: 

  1. To ensure qualifying facilities meeting this definition are disclosed to the Youth Development Division for monitoring purposes;
  2. To ensure each qualifying facility is informed by policy and used in accordance with the requirements set forth under 34 USC 11133 Section 223 (a)(12) and (13); and
  3. To ensure all juveniles detained within a qualifying area are appropriately documented and reported to the Youth Development Division as part of the facility’s detention report at the end of each federal fiscal year (FFY).

We will distribute a survey in the coming months to help us identify the number of court holding facilities meeting this this new definition, whether they're currently used for juveniles, and if policies currently address time limitations for detainment or separation from adults. This survey can be completed in lieu of providing an entire 12-months of retroactive data for the first reporting period in FY21 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021). Completion of the upcoming survey, or submission of juvenile custody data for FY21 is due by November 30, 2021.

For more information, see Oregon Administrative Rules regarding compliance with the 2018 JJDP Act: Definitions (OAR 423-155-0001); Maintaining Compliance with Custody and Facility (OAR 423-155-0010); and Technical Assistance for Institutions out of Compliance (OAR 423-155-0025).

For questions or comments, please call (503) 510-3606 or email YDD.ComplianceMonitoring@state.or.us.

 

[2] 34 USC 11103 Section 103 (22) The term “Adult Jail or Lockup” means a secure Facility that is used by a State, unit of local government, or law enforcement authority to detain or confine adult inmates.

[3] OAR 423-155-001(23) The term “Monitoring Agency” means the Youth Development Division or YDD.

[4] OAR 423-155-001(5) The term “Construction Feature” means a feature designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of persons in custody as listed below:

(a) “Holding Cell” means a secured room with reinforced materials designed to limit the movements of individuals detained or confined in lawful custody. A holding cell does not include rooms which have had their locking feature reversed to prevent unauthorized entry, and repurposed for non-custodial use.

(b) “Locking Interview Room” means a room equipped with locking features designed to limit movements of individuals in lawful custody and may sometimes include visual, or audio recording devices. A lockable interview room does not include rooms which sole locking feature is designed to prevent unauthorized entry (witness tamper locks), or rooms secured only by a crash-style bar that temporarily delays egress (must be approved by a fire marshal).

(c) “Secured Perimeter” means a locked enclosure designed to prevent unauthorized egress by individuals detained or confined in lawful custody such as an intake, booking, or secured residential area.

(d) “Stationary Cuffing Apparatus” means a ring, bar or bench that are securely mounted to a Facility floor or wall for the purpose of physically restricting the movements of someone in lawful custody. A stationary cuffing apparatus does not include the use of personal handcuffs unless fixed to a stationary object.

[5] OAR 423-155-001(12) The term “Detention Report” means a document or set of documents that contains Data relative to juveniles detained or confined within a specific year requested by the Monitoring Agency.

[6] OAR 423-155-001(10) The term “Declaration Report” means detention report except that a declaration is submitted in the absence of any juveniles detained or confined within the specific year requested by the Monitoring Agency.