U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

From Houses of Refuge to "Youth Corrections": Same Story, Different Day

NCJ Number
211656
Author(s)
Randall G. Shelden
Date Published
2005
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This critique of the conditions of California's juvenile custodial facilities compares them to conditions in the first juvenile custodial facilities known as houses of refuge.
Abstract
Imprisonment has been a dominant form of punishment in America for approximately 200 years. For young offenders, imprisonment began in the 1820s in New York City, with the founding of the New York House of Refuge. The stated purpose of this institution and similar ones that were subsequently built in other States was to encourage work habits; provide instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, and moral and religious values; and provide treatment for any deviant behaviors. In actuality, the houses of refuge generally became places where youth were placed under tight controls enforced with discipline that included abusive corporal punishments. Abusive conditions became scandals so notorious that houses of refuge were eventually closed. Abuses continued, however, in the institutions that followed. Reports on current conditions in California juvenile institutions under the California Youth Authority (CYA) show that conditions in juvenile institutions have not changed much over the years. A series of reports in the 1980s condemned abusive and neglectful practices within the CYA. In the fall of 2004, the CYA was again reported to maintain conditions of extreme brutality, degrading physical conditions, a lack of effective education and treatment programs, and a high rate of resident suicides. The State and the CYA have yet to commit the resources and personnel required for the major reforms needed to provide a rehabilitative environment in juvenile residential facilities. This country has yet to escape the legacy of almost 200 years of abusive imprisonment of juveniles. 1 table and 83 references