Youth in Confinement - Justice by Geography

• NCJ Number: 90058
• Author(s): B Krisberg; P Litsky; I Schwartz
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 35 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Northwest Area Foundation
• Corporate Author: University of Minnesota
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; University of Minnesota
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Data from the 1979 National Children in Custody (CIC) survey revealed glaring differences in States' juvenile correctional practices, such as large disparities in admission rates, lengths of confinement, expenditures, and youth-staff ratios that are not explained by differential rates of juvenile crime.

Abstract

The 1979 CIC surveyed 1,136 public residential correctional facilities in the 50 States and the District of Columbia, a 100-percent response rate. The data showed large variations in detention and training school admission rates. For example, California had 28.9 percent of all detention admissions but only 10.5 percent of the age eligible youth population according to the 1980 census. Western States comprised 8 of the top 10 States in detention admission rates. Delaware possessed the highest rate of admission for training schools, followed by the District of Columbia and six western States. These patterns have been consistent throughout the 1970's. Neither violent arrest nor teenage unemployment rates explain much variation in these rates. Moreover, no relationship was found between admission rates and rates of confining youths in adult facilities. The average length of stay was about 12 days for detention and 226 days for training school. The study found little relationship between length of stay and admission rates for detention, but several States with high admission rates for training schools reported relatively lower average lengths of stay. States spent an average of $21,421 per youth annually for detention and $17,219 for training school. However, southern States tended to spend below the average and northeast States above the average. The high numbers of full-time staff compared to inmates demonstrated that most youths are held in secure settings. The use of secure versus nonsecure settings varied among States, but was unrelated to juvenile crime rates. Nearly one-third of all youths in training schools resided in overcrowded facilities. Tables and 17 references are included.