NCJ Number
172272
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses current trends in the design of juvenile correctional facilities in the United States.
Abstract
To illustrate the 1990s approach to planning juvenile correctional facilities, recent facilities built in Colorado and California are prototypical examples of completed projects that respond to contemporary treatment philosophies, current standards/codes, and strict public agency budgets. Other examples are buildings designed in the 1970s -- San Luis Obispo County Juvenile Services Center and Kings County Juvenile Hall -- which also demonstrate planning approaches to staff-secure facilities. Staff-secure facilities follow the direct-supervision model in which staff are available 24 hours a day, with backup, to interact with confined youth. An important first step in the planning process is an analysis of the youth who are to be served by the system and the security requirements of the building. Most juveniles do not require confinement in a maximum-security facility. Partially in response to research findings that infer the negative psychosocial consequences for juveniles confined to harshly restrictive institutional care, national standards seek the development of more "normal" settings and programs, which encourage constructive participation in goal-directed activities. This paper briefly describes the architectural design of six juvenile correctional facilities. The emphasis in these designs is on direct observation of residents. Staff are provided with an unobstructed view of an area. Supervision is inherent in the architecture; and extensive, normal security devices can be eliminated. It has been beneficial to involve staff as participants in the program as active counselors on the unit rather than as only observers. 8 references