There are three ways to look at how the juvenile justice system is using modern practices to reduce youth crime and violence.
- One is what happens on the way to the detention center where a kid is held until trial – i.e., how the system decides which kids must be locked up, and who can live at home or in a group home until their trial date.
- The second is inside detention center walls – what happens to kids inside these mostly county-run centers while they’re awaiting trial.
- The third is inside the correctional facilities where youth serve out their sentences. These are usually run by states.
There’s a lot of progress in revamping what happens to kids on the way to detention centers – in fact, 300