Counting What Counts: The Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement

• NCJ Number: 247733
• Author(s): Joseph Moone
• Date Published: January 1998
• Length: 4 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Survey; Research (Applied/Empirical); Factsheet

Annotation

This fact sheet compares the features of two national surveys of juveniles in residential placement, i.e., the earlier census called Children in Custody (CIC) and the later improved version called the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP), inaugurated in 1997.

Abstract

CIC collected aggregate information on the number of juveniles in custody. It asked each facility to provide the total number of juveniles held in the facility on the reference date -- usually February 15. Facilities were also asked to provide the numbers of juvenile delinquent offenders, status offenders, and nonoffenders. Other sections of the census asked for aggregate numbers by age and race. Unfortunately, these aggregate data were inflexible and could not answer significant questions raised by researchers and practitioners. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) concluded that CIC did not fully meet the information needs of the juvenile justice community. In response, it developed the CJRP, a comprehensive, manageable, and reliable statistical series covering juvenile offenders in residential placement. For each juvenile held in residential facilities, CJRP collects individual information such as date of birth, race, sex, and most serious offense. CJRP also asks questions about the juvenile's legal status, including court of jurisdiction (i.e., criminal court or juvenile court), adjudicatory status (i.e., pre- or post-adjudication), and the State or county that has jurisdiction over the juvenile. OJJDP will publish CJRP statistics through a series of Fact Sheets and Bulletins that address juvenile justice issues. Reference tables and general analyses will be published separately. Special analyses covering such issues as gender, race, and offense types will be published in compendium publications that use several data sources. Confidentiality issues are also discussed.