The Northampton County Juvenile Justice Center is a 60-bed facility serving delinquent youths, which opened in 2000. There are four licensed programs within the center, each serving a different population.  All of the programs are licensed by the PA Department of Public Welfare.  J. Jermaine Greene is the facility Director.  He oversees a staff of 70.

The Detention Center is a 24 bed secure program, which houses youth who are waiting further disposition in juvenile court.  In 2008, 344 youths were detained in the detention center for a total of 8, 228 days of care.  The average length of stay was 23.9 days. 

The Treatment Program is an 18 bed residential program, which provides structure, supervision, and counseling in order to help rehabilitate delinquent males.  By operating in the county, the program is able to involve the family and community, thus providing more desirable and effective programming for the youth.  In 2008, 17 youths were committed to the treatment program.  The average length of stay was nearly 10 months.

The Short Term Offenders Program (STOP) is highly structured, with clear expectations and guidelines, in order to teach discipline to youths who are showing signs that their behavior is becoming unmanageable and are at risk for further delinquency.  It is hoped that this 29-day program will deter the youths from further delinquent behavior.  There were 55 youths placed in the STOP program in 2008.

The Specialized Treatment/Forensic Program is a twelve bed residential program for the treatment of sexually offending youth.  Due to the myriad of issues that sexual offenders frequently possess, the specialized treatment involved, and the need to protect the community, the length of placement for the youths is frequently quite long.  In 2008, 7 youths were committed to the forensic program.  The average length of stay was approximately 18 months.

The Juvenile Justice Center contracts with outside vendors to provide services such as drug and alcohol counseling, individual and family therapy, group counseling and staff training.    The educational program at the facility is provided by the Colonial Intermediate Unit through the Easton Area School District.    Community volunteers and organizations provide information, services and activities for the residents.

The Juvenile Justice Center continues to participate in the National School Lunch Program, which has resulted in a reimbursement of $74,000 in 2008.  The center also participates in a program run by the Department of Agriculture in surplus commodities.  This has allowed for a huge monetary savings because it allows the facility to receive, without cost, surplus meat, vegetables, fruit and cereal. 

In 2008, we began planning for the expansion of the Juvenile Justice Center.  A total of 24 beds will be added, with 12 additional beds each for the treatment and detention programs.  Although this is exciting, it is also sad that the need exists to increase our capacity to serve delinquent youth.  However, over the past years, it has occasionally been necessary to house juveniles in other counties temporarily when the detention center was over capacity.  The additional treatment beds will allow the County to keep more juveniles in need of residential care closer to home, rather than sending them farther away for counseling and rehabilitation.  It is anticipated that construction will begin in the early summer of 2009.

The Treatment Program
The treatment program is under the direct supervision of Deputy Director of Treatment, Susan Patton Burnside. The center’s treatment program is designed for adjudicated delinquent youth between the ages of 10 and 17 who reside in Northampton County. By operating an in-county treatment program for delinquent youth, the Court is able to involve the family and the community, thus providing more desirable and effective programming for the youth. The treatment is accomplished through a variety of programs, an on-grounds school, and services that address of the needs of the youth while holding them accountable for their behaviors, protecting the community, and teaching them skills and responsibility which will enable them to successfully return to their homes and community. To successfully complete the treatment program the youth must progress through a level system, which requires participation and progress in therapy as well as maintaining positive behavior. Appropriate behavior is encouraged, reinforced and rewarded. Poor behavior brings immediate consequences. The residents are taught to become responsible for their actions and develop more appropriate behavior patterns.

Reintegration and transition back to the youth’s home and community are key components of the treatment program Being located in Easton, PA affords parents, probation officers, volunteers and other service providers easy access to the juveniles and their treatment. Prior to discharge, the youths have home visits and may be transitioned back to their home school to help develop a sound basis for the reintegration. It is also possible for our service providers to continue to work with youths and their families after their return home, which also helps ensure a successful reintegration.

The facility is pleased that it has maintained its partnership with the Banana Factory, a Community Arts Center and non-profit organization that provides arts programming to the residents of the Juvenile Justice Center. The partnership has been a positive and rewarding experience for everyone involved. In the fall of 2006, our residents began the second phase of a video and mural project developed by the Banana Factory, our school program and our staff. Language arts, interviewing skills, mural design, painting and video production were all incorporated into the project. The purpose was to provide information for a documentary video that focused on individual community involvement. The emphasis was on overcoming obstacles to become successful in even the most basic occupations. Four people in the community who have done such were interviewed and videotaped by our residents to provide material for the documentary and murals. The residents edited and produced the video and helped paint the murals in the Juvenile Justice Center under the direction of artists Kim Hogan and Bruce Ward. The project was completed in the summer of 2007 and an open house was held to showcase the accomplishments of our subjects and the talents of our residents.

Mr. Joe Judge, a Master Gardener, volunteers through the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) to help the treatment residents plant and maintain a vegetable garden on-grounds of the facility. The vegetables are routinely used in meals served to staff and residents. The “garden club” has helped many youths experience the joys of starting a plant from seed and then reaping the rewards. It allows the youths to experience what many have only ever read about in school, or seen on television. In addition, throughout 2007 the treatment residents participated in numerous community service projects including work at Notre Dame High School, Jacobsburg State Park, the Salvation Army, the Easton Nursing Center and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership.

Unfortunately we have not been successful at re-establishing the mentor program that was facilitated in the past by the Greater Bethlehem Area Council of Churches. Though several local churches are greatly interested in the project, finding funding has proven to be virtually impossible. We remain hopeful that a mentor program will become a reality in the near future.

The number of commitments to the Treatment Program was significantly less in 2006 and 2007 due to the transfer of twelve beds from this program to the forensic program (which is described below).

The average length of stay in the treatment program in 2007 was nine months.

The Forensic Program

Due to the myriad of issues that sexual offenders frequently possess, the specialized treatment involved, and the need to protect the community, the length of placement for such youth is frequently quite long.

S.T.O.P. Program
Juveniles who are showing signs that their behavior is becoming unmanageable and are at risk for further delinquency are referred to the Short Term Offender Program by the staff of the Juvenile Probation Department. The program is highly structured, teaching discipline and having clear expectations and consequences for negative behavior. It is hoped that this 29-day program will deter the youth from further delinquency. Upon successful completion of the program the youth are returned home under probation supervision.

The Detention Center
Detention is designed to provide maximum security, hold youths accountable and provide the necessary programs for youths who are detained while awaiting further disposition in Juvenile Court. Juvenile detention is under the direct supervision of Janel Guidi, Deputy Director of Operations.

The Detention Center utilizes a behavior modification point/level system to reward juveniles who comply with rules and discipline them for inappropriate behavior. A comprehensive educational program is provided for the residents in the detention center as per regulations of the Colonial Intermediate Unit. The teachers also work with the public school system to obtain coursework for the students. Consequently, the juveniles do not fall behind in fulfilling their school obligations. If the youth is appropriate for GED preparation, the teacher will construct a program for pre-testing and preparation. The school program also uses experts in the community to give presentations on topics such as health-related issues, career counseling, and drug and alcohol information. Overall, the detention center strives to provide structure and supervision to the juveniles with various programs relating to life skills, drug and alcohol awareness and academic education throughout the entire year.

The following chart indicates yearly statistics regarding the number of juveniles admitted to the detention center.

Historically, the percentage of juveniles who stayed over 30 days was approximately 15% of the population. The average length of stay has increased slightly from almost 21 days to over 24 days.

The chart to the right represents only Northampton County juveniles and their days of detention in 2007. The chart indicates that 34% of Northampton County Juveniles are detained for 0 to 10 days, 23.05% are detained for 11 to 20 days, 16.82% are detained for 21 to 30 days and 24.92% are detained over 31 days.

Court Divisions & Operations