This bulletin, a part of the National Report Series, presents the results of a 2014 census of the characteristics of residential facilities that house youth charged with or adjudicated for law violations, including facility type, capacity, type of security, and the types of evaluations and services the facilities provide residents.
The facility census describes 1,852 juvenile facilities. Analyses were based only on data from facilities housing justice-involved youths on the census date (October 22, 2014). These facilities housed a total of 50,821 justice-involved youth who were younger than 21 on the census date. Nearly half of the facilities were private, but most youth were in public facilities. Local facilities were more numerous, but State facilities held nearly as many youth. Residential treatment centers and detention centers outnumbered other types of facilities. Security features and size varied across types of facilities. Facilities varied in their degree of security, with larger facilities having more security. Crowding affected a relatively small proportion of youth in custody. One in five youth were in facilities that were at or over their standard bed capacity. Private facilities were more likely than public facilities to be crowded. Most youth were evaluated for educational needs and attended school while held in facilities. Facilities offered a variety of educational services. Most facilities reported screening youth for substance abuse problems. Drug testing was a routine procedure in most facilities. Half of the youth were in facilities where in-house mental health professionals assessed all youth. Most youth were in facilities that evaluated all youth for suicide risk on their first day. Facilities reported eight deaths of youth in placement over 12 months; five were suicides. Extensive tables