Juvenile Corrections, Contemporary

As the United States entered the 21st century, it faced a crisis in juvenile corrections. Due to get-tough sentencing policies enacted in the 1980s and 1990s, juvenile incarceration was at an alltime high. On any given day, there were over 100,000 youths held in juvenile correctional facilities. Reports began to surface, indicating that abuse and poor conditions were endemic in many of these facilities. Court-mandated investigations in both California and Texas uncovered serious levels of mistreatment and violence. Research revealed three-year recidivism rates ...