Introduction. At the present stage of development, society faces the problems in the field of high levels of juvenile delinquency and adolescent deviation, which were typical of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. In the practice of criminal and penal legislation, the application of imprisonment to them often remains the only form of punishment. As part of the search for an optimal model for achieving a corrective effect, it is interesting to refer to the existing historical experience. A comprehensive inclusion of the public to solve the situation was one of the forms of combating juvenile delinquency since the second half of the 19th century. One of the instruments of state policy in this area was the active involvement of the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church, which were to become the leading body in the fight against and prevention in the field of juvenile delinquency. Materials and methods. By the example of the organization of the work of correctional shelters, founded in 1898 at the monasteries of the Kuban region, the authors analyze their activities, the difficulties in organizing work with the contingent within the monasteries of the entire Caucasian department. The conclusion becomes relevant that success in the activities of prevention and correction was possible only with the wide involvement of the public, the training of pupils of shelters in professions that are in demand on the labor market, a combination of various programs and religious educational practices, in close cooperation with the executive authorities of the region. Analysis. An appeal to the history of correctional institutions in the North Caucasus can help improve the organization of work in relation to juveniles who committed crimes in the implementation of the strategy for the execution of punishments. Results. As the results of the study showed, this experiment did not receive wide support not only in the region, but throughout the empire. And only thanks to the help of the public in organizing the work and maintenance of the orphans, with limited funding from the state, the monasteries managed to establish the process of rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. In combination with the use of various educational systems and programs, school and labor training, various methods of education and mentoring, the monasteries contributed to the correction of minors.