Allan Skrocki
Juvenile Justice, CJ 221
Juvenile Corrections: Probation, Community Treatment, and Institutionalization Until the early 1800s,juvenile offenders,as well as neglected and dependent children, were confined in adult prisons.The inhumane conditions in these institutions were among the factors that led social reformers to create a separate children’s court system in 1899. Early juvenile institutions were industrial schools modeled after adult prisons but designed to protect children from the evil influences in adult facilities.The first was the New York House of Refuge,established in 1825.Not long after this,states began to establish reform schools for juveniles.Massachusetts was the first,opening the Lyman School for Boys in Westborough in 1846.New York opened the State Agri- cultural and Industrial School in 1849,and Maine opened the Maine Boys’Training School in 1853.By 1900,thirty-six states had reform schools.37 Although it is difficult to determine exact population of these institutions,by 1880 there were approximately eleven thousand youths in correctional facilities,a number that more than quadru- pled by 1980.38 Early reform schools were generally punitive in nature and were based on the concept of rehabilitation (or reform) through hard work and discipline.
The physical plans of juvenile institutions vary in size and quality. Many of the older training schools still place all offenders in a single building, regardless of the offense. More acceptable structures include a reception unit with an infirmary, a security unit, and dormitory units or cottages. Planners have concluded that the most effec- tive design for training schools is to have facilities located around a community square. The facilities generally include a dining hall and kitchen area, a storage warehouse, academic and vocational training rooms, a library, an auditorium, a gymnasium, an administration building, and other basic