SUMMARY - Youth Detention and Custody
A fifteen-year-old spends twenty-three hours a day in a cell designed for adult inmates, receiving one hour of recreation in a cage. Another youth in a therapeutic facility attends school, participates in group counseling, and receives visits from family in a living room setting. A detention center investigation uncovers rampant staff-on-youth violence, sexual abuse, and use of solitary confinement on children as young as twelve. A well-run facility reports that ninety percent of youth complete educational programming and maintain family contact throughout their stay.