How to Calculate the Average Costs of Detaining a Youth Wednesday, May 29, 2013 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
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Transcript of How to Calculate the Average Costs of Detaining a Youth Wednesday, May 29, 2013 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
How to Calculate the Average Costs of Detaining a YouthWednesday, May 29, 2013 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST
Photo: Richard Ross
• 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
Cathy Conly Director of the Fiscal Policy Center
Julius Chaidez Fiscal Policy Associate
NJJN Fiscal Policy Center
The FPC provides reformers with fiscal tools and resources to improve juvenile justice policy in their own states.
Photos: Idit Knaan
• 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
Focus of Today’s Presentation
• 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
NJJN Toolkit
• Download from www.njjn.org or ourFPC Resource Center http://bit.ly/YxAvWY
NJJN Toolkit
• Identifying relevant information for calculating costs
• Locating information
• Calculating average costs using real data
• Reviewing frequently-asked questions about the costs of detention
Topics We Will Cover
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.
Information You Will Need
1. Divide the annual expenditure for detention by the average daily population
2. Divide the result by 365 days to obtain the average cost per youth per day
3. Multiply the result by the average length of stay (if available) to obtain the average cost of a youth’s entire stay in detention
Basic How-To
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?
ID the Best Method for Locating Data
• Contact agency or organization directly
• Conduct internet search
• File a public information act request
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
Additional Cost and Revenues
• Capital improvement costs
• Other costs of doing business • Capital costs of construction
• 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
Other Detention Costs and Revenues
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
Locate Detention Statistics
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
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
Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Expenditure
FY 2011
Personnel Services $33,031,562
Health and Pension Benefits $8,472,900
Contractual Services $9,439,448Supplies and Materials $4,360,000Operations and Maintenance $218,400Rental Leasing $33,257Capital Equipment $321,458TOTAL EXPENDITURE $55,877,025
JTDC Appropriated Expenditure - FY 2011
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
Cook County Health and Hospitals System Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Budget
FY 2011
TOTAL EXPENDITURENote: Includes salaries, pension, fringe benefits, and administrative costs.
$4,409,179
JDTC Health Svcs. Appropriation - FY2011
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
Education Budget Example
Education Budget Example
Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School Budget FY 2011
TOTAL EXPENDITURENote: Includes salaries, pension, fringe benefits, and administrative costs.
$8,267,811
Total Detention and Services
Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Expenditure FY 2011
Juvenile Temporary Detention Center $55,877,025
Health and Hospital System $4,409,179
Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School $8,267,811
TOTAL EXPENDITURE $68,554,015
NJJN staff contacted the JTDC administrators and obtained the following statistical data for FY2011 data --
JTDC Population Statistics Example
Cook County Juvenile Detention Statistics
FY 2011 Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Statistics - Cook County, IL
Average Length of Stay (in days) 43.24
Average Daily Population 288
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
Do the Math
• Select the detention and services expenditure summary:
First
Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center Expenditure FY 2011
Juvenile Temporary Detention Center $55,877,025
Health and Hospital System $4,409,179
Nancy B. Jefferson Alternative School $8,267,811
TOTAL EXPENDITURE $68,554,015
• Divide the total annual detention expenditure by the average daily population:
Then
Average Annual Cost per Youth in FY 2011
(Total Yearly Expenditure) $68,554,015 ÷ (Average Daily Juvenile Population) ÷ 288 Average Annual Cost per Youth $238,034.77
• Divide the average annual cost per youth by the number of days in a year:
Next
Average Cost per Youth per Day in FY 2011
(Average Annual Cost per Youth) $238,034.77 ÷ (Number of Days in a Year) ÷ 365 Average Cost per Youth per Day $652.15
• Multiply the average cost per youth per day by the average length of stay:
Finally
Average Cost per Youth of a Stay in Detention in FY 2011
(Average Cost per Youth per Day) $652.15 X (Average Length of Stay in Days) X 43.24 Average Cost of a Stay in Detention $28,198.96
• 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
How to Use this Toolkit
• 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?
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?
Frequently Asked Questions
Julius C. Chaidez202-467-0864 x129 [email protected]
Cathy Conly202-467-0864 [email protected]
Questions?
Fiscal Policy Center (FPC)National Juvenile Justice Network1319 F Street, NW, Suite 402Washington, D.C. 20004www.njjn.orgFPC Resource Center http://bit.ly/YxAvWY