Chapter 2.2.2 Drafting the Modern Interstate Compact for Juveniles

Drafting the Modern Interstate Compact for Juveniles

Following the initial success of the revision to the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Parolees and Probationers (now the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, or ICAOS), the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in conjunction with The Council of State Governments (CSG), pursued a similar rewrite of the Interstate Compact for Juveniles.  In 1999, OJJDP conducted a detailed survey of the states, uncovering many contentious issues within the compact structure at that time, and asked for recommendations to address these concerns. The Council of State Governments (CSG) and OJJDP developed advisory and drafting groups from stakeholder organizations to review and update the Interstate Compact for Juveniles.

In 2000, a Compact Advisory Group was formed to assess interstate supervision options and alternatives, and to assist in identifying groups having an interest in effective interstate supervision. This group concluded that substantially revising the existing compact as the only option to meet the long-term challenges facing interstate juvenile justice.  In 2001, CSG, working with OJJDP and the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators (AJCA), convened a drafting team of stakeholders to design of a revised juvenile compact. Considering the suggestions of the Advisory Group as well as those comments generated from the field via the OJJDP survey, the drafting team developed, over a period of 12-months, the model compact language.  The requisite number of states enacted the new compact in 2008. The ICJ now has been adopted in 52 jurisdictions.