An editorial for The New York Times ("Locking Up Fewer Children" August 14) highlights the success of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. JDAI has worked to reduce the number of youth who are detained in juvenile and correctional facilities and has shown that closely supervising young offenders, instead of incarcerating them, does not increase the youth crime rate or the risk to public safety. Similar programs have since been adopted in 110 jurisdictions in 27 states and the District of Columbia. According to a new study from the Foundation, many jurisdictions involved in JDAI have managed to cut the number of children in detention by half or more, and in many jurisdictions the youth crime rate has declined.

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