Survey of Youth in Residential Placement: Conditions of Confinement

• NCJ Number: 250754
• Author(s): Andrea J. Sedlak
• Date Published: May 2016
• Length: 71 pages
• Publication Series: OJJDP Survey of Youth in Residential Placement Series
• Grant Number(s): 2013-MU-FX-0005; 2001-JR-BX-K001
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Survey; Statistics; Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This report, the third in the series, presents findings from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement (SYRP) regarding their conditions of confinement in a range of facility types and programs, with a focus on the structural and operational characteristics of these environments and how youth offenders are distributed across various programs and facilities of differing sizes and complexity.

Abstract

Among the documented conditions and experiences of youth in placement are how youth are grouped in living units and programs; which youth are placed together; the activities for youth available in each type of facility; the accessibility of social, emotional, and legal supports; the quality of the youth-staff relationships; the clarity of the facility's rules; the quality of the facility's commitment to justice and due process; and the methods of control and discipline used by staff. The SYRP sample was drawn from the full population of State and local facilities identified by the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement and Juvenile Residential Facility Census surveys. Data were obtained through interviews with a nationally representative sample of 7,073 youth in 2003, using audio-computer-assisted self-interview. Facility administrators provided additional information about placement contexts. 18 figures, 17 tables, and 46 references