AOC lays out juvenile justice strategy: diversion, early prevention and data tracking

Mandy Hall of the Administrative Office of Courts told the commission that juvenile justice work emphasizes prevention, diversion and community‑based programming. "We currently right now have approximately 272 juvenile probation officers," Hall said, noting the agency’s focus on keeping children out of formal court through informal adjustment and consent decrees where appropriate.

Hall said the AOC and its partners are tracking recidivism and working on a three‑year study with the University of Alabama; the office is seeing a slow, steady decline in delinquent filings and attributes that trend to residential and community diversion programs. She urged the commission to consider prevention beginning at younger grades — kindergarten and first grade — to prevent later delinquency and to support regional programs for rural communities with transportation barriers.

Hall also outlined specialized intervention courts: AOC oversees combined juvenile drug treatment and family treatment courts, and several counties have both models in place. She stressed the importance of aftercare planning for youth released from the Department of Youth Services and the need for family‑centered approaches that include mentors and community resources.

Commission members asked for more concrete counts on youth in Department of Youth Services custody; Hall deferred those numbers to Department of Youth Services staff but said recent releases numbered in the low hundreds for 2022 and emphasized that diversion keeps many children out of commitment.