Supervision and monitoring in juvenile facilities
For secure juvenile facilities, Standard 115.313 requires a minimum staffing ratio of 1:8 for supervision during resident waking hours and 1:16 during resident sleeping hours. These ratios include only security staff. Agencies may depart from these minimum ratios during limited and discrete exigent circumstances, which must be fully documented for audit purposes.
Non-secure juvenile facilities are not required to maintain a minimum staffing ratio.
In order to provide agencies with sufficient time to readjust staffing levels and, if necessary, request additional funding, any facility that, as of June 20, 2012, is not already obligated by law, regulation, or judicial consent decree to maintain the required staffing ratios shall have until October 1, 2017, to achieve compliance. Additionally, DOJ invites public comment on 115.313(c) though the Final Rule is still in effect.
Although DOJ encourages the use of continuous, direct supervision, the standards do not require direct supervision in secure juvenile facilities in recognition that major, costly renovations would be required to adapt some physical plants to the direct supervision model. For more on this issue, please visit the PRC FAQ page.
For youth housed in adult facilities, however, the standards are clear in their requirements regarding direct supervision. See youthful inmates below.