The county recorded 171 admissions to its juvenile jail in 2025, less than half the number in 2019. Youth intake assessments at the Juvenile Reception Center have also dropped: the center handled just over 350 last year, compared with 683 about a decade ago.

Officials point to lower crime and expanded efforts to divert young people accused of less serious offenses from the court system. Madison police began referring youth to restorative justice programs in 2021, and about two-thirds of referrals to the county reception center involve Madison residents, according to county Juvenile Court Program Administrator Ed Pearson.

The county’s process begins after an arrest, when staff assess whether a young person can be released or placed with family or in a shelter. Youth accused of serious offenses, or who lack a suitable place to stay, may be held in the juvenile jail while their case proceeds.

About two-thirds of youth referred to the Juvenile Court Program are now either released or placed somewhere other than the jail. On Oct. 14, six young people — five boys and one girl — were being held in the downtown facility, which can accommodate 30.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Nia Trammell said she generally tries to avoid detention, but the county has few placement options when families cannot or will not take a child. Sending young people outside the county can be destabilizing, she said, and may expose them to more serious behavioral challenges.

The county has also reduced the use of jail for young people who violate court orders such as curfews. Pearson said changes to sanctions have cut the average number of youth returning to detention after release by nearly threefold.

Despite the overall decline, Black young people remain disproportionately represented. Black residents make up about 6% of Dane County’s population, while Black youth accounted for roughly 70% of detention referrals in 2025, according to the Juvenile Court Program’s annual report. The report also found that Black youth were less likely to be released immediately after arrest or placed under supervision at home.

“There’s just a lot more work to go,” Pearson said, noting that judges are increasingly considering home detention and other programs but that disparities remain.

Judges also warn that fewer cases do not necessarily mean less harm. Judge Everett Mitchell, who led the Juvenile Court Program from 2020 until January 2026, said the cases reaching court have become more serious, amid young people’s mental health needs, educational challenges and housing instability.

“It’s trending down in volume, but it’s trending up in seriousness,” Mitchell said. Trammell said she has seen more gun-related offenses among youth over the past year and a half.

In January, Dane County launched a six-month program called ATTA — Assessment, Treatment, Transition and Aftercare — intended to provide an alternative to sending boys ages 13 to 16 to the state’s Lincoln Hills youth prison. Participants receive employment opportunities, therapy, skill-building and community-service support. The first three phases take place at the downtown juvenile jail; the final phase is at home.

Three young people have participated so far, but none has completed the program successfully. Trammell said the initiative is a limited response to a broader shortage of placements and criticized the decision to house it in the jail.

“True systemic change requires moving capital to preventative, community-rooted programs that address housing, mental health and family stabilization before youth ever come before the court,” she said.

Lincoln Hills and the state’s youth prison for girls, Cooper Lake, have faced federal oversight over reported conditions. The state has plans to replace the facilities, including a Dane County site, but the prisons remain open as construction moves forward.

For county officials, the challenge is to sustain diversion while responding to more serious cases and addressing the unequal likelihood that Black youth will be detained. Mitchell said he hopes the county can avoid returning to the higher levels of juvenile incarceration seen before the pandemic.