NCJ Number
183977
Date Published
1999
Length
83 pages
Annotation
The United States is going through a repressive period in juvenile justice, a period in which the emphasis on rehabilitation has virtually disappeared.
Abstract
Minorities represent nearly two-thirds of juveniles held in public detention and long-term facilities, and conditions of confinement for these young people are often grim. Further, there are more transfers to adult courts, more mandatory minimum sentences, and more frequent use of incarceration for juvenile offenders. Approximately 5,700 young people are being tried as adults and held in adult facilities on an average day. Another 2,400 are being held as juveniles in adult jails. Conditions in juvenile correctional facilities are often not known to the public and the media, and these facilities tend to be isolated from each other. Although conditions in juvenile correctional facilities are not always adequate or humane, most young people are housed in facilities with codes emphasizing a setting that is home-like and as least restrictive as possible. These facilities typically have some kind of educational program, mandated exercise, and recreation. Most facilities screen for emergency medical problems and drug use. The treatment of juveniles in the District of Columbia is contrasted with the superior juvenile justice approach in a Texas juvenile correctional facility. Another case example is provided of Chicago's efforts to provide temporary care and custody of dependent, neglected, and mentally disabled children, as well as juveniles charged with crime. Recommendations to improve conditions in juvenile correctional facilities are offered. References and photographs