Together with a review of previous research, analyses document the growing numbers of minority youth confined in juvenile correctional facilities. Minority youth are confined at a rate 3 to 4 times that of whites, are more likely to be confined in more secure facilities, and were increasingly overrepresented in correctional facilities between 1979-1982. Data on arrests and self-reported delinquency failed to support the hypothesis that this overrepresentation was a function of minority youth's greater involvement in serious criminal activity. Other data, however, suggest that the higher arrest rates of minority youth and stiffer penalties for chronic offenders may contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of minority youth. Tables and 51 references.