Detained Youth and Committed Youth

The Decision Process

When juveniles are arrested, state officials must decide what to do with them. All states have passed age limits and definitions for crimes that determine whether an accused individual will be treated as a juvenile or as an adult. Although the decision to divert youths from the court system ultimately lies with most state attorney offices, workers that handle initial intake assessments also have the discretion to make this recommendation. If the youths are handled judicially, it must then be decided whether they can be released to their parents or if they must be held in a state detention center facility until their court date. They should usually only be placed in detention if they pose a threat to public safety, have a prior criminal history, or because of the seriousness of their offense or other risk factors.

Types of Detention

There are many different ways to hold juveniles. Home and secure detention are two common ways to keep youths under state custody. Individuals can be detained in preadjudicatory status (those awaiting court hearing), postdisposition (those awaiting commitment placement), as part of their punishment, or as an alternative to correctional institution (similar to jail status in adult system). Juveniles placed in secure detention have been found to be a risk to public safety, and must therefore be held in a physically secure location. Home detention, as a type of punishment, means that the person is closely supervised in the community, or electronically monitored, and is not allowed to leave the home other than for specified conditions.

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