The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections remains committed to providing public safety, protecting victims and changing the delinquent behaviors of the juvenile offenders committed to them. The Department continues to strive to provide a safe and secure environment for staff and youth. Safety is essential to providing education, treatment and rehabilitation to the youth in our care; who will eventually return to our communities.

The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections is responsible for juveniles adjudicated delinquent and committed by the juvenile courts. The department is accountable to the citizens of Arizona for the promotion of public safety through the management of the state's secure juvenile facilities and it provides services to juvenile offenders including rehabilitation, treatment and education. Arizona law requires that ADJC accomplish its mission by providing supervision, rehabilitation, treatment and education to the juveniles committed to its care.

The attraction of a federal research laboratory to Arizona as a strategic economic development initiative of the Arizona Economic Resource Organization can be justified based on the literature cited below, the relationship of federally funded research and development centers to broader measures of research and development and prosperity, and the implementation of this strategy elsewhere. A primary objective of attracting a federal research facility is to help create a climate that is conducive to private-sector economic development, especially related to research and development. On a purely cost-benefit basis, the pursuit of a federal lab has strong appeal since the benefits largely will accrue within Arizona while a considerable portion of the costs conceivably will be borne by the federal government.

The demand for new workers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) occupations in Arizona is a function of net job growth in these occupations in the state and the number of workers leaving STEM jobs in Arizona. Employees may leave their position for various reasons, including to retire, to move out of the state, or to change their profession. The supply of new workers in STEM occupations in Arizona is a function of the number of new college graduates in related majors, the number of workers moving to the state who are qualified to fill STEM jobs, and the number of Arizonans who are qualified to fill STEM jobs moving from a non-STEM to STEM occupation.

The educational attainment of Arizona’s workforce is less than the national average and has deteriorated over time relative to the U.S. average. Job quality and average earnings in Arizona also are below the national average. These three factors — job quality, earnings, and educational attainment — are interrelated. On average, the higher the educational attainment of a worker, the higher are his or her earnings. The largest increase by far occurs with the completion of a university degree. In Arizona, the average earnings of those with a college degree are approximately $28,140 (73 percent) higher than those with only some college. Thus, working individuals financially benefit from enhancing their educational attainment.

A landmark assessment of infrastructure needs in Arizona was produced by the L. William Seidman Research Institute in May 2008 for the Arizona Investment Council (AIC): "Infrastructure Needs and Funding Alternatives for Arizona: 2008-2032", that addressed infrastructure needs in four categories: energy, telecommunications, transportation, and water and wastewater. The information from the AIC report is a major input to the report that follows. Other types of infrastructure — most notably education, health care, and public safety — also are analyzed here to provide a more complete picture of infrastructure needs in Arizona. The goals of this report are to place Arizona’s infrastructure needs into national and historical contexts, to identify the changing conditions in infrastructure provision that make building Arizona’s infrastructure in the future a more problematic proposition than in the past, and to provide projections of the possible costs of providing infrastructure in Arizona over the next quarter century.

For those interested in one of the most extreme state tax and expenditure limitations, TABOR – Colorado’s initiative that limits the funding of most expenditures to annual revenue growth restrained by the sum of annual population growth and inflation rates – would seem to be exactly the right choice. To some, the initiative simply limits government to spend within its means. However, the analysis in this paper reveals that, true to the language in the 1992 Colorado initiative, TABOR limits government growth, and over time the public sector, as a share of the overall economy, declines sharply – crowding out opportunities for investments in strategic initiatives or opportunities for tax reform that may be popular with large voter constituencies or the business community. Advocates point out that provisions in TABOR do allow for voter overrides, but these are costly in both time and money, and until the overrides take place, government is
hamstrung. A simpler, more efficient alternative would be to elect fiscally conservative legislators and hold them accountable for prudent fiscal decisions that strike the right balance between a tax base conductive to economic growth and strategic investments that provide public sector infrastructure, nurturing the business climate and promoting the health and well-being of the citizenry. The paper first outlines the TABOR amendment in Colorado and examines its fiscal consequences for that state. It then examines the potential impact of a TABOR in Arizona.

The condition of Arizona’s infrastructure has a direct impact on economic productivity and quality of life. As economic competition expands domestically and globally, and as the knowledge economy evolves, the importance of a strong infrastructure increases. Education, in particular, is of growing importance. Arizona’s infrastructure challenges will require commitment and creativity to meet the needs and potential of 10 million people and to ensure a positive future for the state.

The Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections has put together this handbook for you. You should use this Youth Handbook to help answer questions about your stay in Secure Care and as a guide to help you successfully transition from Secure Care into the community. This handbook will be discussed with you during your Orientation process.