National Juvenile Corrections Data Resource Guide

Summary
Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP)
Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC)
Children in Custody (CIC)

Summary

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention(OJJDP) sponsored three series of national juvenile corrections data collections: Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP), Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC), and the predecessor to the CJRP series, Children in Custody (CIC).

Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP). The CJRP was administered for the first time in 1997 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. CJRP replaced the Children in Custody series. CJRP provides the nation with the most detailed picture of juveniles in custody ever produced. The CJRP differs fundamentally from CIC: CIC collected aggregate data on juveniles held in each facility (e.g., number of juveniles in the facility); CJRP collects an individual record on each juvenile held in the residential facility. Click on CJRP in the table of contents for additional information about access to CJRP data and documentation for 1997-2010.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC). The JRFC collects basic information on facility characteristics, including size, structure, security arrangements, and ownership. JRFC also collects information on the health care, education, substance abuse treatment, and mental health treatment provided to youth in these facilities. Congress requires OJJDP to report annually on the number of deaths of juveniles in custody; JRFC collects information on such deaths for the one-year period just prior to the census reference date. Click on JRFC in the table of contents for additional information about access to JRFC data and documentation for 2000-2010.

Children in Custody (CIC). The CIC data collection, titled "Census of Public and Private Juvenile Detention, Correctional, and Shelter Facilities" at NACJD, had been conducted since the early 1970s. CIC collected aggregate data on juveniles held in each facility (e.g., number of juveniles in the facility). NACJD holds data from public facilities for 1971 to 1983 and public and private facilities for 1985 to 1995. Click on CIC in the table of contents for additional information about access to CIC data and documentation from 1971 to 1995.

Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP)

Purpose

The Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) was administered for the first time in 1997 by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. CJRP replaced the Census of Public and Private Juvenile Detention, Correctional, and Shelter Facilities, also known as the Children in Custody (CIC) census, which had been conducted since the early 1970s.

The CJRP, which is conducted biennially, provides the nation with the most detailed picture of juveniles in custody ever produced. The CJRP asks juvenile residential custody facilities in the U.S. to describe each youth assigned a bed in the facility on the last Wednesday in October. Characteristics of the facility, treatment services, and facility population are also collected.

Sampling

The CJRP facility inclusion criteria are as follows:

residential facilities in operation on the census reference date
public or private (or tribal since 1999) operation
intended for juvenile offenders (although some hold adults as well)

Specifically excluded are: nonresidential facilities; detention centers operated as part of adult jails; facilities exclusively for drug or mental health treatment or for abused or neglected children; foster homes; and federal correctional facilities (e.g., Immigration and Naturalization Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Marshalls, or Bureau of Prisons).

Inclusion criteria for individual-level data are as follows:

youth under age 21
assigned a bed in a residential facility at the end of the day on the census reference day
charged with an offense or court-adjudicated for an offense
and in residential placement because of that offense

Data Collection Procedures

In late September, the Census Bureau mails out a notification letter to all identified facilities indicating that the CJRP data request forms will soon arrive in the mail. The letter also indicates the reference date for the census and the type of information that will be requested. Respondents are given a contact number for the Census Bureau in case they have questions or problems.

In mid-October, the Census Bureau mails data requests to respondents representing nearly 4,000 public, private, and tribal residential juvenile facilities. Some state and regional agencies provide CJRP data for more than one facility under their jurisdiction. Data are to be returned by the end of November. In early January, facilities that have not yet responded are sent a reminder notice and asked to send a completed response by the end of January. Census staff begin telephone calls to the facilities and central reports that had not responded by that time. The Census Bureau closes out data collection in mid-July. Processing of the data, including error checks, imputation, and editing, continues until the following September.

Data are received and prepared for analysis at the Census Bureau facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Respondent questions are fielded by the Government Division of the Census Bureau.

Periodicity

The CJRP is administered every other year, in odd-numbered years. The census reference date is the last Wednesday in October, except for the 2006 and 2010 CJRP, for which the reference date was the last Wednesday in February.

Access to CJRP Data and Documentation

Individual years of data from the CJRP are available through enclave access. Users interested in utilizing the enclave data must complete an Application for Use of the ICPSR Data Enclave, which can be accessed via the Data Enclaves page on the ICPSR website. Completed forms should be returned to NACJD at nacjd@icpsr.umich.edu. The CJRP enclave data may be examined by approved investigators only on-site at ICPSR's secure data enclave in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Access to the data is arranged following a completed and approved Application for Use of the ICPSR Data Enclave. Analysis of these data is closely monitored to protect confidentiality.

A study description and PDF documentation files including the Questionnaire (CJ-14 form), Codebook, and User Guide, if provided by OJJDP, are available for each year of available CJRP data.

View all years of available CJRP data

Some CJRP and JRFC data are also available for online analysis at ICPSR. The following data collections are restricted from general dissemination and are only available through remote access using NACJD's Restricted Survey Documentation and Analysis (RSDA) system:

CJRP 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Data (ICPSR 27541)
JRFC 2000-2010 -- Concatenated Data (ICPSR 27542)
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched Data (ICPSR 27543)
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched Facility-Level Data (ICPSR 27544 )
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched State-Level Data (ICPSR 27545 )
JRFC 2000-2010 -- Concatenated State-Level Data (ICPSR 27546)

The RSDA system is a version of the Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA) system developed and maintained by the Computer-Assisted Survey Methods Program at the University of California, Berkeley that automatically applies disclosure risk protections to protect respondent confidentiality by preventing an analysis from being run or by suppressing output if certain analytic criteria are not met. This system allows for the analysis of restricted-use data without access to the microdata. Users interested in accessing data through NACJD's RSDA system must complete a RSDA Data Use Agreement form and specify the reasons for the request. Apply for access to these data through the ICPSR restricted data contract portal, which can be accessed via the study home page for each of the RSDA studies.

Other CJRP Resources

Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement provides a web-based data analysis tool to facilitate creating tables at the national level based on several characteristics of youth held in residential placement facilities in the CJRP data.

The National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) also provides links to several juvenile justice resources, including Quick Links to State Juvenile Justice Profiles and the Statistical Briefing Book.

Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC)

Purpose

The Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) collects basic information on facility characteristics, including size, structure, security arrangements, and ownership. It also provides information on the use of bedspace in the facility to indicate whether the facility is experiencing crowding. The JRFC includes questions about the type of facility, such as detention center, training school, ranch, or group home. This information is complemented by a series of questions about other residential services provided by the facility, such as independent living, foster care, or other arrangements.

JRFC also collects information on the health care, education, substance abuse treatment, and mental health treatment provided to youth in these facilities. While not evaluating the effectiveness or quality of these services, the JRFC gathers important information about the youth the services are directed toward and how the services are provided. The census indicates the use of screenings or tests conducted to determine counseling, education, health, or substance abuse needs, and also examines prominent issues about conditions of confinement, including the restraint of youth and improper absences from the facility. Congress requires OJJDP to report annually on the number of deaths of juveniles in custody; JRFC collects information on such deaths for the one-year period just prior to the census reference date.

Sampling

The JRFC facility inclusion criteria were the same three as those applied to the CJRP:

Residential facilities in operation on the census reference date
Public or private (or tribal since 1999) operation
Intended for juvenile offenders (although some hold adults as well)

Specifically excluded are: nonresidential facilities; detention centers operated as part of adult jails; facilities exclusively for mental health, drug abuse, or for dependent/neglected youth; foster homes; and federal correctional facilities (e.g., Immigration and Naturalization Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Marshalls, or Bureau of Prisons). JRFC does not capture data on adult prisons or jails, nor does it include facilities that are used exclusively for mental health or substance abuse treatment or for dependent children. The facility contact list is not publicly available.

Data Collection Procedures

The JRFC data are collected by mail canvass operations. Census Bureau project staff conduct all phases of data processing, corrections and tabulations. Data are provided by a representative of the juvenile residential facility who completes the JFRC questionnaire.

Periodicity

The JRFC is administered every other year, in even-numbered years. The census reference date is the last Wednesday in October.

Access to JRFC Data and Documentation

Individual years of data from the JRFC are available through enclave access. Users interested in utilizing the enclave data must complete an Application for Use of the ICPSR Data Enclave, which can be accessed via the Data Enclaves page on the ICPSR website. Completed forms should be returned to NACJD at nacjd@icpsr.umich.edu. The JRFC enclave data may be examined by approved investigators only on-site at ICPSR's secure data enclave in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Access to the data is arranged following a completed and approved Application for Use of the ICPSR Data Enclave. Analysis of these data is closely monitored to protect confidentiality.

A study description and PDF documentation files including the Questionnaire (CJ-15 form), Codebook, and User Guide, if provided by OJJDP, are available for each year of available JRFC data.

View all years of available JRFC data

CJRP and JRFC data are also available for online analysis. The following data collections are restricted from general dissemination and are only available through remote access using NACJD's Restricted Survey Documentation and Analysis (RSDA) system:

CJRP 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Data (ICPSR 27541)
JRFC 2000-2010 -- Concatenated Data (ICPSR 27542)
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched Data (ICPSR 27543)
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched Facility-Level Data (ICPSR 27544 )
CJRP and JRFC 1997-2010 -- Concatenated Matched State-Level Data (ICPSR 27545 )
JRFC 2000-2010 -- Concatenated State-Level Data (ICPSR 27546)

Other JRFC Resources

The Juvenile Residential Facility Census Databook (JRFCDB) was designed to facilitate analysis of national data on the characteristics of youth residential placement facilities.

Children in Custody (CIC)

Purpose

The Children in Custody (CIC) census, administered in odd years from 1971 to 1995, provided information on the number and type of juveniles placed in private, state, and local residential facilities for juvenile offenders across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and related statistics, such as average length of stay, degree of security, capacity, detention statistics, age ranges, admissions and releases, type of offense, and other facility characteristics such as annual expenditures. The CIC was a complete census of all known juvenile correctional facilities.

The original census occurred in 1971 and supplanted the Survey of Public Institutions for Delinquent Children conducted by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The CIC facility classification system was based on responses to the questionnaire, which asked the respondent to mark the type of facility most applicable. Multifunction facilities, such as training schools with detention or reception centers were classified according to the function having the largest capacity or resident population. This system was used throughout the CIC series.

The first two censuses were restricted to public facilities, but subsequent enumerations were expanded to include privately administered facilities partially in response to the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.

Sampling

All state, county, and city operated public juvenile facilities were included in the census. A facility was classified as private if it was staffed by non-public employees.

Residential programs and group homes in operation on the census reference date were included in the census if:

they housed three or more residents;
at least 50% of the residents were juveniles; and
accused or adjudicated delinquents and status offenders were at least 1% of their average daily population.

In California, however, all California Youth Authority facilities were included in the census. The following types of facilities were included in the census:

Detention Center
Shelter
Reception or Diagnostic Center
Training School
Ranch, Camp, and Farm
Halfway House and Group Home

Facilities that were specifically excluded from the sample:

Juvenile facilities operated as a part of a local jail, but lacking a separate staff or budget
Non-residential facilities
Facilities operated by federal authorities
Foster homes with fewer than 3 juveniles
Facilities operated exclusively for one of the following:
Drug abuse
Alcoholism
Abused children
Emotionally disturbed/mentally retarded individuals
Unwed mothers
Other nonoffenders
Adults

Data Collection Procedures

The Census Bureau developed the mailing list for public facilities by using various sources throughout the years. Next, the Census Bureau sent to each State's department having responsibility for juvenile corrections a listing of their facilities along with a letter requesting that they verify and update the listing. The Census Bureau also consulted other sources such as annual reports, state criminal justice directories, and personal contacts.

For private facilities, the Census Bureau sent the listing to various local juvenile courts and social service placement agencies asking them to verify and update the list that they use to place juvenile offenders. State juvenile correctional departments were also asked to do the same.

Two questionnaires were used to collect the census data. The CJ-17 was mailed to public facilities and the CJ-29 to private facilities. The CJ-17 form included several items not asked on the CJ-29 form. These additional items asked public facilities about renovation plans, age of the facility, movement by type of population, and any court order for the facility. For a portion of the private facility nonrespondents, a number of data elements were imputed.

Periodicity

The CIC was administered every other year, in odd-numbered years, from 1971 to 1995, with one exception. CIC data were not collected in 1981. In 1981, OJJDP sponsored the National Survey of Residential Group Care Facilities for Children and Youth, 1981 (ICPSR 6229).