Children in Custody 1991: Private Facilities

• NCJ Number: 247724
• Author(s): Joseph Moone
• Date Published: April 1993
• Length: 3 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Survey; Statistics; Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This report on juveniles in custody in private facilities in the United States in 1991 presents statistics on the number in custody, the number and types of facilities included in the survey, the types of offenses for which juveniles were placed in custody, and the demographics of the juveniles in custody.

Abstract

There were 36,190 youth in custody in 2,032 primate juvenile facilities in the United States in 1991. Status offenders accounted for 15 percent of the youth held in these facilities. Delinquent offenders accounted for 40 percent of these youth. The remaining 45 percent were composed of nonoffenders (those admitted for emotional disturbance, dependency, neglect or abuse) and voluntarily admitted youth (those admitted as part of a diversion program or admitted by a social service agency). The largest proportion of private facilities classified themselves as halfway houses (74 percent). These facilities held 60 percent of all juveniles in custody in private facilities. Shelters were the next most common facility type, comprising 15 percent of private facilities; however, they held only 8 percent of the youth in custody in private facilities. Training schools comprised 4 percent of all private facilities, yet held 20 percent of privately held youth. Of delinquency offenses, a property offense was the most frequent reason for custody in private facilities (47 percent of all delinquent juveniles). In 1991, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention surveyed 2,842 privately operated juvenile detention, correction, and shelter facilities. Of this number, 2,136 responded. Of the respondents, 2,032 met the criteria for a juvenile facility. Facilities were included if they housed more than 50 percent juveniles, had a juvenile offender population greater than 1 percent of their total population, or indicated they normally housed juvenile offenders.