A Brief History of the Department of Juvenile Justice
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1905 |
The Georgia State Reformatory opens in Milledgeville to serve delinquent boys formerly served in the adult penitentiary. |
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1930s |
The Adamsville and Augusta Reformatories open in the late 1930s. Adamsville, located in Atlanta, serves females. Augusta serves African-American males. |
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1963 |
The original Youth Services unit is created within the Division of Family And Children Services (DFACS), part of the Department of Social Services. Delinquent youth are placed in one of the three training schools, formerly the reformatories. The training schools are long-term facilities for delinquent youth. At some point, Adamsville is renamed the Atlanta Training School. |
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1964 |
The Macon Training School for Girls opens late in the year. The male training schools are integrated. The Atlanta Training School switches to boys aged 11-13. Augusta is for boys 13-15 years old. Milledgeville is for the older boys and the more violent boys. |
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1967 |
Youth Services in 1967 and 1968 constructed the first Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDCs). Each RYDC is built to provide juvenile custody facilities within an hour's ride of any point in Georgia. Each facility has 30 individual rooms, 18 for males and 12 for females. |
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1968 |
The Augusta and Gainesville RYDCs open. |
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1971 |
Youth Services begins the first Community Treatment Center in Columbus. There were 23 CTCs in operation by 1991, providing a safe place for youth after school. The Department of Human Resources (DHR) is created by merging several state departments, including DFACS, into one agency. Youth Services remains a unit of DFACS. |
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1972 |
Youth Development Centers (YDCs) are created by law in 1972 from the training schools. Community Schools are opened in Fulton, Dekalb and Chatham counties to provide alternative schools for juvenile offenders. The DHR upgrades the Youth Services Unit to the Division of Youth Services (DYS) within DHR after several juvenile court judges publicly express concern that Youth Services' programs are being "lost" and overlooked in the larger DHR. |
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1973 |
Marietta is a county-operated facility opened in 1956, taken over by the department in 1973. |
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1974 |
The department takes over the county-run Macon RYDC. Columbus RYDC opens. Both are 30-bed facilities. The Division of Youth Services institutes a "Serious Offender Policy." |
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1975 |
The Dalton RYDC opens a 30-bed facility. |
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1976 |
Athens is a county-operated facility opened in 1971 with 12 beds. An additional 14 beds were added upon ownership being transferred to the department. Blakely RYDC opens as a 30-bed facility. Contract Detention Homes, similar to foster homes, are opened to provide emergency shelters for youth who did not commit serious offenses but can not return to their homes. |
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1977 |
Senate Bill 100 is signed into law. This legislation sets specific guidelines for handling status offenders, which differentiated them from delinquents. It also provides 24-hour intake on a statewide basis and prohibits the jailing of children except for limited periods of time and under extraordinary circumstances. The juvenile justice system is changed drastically to meet these mandates. |
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1978 |
County-run Clayton RYDC is taken over. Macon RYDC is replaced with a new 40-bed facility. |
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1979 |
The National Institute of Corrections assists DYS in studying and revamping its classification and length of stay policies. A classification system, called Determinate Sentencing and similar to the one used by the Department of Corrections (DOC), is implemented. It classifies offenders into four categories. Habitual and multiple offenders have their sentence lengths increased. The state of Georgia settles Hall v. Skelton, a class-action lawsuit involving the right to treatment of youth in YDCs. This settlement results in upgraded diagnostic orientation and counseling services and places significant restrictions on the use of detention and isolation in YDCs. Private psychiatric facilities are contracted to provide mental health and Drug and Alcohol treatment programs, paid for by DYS. |
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1980 |
Griffin & Eastman RYDCs open. Both are 30-bed facilities. Wolfcreek Wilderness, the department's first wilderness program, opens in the north Georgia mountains as a 25-day survival program. |
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1981 |
Marietta RYDC was replaced with a new 41-bed facility. County-operated Savannah RYDC taken over. A new system, which determines placement and length of stay according to commitment offense and previous court history, is implemented. The Designated Felony Act is passed, increasing commitments for violent offenders from two to five years. The judge determines sentence lengths to run from 12-18 months, with time served in the RYDC not counting towards the sentence. |
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1982 |
Gwinnett RYDC opens a 30-bed facility. The General Assembly approves constitutional and legislative provisions for the creation of a statewide juvenile court system. |
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1983 |
A second wilderness program, Project Adventure, opens as a 38-day program. |
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1985 |
The Public Risk Score, a 5 point scale, is created with 1 being least at risk to 5 being most serious, based on the most serious committing offense. Needs Assessments (1-5) are also created to reflect: (1)Residential support, (2) Medical, (3) Mental Health, (4)Alcohol And Drug, (5)Vocational, (6)Educational needs of the youth. |
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1986 |
Claxton RYDC opens a 30-bed facility. |
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1987 |
Thomasville (30 beds) and Dekalb (64 beds) RYDCs open. Savannah RYDC was replaced with a new 52-bed facility. |
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1990 |
Due to a spike in drug offenses, particularly among males, a special Alcohol and Drug (A&D) unit opens at the Macon YDC. The state legislature caps population at the YDCs. Age and weight distributions are eliminated. Early release procedures begin. |
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1991 |
Clayton RYDC was replaced with a new 50-bed facility. The Baxley Wilderness Program opens, the first long-term wilderness program. |
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1992 |
The new Department of Children and Youth Services (DCYS) is created by the General Assembly, as recommended by the Joint Study Committee on Children and Youth. A Placement Assessment Score, ranging from 0-26, is created. The score is based on the most serious current offense, most serious prior offense, and the number of prior adjudications. A risk assessment score, ranging from 1-23, is calculated using gang affiliation, sibling/parent offense history, age at first adjudication and other factors, is implemented. |
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1993 |
The DOC opens the Eastman Youth Development Facility (YDF) for "Heinous Juvenile Offenders." The Multi-Service Centers (MSCs) are created by merging the Community Schools, Community Treatment Centers and the Court Service Offices in several counties. The Safe Schools Act is passed initially to punish youth for carrying weapons to school or selling drugs at or near a school. The law is later amended to include disrupting school, possession of drugs, vandalism on school property, and a school official's battery. |
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1994 |
The DOC opens the Davisboro YDF late in the year. The YDFs are renamed Youth Development Campuses (YDCs). The DCYS is named a special school district under state law. Senate Bill (SB) 440 is enacted. The law contains three main provisions:
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1995 |
A city-owned facility in Irwin opens as a privatized YDC. Macon YDC male A&D; unit closes. Davisboro converts to an STP YDC in September. |
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1996 |
Privatized Pelham YDC opens late in the year for females. The Chatham County Jail and Forest Park Jail are contracted to house Superior Court youth. Chatham closed in 2001. Forest Park closes in less than a year. The Augusta Boot Camp opens. Alternate Placement (AP) units open at Augusta, Ireland, and Lorenzo Benn YDCs to respond to RYDC overcrowding. Youth who act out in the RYDC are sent to these APs. Ireland AP closes later in the year. Savannah RYDC was replaced with a new 100-bed facility. |
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1997 |
Eastman converts to a Long-Term (LT) YDC under the department in July. Eastman YDC adds an STP in November. Wrightsville YDC is transferred from the DOC and opens in July with 300 STP beds. Two hundred LT beds also open in October. Davisboro YDC closes. Atlanta YDC was renamed Lorenzo Benn YDC. Augusta and Benn APs close. Marietta RYDC was replaced with a new 50-bed facility. The DCYS changes its name to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) investigates conditions within DJJ facilities. |
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1998 |
The Metro RYDC opens to accept the Fulton County detention population. Fulton Detention closes. Thomasville RYDC was renamed to TJ Loftiss RYDC. Rome RYDC was renamed to Bob Richards RYDC. Milledgeville YDC was renamed Bill Ireland YDC. Privatized McIntosh (male) and Emanuel (female) YDCs open. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is signed between the US DOJ and the state of Georgia, which outlines specific guidelines for the operation of the DJJ. |
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1999 |
A small Female Closed Unit opens briefly at the Augusta YDC. Pelham YDC changes to an all male facility. Augusta Boot Camp closes. Lorenzo Benn YDC closes. |
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2000 |
Nineteen new beds were added to the Gwinnett RYDC. |
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2001 |
Irwin YDC closes. Wrightsville YDC closes late in the year. Sumter YDC opens as an LT YDC. Privatized Bridge Institute opens in December as an STP. Privatized Savannah River Challenge opens in July as an STP. Twenty new beds were added to the Marietta RYDC. House Bill 201 becomes law, which expands the options and services available to juvenile court judges when sentencing youth to '90 days'. The legislation allows youth to be placed in more appropriate programs based on their risk to the public and individual needs. |
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2002 |
McIntosh YDC closes from May to October. The Bridge Institute closes in May. Emanuel and Pelham YDCs swap gender roles in December. |
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2003 |
Macon Behavioral Health opens in February. Lighthouse Care Center opens in March. Augusta YDC was privatized in July. Gainesville RYDC was replaced with a new 64-bed facility. DJJ Education services are found compliant and released from monitoring and the MOA in October. |
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2004 |
Crisp YDC opens in January. Augusta, Macon and Rome RYDCs were replaced with new 64-bed facilities. Augusta YDC closed in February. Pelham closed in March. Emanuel closed in April. Metro YDC is created within Metro RYDC to house youth from Augusta YDC. Augusta YDC re-opens under state operation in November, providing special needs in the area of behavioral health. |
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2005 |
Athens RYDC closed. Augusta YDC reopened, and Metro YDC closed. Columbus 30 bed facility closed and Cohn RYDC, a 64-bed facility, opened in Muscogee County. Muscogee YDC opened and Lighthouse closed as an STP. The DJJ Quality Assurance and Investigations functions are compliant and released from monitoring and the MOA in January. |
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2006 |
Crisp YDC closed and reopened as an RYDC. Muscogee YDC cuts its capacity from 64 to 60. Eastman YDC cuts its capacity from 349 to 330. The Crisp YDC is converted to the Crisp RYDC, a 64-bed detention facility. Senate Bill 136 becomes law and provides bail options for youth. Parents and certain relatives can exercise bail options at the discretion of the judge and prosecutor. |
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2007 |
DJJ establishes a Victim Advocate position to assist victims of juvenile crime, marking the first time the agency has employed a full-time position to assist victims of juvenile crime. |
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2008 |
DJJ and DOJ agree to a revised memorandum of agreement (MOA) calling for final facility inspections to verify the remaining compliance issues: Protection from Harm, Medical and Mental Health Services. Six facilities are agreed upon where the final inspections will occur. Four of the six are chosen at random. |
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2009 |
Albert Murray enters his fifth year as DJJ Commissioner The final Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) inspection report is issued, finding DJJ in substantial compliance with the revised MOA praising areas of DJJ programming and services.
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2010 | Garland R. Hunt, Esq. named DJJ Commissioner |
2011 |
Amy Howell named DJJ Commissioner L. Gale Buckner named DJJ Commissioner |
2012 |
Avery D. Niles named DJJ Commissioner |
2013 |
Georgia Juvenile Justice Reform Act signed into law providing judges with more discretion in juvenile case sentencing, offering more drug and mental health counseling, placing more emphasis on local community-based outreach programs rather than a commitment to detention centers for non-violent juvenile offenders.
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2019 |
Tyrone Oliver was named DJJ Commissioner.
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2020 | Closing of the Sumter Youth Development Campus and Eastman Youth Development Campus |