In 1998, the Department of Juvenile Justice (KY DJJ) began teaming up with local law enforcement agencies to provide intensive surveillance of delinquency youth to facilitate rehabilitation, reduce recidivism rates and safeguard the community. This police-juvenile justice partnership, called the Juvenile Intensive Supervision Team (JIST) program, allows juvenile justice community workers to collaborate with local law enforcement officers in supervising youth probated or committed to KY DJJ by the court.
Kentucky's JIST program, which is based on Boston, Massachusetts' "Operation Night Light" initiative, was created to allow community-based placement for:
- Committed youth who no longer require the level of supervision and care provided by the state's juvenile facilities but need more intensive supervision than generally provided by supervised community placement, and/or
- Probated youth considered to be at high risk of out-of-home placement.
Each JIST consists of one law enforcement officer and one KY DJJ community worker. Teams make regular home, school and work visits to enforce youths' conditions of probation or supervised community placement. Contacts allow teams to:
- Establish whether or not the juvenile is in compliance with the curfew and other restrictions;
- Reinforce the importance of strict observance of all conditions of probation/commitment; and
- Inquire of family members present about the behavior of the juvenile, both at home and in the community.
JIST contacts strengthen the relationships between the police and KY DJJ, involve the parents in the child's probation/commitment and serve notice to other youth that the police and KY DJJ are serous about their mission.
JIST philosophy recognizes that the effectiveness of commitment and/or probation depends on strict enforcement as well as cooperation among agencies. The JIST partnership provides police officers information on which juveniles are probated/committed to KY DJJ and what conditions they are required to obey. This allows officers on patrol to act as additional eyes and ears for KY DJJ around the clock and encourages juveniles to take conditions of supervision much more sensibly.
Kentucky's JIST program was initiated in five communities in 1998. Since that time, the program has demonstrated incredible success. KY DJJ community workers report that upon initial implementation of the program in the five communities, violations of probation/placement conditions were common; however, as awareness of the program has grown, violations have sharply declined. The success of JIST has prompted KY DJJ to extend the program to new communities.
KY DJJ operates JIST programs in cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the following Kentucky communities:
Louisville, Shelbyville, Franklin County, Newport, Lexington, Paducah, Christian County, Bowling Green, Larue County, Hardin County, Henderson and Nelson County.