Data Snapshot CJRP

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

The Number of Juveniles in Residential
Placement Continued to Decline in 2013
Challenges remain to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and confinement of youth who commit less serious offenses
The number of juveniles in residential placement fell
50% between 1999 and 2013

Juvenile placement rates declined in every state from
2006 to 2013; 9 states cut their rates by half or more

Youth in residential placement
120,000
100,000

107,493

Total
80,000
77,835

54,148

Committed

60,000

DC

40,000
Detained

Percent decline in
placement rates,
2006–2013

35,659

28,576

20,000

17,803

50% or greater

0
10/97 10/99 10/01 10/03 02/06 10/07 02/10 10/11 10/13
Census date

40% to 49%
25% to 39%
less than 25%

Note: Total includes detained youth, committed youth, and a small
number of youth in placement as part of a diversion agreement.

Minority youth accounted for 68% of youth in
residential placement in 2013
White
Race/
ethnicity

Black

32%

Despite declines, the placement rate for minority
youth was 2.7 times that of white youth in 2013

Hispanic Other

40%

23%

5%

}

Proportion of petitioned cases referred
68%
Male
Gender

Age

86%

Under 15

15

16

17

14%

17%

26%

28%

0%

20%
40%
60%
80%
Percent of youth in residential placement

Youth in placement per 100,000 youth ages
10–upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction

700

Ratio of rates
(minority to white)

3.5

3.5

600

2.7

3.0

500

2.5

14%

400

2.0

18-20

300

1.5

15%

200

1.0

100

0.5

Female

100%

Note: Other race includes American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Asian/
Pacific Islanders, and youth of unknown race.

0

10/97 10/99 10/01 10/03 02/06 10/07 02/10 10/11 10/13
Census date
White

Minority

0.0

Ratio

Less than 40% of juveniles in placement in 2013
were held for a person offense
Status
offense
5%
Drugs
6%

ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb
Person
37%

Access more information on juveniles in placement
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n Analyze data with Easy Access to the Census of

Public
order
11%

Juveniles in Residential Placement

n View the glossary of terms, methods, and data
collection questionnaires
Technical
violations
17%

Property
24%

Data source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement [machine-readable
data files]. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau (producer).