The Problem of Incarcerating Juveniles with Adults

Currently, all states allow juveniles who commit certain offenses to be waived from jurisdiction of the juvenile court to be tried and sentenced in adult criminal court. This essay reviews approaches for housing juvenile offenders in adult correctional facilities (i.e., straight adult incarceration, graduated incarceration, and segregated incarceration) and the special considerations for prison management and service delivery. The essay begins with a summary of the history of juvenile justice, focusing primarily on transfer to adult court and subsequent adult incarceration. Next, a description of the number of youths facing adult punishment is provided. The experiences of youths inside adult incarceration facilities and the effects of transfer to adult court on postrelease recidivism are discussed, followed by a review of individual states’ approaches to housing youths in adult prisons.

Juvenile Transfer Cases: Risk Assessment and Risk Management

This article reviews the issues involved in performing clinical evaluations of juveniles with regard to transfer from family court to adult court. Base-rate concerns are examined in detail. Then the article reviews what risk factors and protective factors have an established empirical relationship to recidivism. The characteristics of three groups of aggressive and delinquent teens are described, along with their relative recidivism levels. The article then discusses the research on the effect of various legal and clinical risk-management strategies—such as transfer to adult court or various forms of treatment—on recidivism.