Juvenile Residential Facility Census, 2008: Selected Findings

Findings from the 2008 Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) include: since 2006, the population of juvenile offenders in custody has declined 12 percent; the proportion of residents held in juvenile facilities that were over the limit of their standard bed capacity dropped from 40 percent in 2000 to 21 percent in 2008; in 2008, public facilities made up less than half of the juvenile residential facilities (47 percent) yet they held more offenders than private facilities (69 percent); residential treatment centers made up 34 percent of all facilities and held 36 percent of juvenile offenders, while facilities identified as group homes made up 27 percent of facilities and held 10 percent of juvenile offenders; and security features at the facilities varied across size and type of facility with 70 percent of public facilities locking youth in their rooms at night compared to just 9 percent of private facilities. This report presents findings from the biannual JRFC conducted in 2008 to collect information about the facilities that house juvenile offenders. Information was collected from 2,458 juvenile facilities that held 81,015 juvenile offenders on the date of the census (October 22, 2008) and included data on facility characteristics such as size, structure, type, ownership, and security arrangements; and the number of youth who died in custody in the past 12 months. The findings from the census indicate positive trends in juvenile offenders in custody in juvenile residential facilities. Tables