Less than 2 percent of the jail population in the United States is composed of persons under the age of 18; however, since many juveniles are detained in jail for only a short time, many believe the actual number of juveniles to pass through adult jails is much higher. Juvenile prison inmates also constitute only a small portion of the prison population. Most youths under the age of 18 sent to prison have been convicted of a violent or serious offense. Still, the vast majority of juveniles adjudicated delinquent continue to be held or confined in juvenile correctional facilities. Racial and ethnic minority juveniles are disproportionately represented in residential placement facilities for juveniles. Almost 67 percent of all juveniles in residential placement in 1997 were minorities, compared to a minority representation of approximately 33 percent of the juvenile population in the United States. Youths confined to juvenile correctional facilities develop various modes of adaptation to their setting. The mode of adaptation most common is to attempt to make the most out of the time in confinement, including meeting one's needs with the least adverse situations. Serious and violent institutionalized juvenile offenders can present a problem to correctional administrators in controlling and protecting other inmates and staff. Successful aftercare programs for serious juvenile offenders balance the needs of the high-risk youth and others susceptible to reoffending with the needs of the community at-large and public safety in the process of reintegration; however, due to overcrowding at secure juvenile residential facilities and the increasing costs of detention, some fear that intensive aftercare strategies may be undermined by bureaucratic expediency, thus releasing dangerous youths back into society without intensive supervision and needed services. 4 tables and 3 figures