Commitment & Placement

Pipeline 08.1

Commitment decisions shape everything downstream: the placement type, how education and treatment continue, and how reentry is planned. This page maps thresholds, placement options, and the data handoffs that make or break the return home.

What We Track

Commitment Thresholds & Decision Factors

Policy standards & judicial discretion; tool-guided recommendations (risk/needs, clinical screens)
Offense severity & prior history balanced with program availability/capacity
Least restrictive alternative; proximity to home/school considered and documented
Equity impacts (race/disability disparities; rural access constraints) coded for review

Placement Types (Chosen Program)

State secure facilities (high-security commitments; specialized units)
County post-adjudication programs (shorter LOS; step-down pathways)
Contracted residential: staff-secure or non-secure aligned to risk/needs
Therapeutic group homes (small settings; treatment focus; education continuity)

Length of Stay & Step-Down

Expected vs. actual LOS (mean/median; IQR)
Earned milestones (treatment phases, credits) tied to step-down criteria
Movement to less-restrictive settings or community aftercare documented

Continuity of Education & Care

Records transfer completed (education & health packets)
IEP/504 services continued; credit accrual tracked monthly
MH/SUD treatment handoffs (plan, meds reconciliation, appointments)

Parole / Aftercare & Reentry

Typical supervision length (e.g., 3–9 months) with planned step-downs
Coach/Case Manager model: re-enrollment in school, MH/SUD follow-through, IDs/docs, transport support
Outcome checks at 30/90/180/365 days where feasible

Typical Flow

Commitment decision documented with least-restrictive rationale and program match
- Record thresholds, tool guidance, and any judicial overrides (with rationale)
Placement selection & admission (state/county/contracted/group home)
- Complete intake; launch education & health baselines; set family contact plan
Treatment & education with scheduled case reviews
- Track credits, treatment milestones, and incident/safety metrics
Step-down planning initiated early (e.g., 30–60 days)
- Coordinate community providers & probation; identify housing/school placement
Release & aftercare handoff
- Schedule post-release appointments; transmit records; set 7/14/30-day follow-ups

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Codeset	Description
pipeline_place_id	uuid	✅	—	Unique identifier for this commitment/placement decision record.
pipeline_stage_id	enum	✅	stages.yml#stage_key(8) intake detention adjudication disposition supervision commitment_and_placement reentry closure	One of the eight canonical stages.
pipeline_place_key	enum	✅	pipeline_places.yml#place_key(45) intake pre_petition_diversion_and_deflection diversion youth_assessment_tools prosecutorial_screening status_offenses adjudication case_planning family_engagement case_timeliness language_access restorative_justice detention_screening community_atds electronic_monitoring court_appearance_and_fta initial_hearing pretrial_supervision probation intensive_supervision …and 25 more	Canonical key for this place (maps to route/slug).
youth_id	string	✅	—	Salted/hashed or state UID. No plaintext PII.
staff_id	string		—	Referring/supervising officer or admissions coordinator.
occurred_datetime	datetime	✅	—	Timestamp the commitment decision was made (or order signed).
jurisdiction_code	string	✅	—	County/parish/circuit or standardized local code.
legal_case_id	string		—	Case/docket identifier associated with commitment.
source_system	string	✅	—	Origin system name.
source_file	string		—	Source batch/file id if flatfile.
extract_run_id	string		—	ETL run id for lineage.
series_break_flag	boolean		—	Comparability break applies to this row.
series_break_reason	enum		series_breaks.yml#reason(4) definition_change vendor_change coverage_change policy_change	Reason for break (policy/tool change, etc.).
policy_threshold_codes	array<string>		commitment_thresholds.yml#threshold(6) risk_needs_threshold offense_severity_threshold prior_history_threshold clinical_screen_threshold capacity_constraint other	Policy standards met (risk/needs, severity, prior_history); semicolon-delimited.
tool_guidance_code	enum		tool_guidance.yml#guidance(4) place community either not_applicable	Tool-guided recommendation (e.g., place, community, either, not_applicable).
judicial_override_flag	boolean		—	Judicial discretion departed from tool/policy guidance.
judicial_override_reason_code	enum		overrides.yml#reason(4) safety_exception capacity_constraint policy_exception supervisor_override	Rationale when override occurs.
prior_placement_history_flag	boolean		—	Indicates prior out-of-home placements on record.
least_restrictive_rationale_note	string		—	Documented least-restrictive alternative rationale.
home_proximity_miles	number		—	Distance from home to program (miles or km per policy).
equity_impact_codes	array<string>		equity_impacts.yml#impact(3) race_disparity_flag disability_flag rural_access_flag	Flags for race/disability/rural access concerns; semicolon-delimited.
placement_type_code	enum	✅	placement_types.yml#type(4) state_secure county_post_adjudication contracted_residential therapeutic_group_home	state_secure, county_post_adjudication, contracted_residential, therapeutic_group_home.
security_level_code	enum	✅	security_levels.yml#level(3) staff_secure hardware_secure community_residential	staff_secure, hardware_secure, non_secure.
program_treatment_model_code	enum		treatment_models.yml#model(6) cbt family_therapy substance_use trauma_responsive educational_focus other	Primary model (cbt, family_therapy, substance_use, trauma_responsive, educational_focus, other).
provider_id	string		—	Facility/provider organization identifier.
admit_datetime	datetime		—	Program admission datetime (when youth arrives/checks in).
expected_los_days	integer		—	Expected LOS based on program track.
step_down_criteria_codes	array<string>		step_down_criteria.yml#criterion(7) treatment_phase_met credit_threshold_met behavior_tier_met risk_reassessed_lower family_ready housing_ready other	Program’s criteria for move to less-restrictive setting; semicolon-delimited.
milestone_scheme_code	enum		milestone_schemes.yml#scheme(3) program_phases_v1 credits_v1 hybrid_v1	Scheme used for phases/credits (program-defined key).
education_records_transfer_flag	boolean		—	Education records sent/received.
health_records_transfer_flag	boolean		—	Health/medication records sent/received.
iep_504_status_code	enum		iep_504_statuses.yml#status(4) none iep_active 504_active pending_evaluation	none, iep_active, 504_active, pending_evaluation.
credit_tracking_cadence_code	enum		meeting_frequencies.yml#frequency⚠️ using meeting_frequencies.yml#freq(5) weekly biweekly monthly quarterly ad_hoc	Planned cadence to track credit accrual (e.g., monthly).
mh_sud_handoff_plan_flag	boolean		—	MH/SUD handoff plan established (plan, meds reconciliation, appts).
aftercare_model_code	enum		aftercare_models.yml#model(4) coach_case_manager parole_officer hybrid_model other	coach_case_manager, parole_officer, hybrid_model, other.
planned_aftercare_length_months	number		—	Expected aftercare length (months).
aftercare_followup_due_codes	array<string>		followup_windows.yml#window(4) followup_30d followup_90d followup_180d followup_365d	Required follow-up windows (30d, 90d, 180d, 365d); semicolon-delimited.
discharge_datetime	datetime		—	Date/time of discharge from program.
discharge_reason_code	enum		discharge_reasons.yml#reason(6) completed stepped_down transferred revoked absconded other	completed, stepped_down, transferred, revoked, absconded, other.
Download CSVwhat_we_track.csv

Data & Methods

Rates may be normalized to the 12–17 population; when n is small, pool across 2–3 years with annotations. Mark series breaks when reporting systems, definitions, or program mixes change. Summarize LOS and step-down timings with medians and interquartile ranges to reduce skew. Apply small-n suppression and include comparability notes when facility types or security levels differ across sites.

Transparency note: where counts are sparse, values are pooled across years and flagged in footnotes.

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