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Data Reflect Changing Nature of Facility Populations, Characteristics, and Practices

NCJ Number
251743
Date Published
August 2016
Length
1 page
Annotation

This data snapshot summarizes trend data on the number of youth in residential placement and the percentage of residential facilities over capacity by facility size for the period 2000 - 2014, and data for 2014 only cover the percentage of youth in placement by facility type (private, state, and local), the percentage of reporting facilities that evaluated youth for various types of needs, and the percentage of facilities that used isolation to control resident behavior.

Abstract

For all facilities, the number of youth in residential placement between 2000 and 2014 declined 53 percent, from 108,802 to 50.821. These data are broken down by facility size (20 beds or less, 21-100 beds, and greater than 100 beds). In 2014, 4 percent of all facilities were over capacity, compared with 8 percent in 2000. These data are also broken down by facility size. In 2014, although nearly half of all facilities were privately operated compared to facilities operated by state and local authorities, the private facilities held just under 30 percent of youth in placement. In 2014, 90 percent of reporting facilities evaluated all youth for suicide risk, 88 percent for education needs, 74 percent for substance abuse, and 58 percent for mental health needs. In 2014, nearly half of training schools and detention centers reported the use of isolation to control resident behavior (either locked in a room or under mechanical restraints). 5 figures

Date Published: August 1, 2016