NCJ Number
79420
Date Published
1979
Length
39 pages
Annotation
Trends in the handling of youth in trouble with the law are examined, with emphasis on issues related to the deinstitutionalization of status offenders.
Abstract
The overall system for dealing with youth in trouble consists of three subsystems: the juvenile corrections system, the child welfare system, and the mental health system. Among the reasons for the emergence of this multifaceted system for dealing with youth in trouble are the increasing role of the private sector in the custody and treatment of delinquent youth, the growth of voluntary commitments to juvenile correctional facilities, the mixing of a broader array of youth in trouble in private than in public facilities, and the transfer of responsibilities for status offenders from probation and correctional authorities to public child welfare officials. Other reasons are the redefinition of delinquent and status behaviors, greater use of the mental health system, and the use of Federal funds to subsidize out-of-home placements. Shifts away from specific institutional types have been matched by new sources of institutionalization. Examination of data on youth facilities indicates that a majority of youth in trouble who are not officially adjudicated but are living in an out-of-home group placement may be living in facilities which are not the least restrictive choice. Use of a narrow deinstitutionalization policy that overlooks the living arrangements of alternative placements may place youth into old institutional forms under new labels. In contrast, a broad deinstitutionalization policy would apply equally to all types of out-of-home service systems and would place the highest funding priority on home-based services. Such an approach would be desirable because it would consider the fate of all children in trouble, not just those that fit a correctional program category. An appendix presenting data tables and a list of 85 references are provided.