This bulletin presents findings based on data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-sponsored Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, a biennial survey of all secure and nonsecure residential placement facilities that house juvenile offenders.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention sponsors the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) to gather comprehensive and detailed information about youth in residential placement because of law-violating behavior. This biennial survey details the characteristics of youth held for delinquency and status offenses in public and private residential facilities in every state. The most recent CJRP data show that the number of youth in placement continues to decline. Between 1997 and 2017, the overall number of youth in residential placement decreased 59 percent to 43,580, its lowest level since the data collection began in 1997.