NCJ Number
242648
Date Published
February 2013
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report highlights the decline in the incarceration rate for youth in the United States and recommends ways to ensure its continuation, since the United States still leads the industrialized world in its incarceration of youth.
Abstract
In 2010, the incarceration rate for juveniles in the United States reached a 35-year low, with almost every State confining a smaller share of its youth population than a decade earlier. This trend has not led to a surge in juvenile crime, as some had feared. On the contrary, juvenile crime has fallen sharply along with the decline in juvenile incarceration. The relatively recent de-incarceration trend provides a unique opportunity to implement responses to delinquency that are more cost-effective and humane while providing better outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's work - including the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) and its recent publication, "No Place for Kids" - suggest approaches that can improve the chances of successful outcomes for youth who become involved with the justice system. Five recommendations are offered for policies that will both sustain and accelerate the decline in juvenile secure custody. First, limit eligibility for custody placement, restricting its use only to youth who pose a demonstrable risk to public safety. Second, invest in promising alternatives to incarceration. Third, adopt proven practices for supervising delinquent youth in their communities. Fourth, develop incentives for encouraging jurisdictions to create and use community-based services for youth. Fifth, establish small, treatment-oriented facilities for youth who require confinement.