OJJDP has released findings from its “Survey of Youth in Residential Placement,” an examination of more than 7,000 young people in secure placement around the country during 2003.
Among the most significant findings:
- Youth of color are overrepresented in residential placement: 32% of youth in residential placement are African American, and 24% are Latino.
- Over 1,200 youth in residential placement are under 13 years old.
- 57% of the detained youth are incarcerated for a nonviolent offense.
- Despite evidence that girls have not become more prone to offending over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of girls in residential placement. For some offenses, such as status offenses and assaults, girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to be in placement.
- 25% of the youth were not raised by either parent.
- 20% of young people in residential placement are either parents or expecting (compared to a national average of 2-6%)
- 30% of the respondents report that they have a learning disability (compared with 5% of the general population). They have also experienced high rates of suspensions (57%), truancy (53%), and disenrollment from school (24%)
- 30% of youth have not been informed of any post-release plan for them.
