To obtain information about the number of children held in adult jails and confinement conditions, site visits were made to 449 jails in 126 counties and nine independent cities, almost all of which had a population of over 50,000, in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. It was found that children were in adult jails in every State. Of the 449 jails, 171 (38.1 percent) indicated that they held children regularly as a matter of policy. Of the 278 jails that said they did not hold children, 41 (14.7 percent) acknowledged that they occasionally held children. Most children in adult jails were not detained for violent crimes and could not be considered a threat to themselves or the community. Only 11.7 percent were charged with serious offenses against the person; the remaining were charged with property or minor offenses. While the majority of jailed children were white, a disproportionate number (31.8 percent) were minority. Almost four of every five jailed children were male. The length of time and the reason for jailing children often violated State laws. The average length of stay at the time of site visits was 6 days, but almost 18 percent of the children had been incarcerated for more than 10 days. Conditions in most jails subjected children to cruel and unusual punishment through physical abuse and neglect. Recommendations to stop the jailing of children emphasize the need for child advocacy. Appendixes provide a list of jails visited and the consent decree in the case of Escamilla and All Others Similarly Situated v. Santos et al. Footnotes, tables, and photographs