NCJ Number
83300
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
A children's rights advocate graphically portrays the appalling conditions in juvenile institutions, particularly those housing juvenile status offenders, and explains how community groups can improve these conditions through media support and by using the appropriate investigative tools (i.e., financial reports).
Abstract
Of all the children in juvenile institutions, 90 percent need not be incarcerated, and over half are status offenders. Suicide is the leading cause of death among incarcerated juveniles. Moreover, 79 percent of adult inmates began their careers in juvenile institutions. Vivid case histories; sample litigation; and examples of political corruption, moral indifference, and greed among juvenile institution operators illustrate the brutality, exploitation, and neglect that epitomizes these so-called 'treatment' facilities. Conditions faced by status offenders in Texas, California, and Massachusetts are detailed, with attention to both nonprofit and profit-making juvenile institutions. To investigate the nonprofits, community groups should request to see Form 990 submitted by all such organizations to the Internal Revenue Service. To investigate profit-making, publically owned corporations, community groups should request the information submitted on Form 10K to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both these forms give a financial profile of the organizations, although no such information has to be filed by profit-making, privately owned corporations. The media can help to change conditions in juvenile institutions if those who have information present it either anonymously, as a protected source, or publicly. A discussion period concludes this session. For further discussion of reform strategies, see NCJ 83301.