Most juveniles are held in semi secure facilities that are                                                                designed to look like a high school campus than a prison.

Halfway houses, boot camps, ranches, forestry camps,                                                           wilderness programs, group homes, and state hired private                                                             facilities also hold juveniles ordered to confinement.

In 1995, populations ranged from a low of                                                                                           24 in Vermont to a high of 19,567 in California.

86.5% were male.

40% were black, 37.5% were white, and 18.5% were Hispanic.

6.5% were institutionalized for having  committed a status offense, such as truancy, running away, or violating curfew.

42.4% were in residential facilities for a serious personal or property offense.

2% were charged or adjudicated for homicide or murder.

Half of all states reported overcrowding in juvenile facilities, and 22 states were operating facilities at more than 50% over capacity.

47% of juveniles are confined in facilities that populations exceed their reported design capacity.

33% of residents had to sleep in rooms  that were smaller than required by nationally recognized standards.

The fastest growing category of detained juveniles is drug and alcohol offenders.