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Children in Federal Custody: Assessment of Federal Policy and Practices

NCJ Number
115222
Date Published
1984
Length
89 pages
Annotation
Based on an analysis of legislation, case law, and agency policies and statistics, this report examines the extent to which Federal policies and practices result in the detention of youth in circumstances inconsistent with the deinstitutionalization and separation provisions of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.
Abstract
Data were collected between 1979 and 1980 and focused on the handling of Federal juvenile offenders, undocumented aliens, and Native Americans. Overall, findings suggest that the practices of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Park Service are not consistent with the requirements of the Act. For all five agencies, children are not a major priority, and the resources directed toward the development of programs for the handling or treatment of youth in Federal custody are minimal and often inadequate. Possibly because youth are not a priority, the monitoring systems of these agencies neither attempted nor succeeded in accounting for the identification, detention, or disposition of children in the Federal system. Ending the inappropriate confinement of juveniles will require a coordination of Federal efforts and the development of appropriate alternative placements and programs for youth in Federal custody. Supplemental information and agency responses to the findings are appended.