Detention Decisions & Alternatives (Pipeline Node)

Pipeline 03

Transparency note: county-level detention counts can be sparse; we pool across months/quarters and mark any series breaks caused by statute or instrument changes.

Overview

Detention is a short-term, pre-adjudication hold used for a subset of youth based on risk and statutory criteria. Jurisdictions increasingly apply detention risk instruments to guide release versus hold decisions and to match youth to alternatives when safe. This page situates detention within the pipeline and documents measurable elements such as screening, timeliness, average length of stay, and exit pathways.

What We Track

Eligibility & Screening

Check statutory disqualifiers (offense class, warrants, supervision status)
Apply detention risk instrument (tool name & version); record score & cut points
Log overrides to instrument guidance with rationale & approver

Timeliness

Measure admission → initial hearing hours (target: 24–48)
Record counsel presence/appointment at hearing (Y/N)
Track continuances (reason codes, added days)

Alternatives to Detention (ATDs)

Capture assignment and utilization (enrolled ÷ capacity)
Program types:
- Evening/Day Reporting
- Electronic Monitoring
- Shelter/Respite
- Community-based supervision

Length of Stay & Exits

Report episode-level ALOS and medians/IQR (reduce skew)
Exit types: release, release to ATD, transfer, petition filed, dismissal/decline
Track readmissions within 30 days

Equity & Geography

Compute rate ratios by race/ethnicity and urban/rural (admissions, ATD use, exits)
Monitor instrument calibration & drift (AUC, Brier, subgroup fit) over time

Typical Flow

Admission from referral/intake with initial risk screen & legal criteria check
- Run detention risk instrument; verify statutory disqualifiers
- Open episode; start timeliness clock
Initial hearing within 24–48 hours; record counsel and continuances
- Confirm counsel present/appointed
- Document any continuance and reasons
Decision: release, release to ATD, or continue detention with review
- If release: set conditions and ATD as needed
- If continued hold: schedule next review; log override if deviating from tool
Review & monitoring: reassess risk, track conditions, document overrides
- Check compliance with orders/ATD conditions
- Re-run or update risk assessment on material changes
Exit to community/ATD, transfer post-adjudication, or dismissal/decline
- Close episode with exit reason; compute LOS
- If transfer/commitment: hand off to placement/reentry teams

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Codeset	Description
pipeline_place_id	uuid	✅	—	Unique identifier for this pipeline place row.
pipeline_stage_id	enum	✅	stages.yml#stage_key(8) intake detention adjudication disposition supervision commitment_and_placement reentry closure	One of the 8 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		—	Staff primary actor for this place, if applicable.
occurred_datetime	datetime	✅	—	Timestamp when screening decision (recommendation) was finalized.
jurisdiction_code	string	✅	—	County/parish/circuit or standardized local code.
location_site_id	string		—	Detention facility/booking site identifier.
actor_role_code	enum		roles.yml#actor_role(7) Intake_Officer Prosecutor Defender Probation_Officer Case_Manager Facility_Staff Coach_Reentry	Role primarily responsible for this place.
legal_case_id	string		—	Docket/case identifier if already created.
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 when flagged.
legal_disqualifier_codes	array<string>		detention_disqualifiers.yml#disqualifier(3) offense_class_disqualifier active_warrant on_supervision_status	Statutory disqualifiers present (offense_class, active_warrant, on_supervision). CSV: semicolon-delimited.
risk_tool_name	enum	✅	instruments.yml#risk_tool_name(2) YLS_CMI SAVRY	Detention risk instrument administered (e.g., RAI variant, YLS/CMI where used).
risk_tool_version	string	✅	—	Version string/number for the detention instrument.
risk_total_score	number		—	Total score output by the detention instrument.
risk_cutpoint_set_key	enum		cutpoint_sets.yml#set_key(2) default_vendor_set local_policy_set_YYYYMMDD	Named set of thresholds used to translate scores to guidance.
risk_guidance_code	enum		detention_guidance.yml#guidance(3) release atd hold	Instrument’s recommended action bucket (release, atd, hold).
detention_decision_code	enum	✅	detention_decisions.yml#decision(3) release release_to_atd continue_detention	Final decision at screening (release, release_to_atd, continue_detention).
override_flag	boolean		—	Decision deviated from instrument guidance.
override_reason_code	enum		overrides.yml#reason(4) safety_exception capacity_constraint policy_exception supervisor_override	Rationale for override; approver stored in audit trails.
detention_admission_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp youth admitted/booked to detention.
initial_hearing_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp of first detention/initial appearance hearing.
counsel_present_flag	boolean		—	Counsel present/appointed at initial hearing.
continuance_count	integer		—	Number of continuances recorded before disposition/next major decision.
continuance_reason_codes	array<string>		continuance_reasons.yml#reason(13) witness_unavailable discovery_pending counsel_conflict court_calendar youth_health other_good_cause counsel_request discovery_delay court_congestion participant_availability interpreter_needed weather_emergency other	Reasons for continuances; semicolon-delimited in CSV.
atd_assigned_flag	boolean		—	True if assigned to an ATD instead of continued detention.
atd_type_code	enum		atd_types.yml#type(5) evening_reporting day_reporting electronic_monitoring shelter_respite community_supervision	ATD type selected (evening_reporting, day_reporting, electronic_monitoring, shelter_respite, community_supervision).
atd_program_id	string		—	Program identifier (join to program dimension for capacity roster).
atd_enroll_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp youth was enrolled/activated in the ATD program.
atd_capacity_snapshot	integer		—	Program capacity at time of assignment (optional snapshot for utilization).
detention_release_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp youth was released from detention (or transferred).
detention_exit_code	enum		detention_exits.yml#exit(5) release release_to_atd transfer petition_filed dismissal_decline	Exit outcome (release, release_to_atd, transfer, petition_filed, dismissal_decline).
readmission_followup_window_code	enum		followup_windows.yml#window(4) followup_30d followup_90d followup_180d followup_365d	Window used for readmission check (e.g., days_30).
readmission_check_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp when readmission check executed.
readmitted_within_window_flag	boolean		—	True if youth admitted to detention again within the follow-up window.
readmission_reference_id	string		—	Identifier of the subsequent detention episode detected.
Download CSVwhat_we_track.csv

Data & Methods

Detention metrics use episode-based denominators (admissions) and track time-to-event outcomes such as hours to hearing and days to release. Average length of stay (ALOS) is reported with medians and IQRs to reduce skew from long stays. Where instruments or statutes change, we mark series breaks and avoid naïve pre/post comparisons. Small-n suppression follows rules in Suppression & Small-n and trend cautions follow Time Series & Seasonality.

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