Welcome to Performance-based Standards
Since 1995 the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA) has been developing and directing a program to improve the conditions, practices and services in youth correction and detention facilities called Performance-based Standards (PbS). The program was launched by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in response to the Congressionally-mandated Conditions of Confinement Study of 1994 that showed unsafe and unhealthy conditions for youths and staff within juvenile facilities and the need for facility standards that comprehensively address and measure the practices and services within facilities.
PbS’ core is a set of national standards establishing the highest quality practices and most effective research-based services for juvenile facilities. Each facility’s performance is measured twice a year by outcome measures that report on the safety, security, order and climate within facilities as well as education, health/mental health, programming and reintegration services. After each performance report, facilities use the PbS website technology to analyze the data and develop, implement and monitor improvement plans. Facilities use PbS as a tool to create an internal continuous quality improvement system and an external accountability report that demonstrates successful practices that rehabilitate young offenders.
Facilities and agencies volunteer to participate in PbS because it provides outcome information not otherwise available. There are more than 100 PbS outcome measures and data points for facilities and agencies to review produced every April and October. The measures include a subset of critical outcomes – the health and safety issues such as injuries, assaults, isolation, suicidal behavior and use of restraints that require immediate attention and most often lead to litigation. PbS measures programming and services by reporting the percents of youths receiving mental health screenings, assessments and treatment as well as those with improved reading and math scores. PbS also includes climate surveys of youths and staff that provide perspectives on facility operations, safety, programming and staff-youth relationships.
The data is used to identify what is going on in facilities – establish a baseline of operations, safety, educational progress, behavior management and services – and make changes to improve what exists and develop new approaches to increase the youths’ successes and reduce misbehavior. Continuous improvement using PbS data is integrated with daily operations, management, recognition and strategic planning.
Contact us today for more information at:
170 Forbes Road Suite 106, Braintree, MA 02184
(781) 843-2663 or email us