JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER

The Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center is a 32 bed secure facility designed to house juvenile offenders who have criminal cases pending in Family, County or District Courts.  It is under the supervision of the Nassau County Department of Social Services and is certified by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

The detention center is designed to be a short-term facility and houses youths until final dispositions of their cases.  Based upon the dispositions made, the youths are returned to their communities, placed on probation or referred to agencies that provide longer-term care.

The average length of stay at the center is approximately 14 days, but can be significantly longer for those charged with more serious crimes.  The center accepts approximately 800 admissions per year.  While primarily meant to house Nassau County youths, residents from other counties are also accepted on a space available basis.

Youngsters as young as 10 years old may be accepted as well as a number of juveniles 16 years or older for violation of probation for crimes committed as juveniles; however, the majority of our residents fall into the 14-15 year old range.

Historically in this century a distinction has been made between children who commit crimes as opposed to adults.  The Juvenile Detention Center strives to maintain this philosophy by providing children with a safe, caring environment while at the same time insisting on accountability and acceptable standards of behavior.