Research indicates that the most effective interventions are comprehensive, community-based programs that provide a continuum of services and sanctions. These include prevention programming, a system of graduated sanctions, residential treatment, and aftercare.
Secure confinement represents the most costly and severe response to delinquency.
Therefore, jurisdictions should engage in careful planning to ensure that alternatives to confinement are being used effectively and that new or expanded facilities are developed only when warranted. Understanding the elements of effective planning for juvenile facilities has become critically important as many jurisdictions undertake the task of replacing or renovating crowded or substandard facilities. The workshop program is conducted in cooperation with NIC, which is part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The goal of the Juvenile PONI workshop program is to help jurisdictions make well-informed planning decisions about building new secure juvenile facilities or about renovating or expanding existing facilities. The workshops offer participants an opportunity to define their individual roles in the planning process and to develop team-building skills.