NCJ Number
170131
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 59 Issue: 3 Dated: (June 1997) Pages: 68-70
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Juveniles sentenced to adult correctional facilities present correctional personnel and administrators with numerous management and program challenges.
Abstract
The increase in the number of juveniles under the jurisdiction of the criminal court is pervasive across the country, although no data indicate that removal from the juvenile system reduces recidivism in serious juvenile offenders. The varied approaches used to address the increased presence of juveniles in adult facilities include incarcerating juveniles with and as adults, incarcerating them in juvenile or separate facilities until they reach adult age and are transferred to an adult facility, segregating juveniles in adult facilities, designating certain juveniles as youthful offenders, and expanding dispositional options in the juvenile system. Correctional administrators must address the legal status of juveniles in the adult system, the appropriateness of existing policies and procedures, housing decisions, supervision policies, disciplinary practices, and program delivery. How these youths' behavior is managed and how their treatment needs are addressed during incarceration will have a profound impact on how they mature, the kinds of adults they become, and the communities to which they return. Photographs and 4 references