Publications

A report showing participating PbS facilities have worked to cut in half the time youths are isolated and confined to their rooms. Research has shown the practice to be dangerous, ineffective in managing youths' behavior and increases youths' risk for suicide.

The following report summarizes research conducted on behalf of the PbS Learning Institute on the conditions of confinement for juvenile detention facilities, correctional facilities, and assessment centers across the U.S. Using data from facilities that have participated in the Performance-based Standards for Youth Correction and Detention Facilities (PbS) project since 2004, we use statistical analyses to examine how characteristics of facilities and individuals within them relate to a series of safety, order, and security outcome measures, as well as to the likelihood that youth are victimized while incarcerated and to the likelihood of suicide attempts within facilities. Our data come from a variety of sources, each of which is part of the PbS data collection initiative, including: detailed information about every unusual incident that occurred during that month; information from the records of juveniles released during those periods; and surveys of current residents (youth climate surveys), staff (staff climate surveys) and residents released since the last data collection (youth exit interviews).

This research aims to understand whether and how the PbS system impacts safety, order and security within juvenile facilities. Every April and October, participating facilities submit to PbS general information about their populations; detailed information about every unusual incident that occurred during the month; information from the records of juveniles released during those periods; and surveys of current residents (youth climate surveys), staff (staff climate surveys) and residents released since the last data collection (youth exit interviews). Information from April and October data collection periods, 2004-2006, comprise this study’s data. The anonymity promised to participating facilities by PbS currently makes it impossible to link survey, incident or record data to specific youth. Therefore, it is possible to analyze how youth in a particular facility responded to the climate survey and to the exit survey, but it is not possible to compare any particular youth’s responses across these two files, or to the youth record file. To test the impact of the PbS system on safety, order and security within juvenile facilities, the researchers adopted a multi-stage analysis strategy.