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State court services: counties report timely detention hearings but wide capacity gaps and geographic access issues
Summary
A statewide survey and administrative data review presented to the commission found responding counties report holding initial detention hearings within the statutorily required 48 business hours, substantial use of alternatives to detention, but persistent capacity challenges and long transport distances in many regions. The committee reviewed data quality plans and next steps.
Chris Bean, director of the Justice Services Division at the Indiana Office of Court Services, told the commission that a survey and administrative-data review found broad adherence to statutory detention criteria but notable capacity and access problems.
"A 100% of the counties are reporting that they are holding a ... detention hearing or an initial hearing within 48 hours of the youth being detained securely," Bean said, summarizing the survey results from counties that submitted responses. Bean said the survey was sent to all 92 counties; the slide-deck referenced 73 counties that had responded in time for the report and he later noted he continued to receive responses (the slides reference up to roughly 76–79 respondents depending on the metric).
Why it matters: timely hearings are a statutory safeguard for young people in secure detention, but Bean emphasized that timely hearings do not eliminate other access problems. He said 82% of responding counties reported they had at some point been unable to detain a youth they had decided should be detained — most often because of bed capacity, staffing ratios or facility policy decisions — and that 12 counties reported needing to travel more than 200 miles to place a youth in secure detention.
The presentation summarized several specific findings: 96% of responding counties reported having at least one alternative to detention (most commonly electronic monitoring, home detention, shelter care and conditional release); survey respondents reported that counties generally use the statutory five-factor criteria when deciding secure detention; and Bean reported 5,946 IAS detention assessments in the dataset reviewed. He also cited diversion outcomes in the administrative data: about 78% successful completion for youth placed on diversion and 1,397 youth recorded in informal adjustment during the period covered.
Bean also described a larger dataset compiled for a separate study by the Indiana University School of Medicine, saying the first-phase review covered roughly 35,135 unique youth records spanning 07/01/2020 through 06/30/2025. He and the data work group speakers said data quality and local variation in definitions limit the ability to draw some conclusions and stressed plans to improve consistency: adding standard items to probation quarterly reports in 2026 and conducting targeted data-quality work in selected counties.
Commissioners and participants asked for clarifications: one member asked whether the detention-tool (IAS) results were cross-referenced to the county survey responses and Bean said he had not yet done that cross-reference but could in an addendum. Several participants urged clearer, standard definitions of success for diversion and consistent annual questions to support trend analysis.
Next steps: presenters recommended follow-up work to reconcile survey and assessment datasets, expand the sample of counties with complete detention-tool data, refine performance definitions (including how direct-file matters are counted), and continue the planned probation-reporting additions slated for 2026. The commission noted these data improvements will inform future funding and policy recommendations.
