1. Institutionalization in Juvenile Justice
Why Congregate Institutions Fail

2. Congregate Institution
An institution (building) designed for the efficient management of large numbers of people through rigid structure, strict regimentation, and harsh enforcement of rules

3. Evolution of Congregate Institutions in Juvenile Justice
Adult Penitentiary (1790-Present)
Houses of Refuge ( )
Reform/Training Schools ( )
Youth Correctional Institutions (1996-present)

4. Management Requisites for Youth Congregate Institutions
Maintaining Order
Avoiding Escapes
Staying within Budget
Maintaining Positive Image

5. Involuntary Confinement and the Cycle of Abuse
Youth forcibly removed from home
Youth involuntarily confined
Youth resents confinement
Staff impose rules to maintain order
Youth resist rules
Staff impose punishments for rule violations
Youth rebel against punishments
Staff resort to harsher punishment to force conformity
Youth become more rebellious and resentful towards treatment
Staff resort to abusive practices in escalating struggle for control
Institution descends into cycle of resentment, defiance, distrust, alienation, and cruelty

6. California Law Requires that Judges must Determine Material Benefit before committed youth to state correctional institution
Youth committed from a juvenile court will be accepted if they can be “materially benefited”, provided that necessary facilities, programs, staff and rehabilitative services are available.15 CCR 4171

7. Realities of Life in a California Youth Correctional Institution
Status is achieved through violence, and aggression
Youths vie for status and dominance
Sophisticated and streetwise wards victimize weaker and vulnerable wards
Youth seek protection and solidarity by joining gangs based on race, ethnicity and geography
Youth understand that staff can not protect them

8. Why congregate institutions cannot rehabilitate (or provide material benefit)
Problem youth are hoarded together in a subculture where violence and aggression is prized
Institutions are impersonal and cannot provide individualized attention
Custodial control always supersedes therapeutic needs
Correctional institutions do not provide a safe and secure environment
Institutional isolation does not address circumstances of the home and community
Institutional confinement is primarily a political and administrative method to avoid the societal complexities of delinquent behavior

9. Institutional populations and the development of subcultures
Number of Living Unit Residents
Possible Relationship Pairings 10 45 20
190 40
780 60
1770 80
3160

10. Homer Folks Critique of the American Congregate Youth Institution (1891)
The Temptation it offers to parents and guardians to throw off their most scared responsibilities
The contaminating influence of association
The enduring stigma of having been committed
…renders impossible the study and treatment of each child as an individual
The great dissimilarity between life in an institution and life outside