Youth detention center

"Young offender institution" redirects here. For the similarly named youth prisons in the UK, see His Majesty's Young Offender Institution.
"Youth authority" redirects here. For the album by Good Charlotte, see Youth Authority.

Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, Houston, Texas

In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),[1] juvenile detention, juvenile jail, juvenile hall, or more colloquially as juvie/juvy or the Juvey Joint, also sometimes referred to as observation home or remand home[2] is a prison for people under the age of majority, to which they have been sentenced and committed for a period of time, or detained on a short-term basis while awaiting trial or placement in a long-term care program. Juveniles go through a separate court system, the juvenile court, which sentences or commits juveniles to a certain program or facility.[3]

Some juveniles are released directly back into the community to undergo community-based rehabilitative programs, while others juveniles may pose a greater threat to society and to themselves and therefore are in need of a stay in a supervised juvenile detention center.[4] If a juvenile is sent by the courts to a juvenile detention center, there are two types of facilities: secure detention and secure confinement.[4]

Secure detention means that juveniles are held for usually short periods of time in facilities in order to await current trial hearings and further placement decisions.[4] By holding juveniles in secure detention, it ensures appearance in court while also keeping the community safe and risk-free of the juvenile.[4] This type of facility is usually called a "juvenile hall," which is a holding center for juvenile delinquents.[1] On the other hand, secure confinement implies that the juvenile has been committed by the court into the custody of a secure juvenile correctional facility for the duration of a specific program, which can span from a few months to many years.[4]

Juvenile detention is not intended to be punitive. Rather, juveniles held in secure custody usually receive care consistent with the doctrine of parens patriae, i.e., the state as parent. The state or local jurisdiction is usually responsible for providing education, recreation, health, assessment, counseling and other intervention services with the intent of maintaining a youth's well-being during his or her stay in custody.[5]

Generally speaking, secure detention is reserved for juveniles considered to be a threat to public safety or the court process, though in many cases, youths are held for violating a court order. Status offenders, i.e., juveniles charged with running away from home, alcohol possession, and other offenses that are not crimes if committed by adults, may only be held for 24 hours or less,[6] while initial case investigation is completed, and other alternatives are arranged.[citation needed]

Within the categories of secure detention and secure confinement for juveniles, the overarching name of these facilities is residential programs. Five overarching types of residential programs where a juvenile may be placed while in court custody:[7] The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found the five types of residential programs for juveniles to be a broad range, which included detention, corrections, camp, community based, and residential treatment.[7] The reason for the wide variety in placement options of juveniles is that there does not currently exist a uniform definition of residential treatment programs.[7] As a result, this creates a lack of uniformity across states and a large variety of names for secure detention and secure confinement centers for juveniles.[7]

  1. ^ a b Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. Abbreviations Dictionary. CRC Press, 2001. 1202 Archived 14 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 August 2010. ISBN 0-8493-9003-6, ISBN 978-0-8493-9003-6.
  2. ^ "Short Notes on Remand Homes (Observation Homes)". PreserveArticles.com: Preserving Your Articles for Eternity. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. ^ Snyder, H. & Sickmund, M. (March 2006). "Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report". OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book: 93–96. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e Austin, James; Kelly Dedel Johnson; Ronald Weitzer (September 2005). "Alternatives to the Secure Detention and Confinement of Juvenile Offenders". OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin (5): 1. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Laws: services and programs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ NCC.state.ne.us Archived 27 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d "OJJDP Model Programs Guide: Residential". OJJDP Model Programs Guide. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.