Children in Custody: 20-Year Trends in Juvenile Detention, Correctional, and Shelter Facilities

Abstract

Using data drawn from the Children in Custody (CIC) statistical series, this article presents 20-year trends (1) in the number and characteristics of juvenile correctional facilities, (2) in the number and characteristics of youth held in juvenile correctional facilities, and (3) in the costs of confinement of youth held in juvenile correctional facilities. A brief history and some of the limitations of the CIC data are presented. The new Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement that replaced CIC in 1997 is briefly described. The article concludes that, even after controlling for the size of the at-risk juvenile population and inflation, there were more juveniles, more males, more minorities, and more violent offenders in more crowded, secure, and costly juvenile correctional facilities in 1995 than there were in the preceding years.