What Is a Juvenile Holdover Program?
From a national perspective, a juvenile holdover program is generally defined as a community-based, short-term, temporary holding program for youths who do not meet detention criteria. Holdover programs provide jurisdictions, even those with limited resources, with a promising, cost-effective strategy to fill the gap in the continuum of predisposition services available for detained youth. They provide law enforcement officers a safe place to hold juveniles until a parent is located or other plans are made for release of the youth, and allow an officer to return to their primary duties. Juvenile holdover also can be used to eliminate inappropriate use of secure juvenile detention facilities, adult jails, and lockups. When tailored to meet the identified needs of the community a juvenile holdover program can accomplish the following: • Reduce law enforcement downtime and allow officers to return to their regular duties sooner • Provide a safe place for youths until parents are located o
