Secure Confinement

The term incarceration connotes confinement in a jail or prison; however, when referring to noncriminal juvenile offenders, the term secure confinement is typically used. In all 50 U.S. states, persons who have not been convicted of—or even charged with—a crime can be placed in secure confinement under civil law. What these persons have in common is that they are children and are under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. Their secure confinement may take place in facilities called juvenile halls, rehabilitation camps, or state training schools—or even a cottage, camp, or group home. Regardless of the term used for the facility, a minor placed in such confinement—and in some cases even at home with parents—remains subject to the juvenile court’s power and, if found to ...