Many are aware of the high rates of incarceration in America and, not surprisingly, this applies to youth as well, with the United States holding more youth in juvenile detention, correctional facilities, and residential facilities than any other industrialized country. Fortunately, as evidence builds that confining youth is ineffective, unnecessary, and dangerous, some states have attempted to limit youth confinement. New data from the Annie E Casey Foundation shows the encouraging results of these efforts—a 40% drop in the national youth confinement rate over the last decade. Wisconsin’s numbers mirror the national trend, with a similar decline in youth in confinement statewide. Even better, Wisconsin’s rates of confined youth are lower than the national average, and have remained so over the last ten years. The following graph demonstrates Wisconsin’s rates compared to the United States overall.

Despite this good news, there are some important caveats. Even after this decline, there were still more than 54,000 youth in confinement across the country in 2013. Second, this type of general data can mask trends in specific populations, including variations in confinement by race and ethnicity. Although youth confinement declined across all racial and ethnic groups, the rate of this decline and the actual numbers of confined youth vary drastically by race. An analysis of those racial and ethnic differences, which are alarming, will appear in Youth in Confinement II: The Not So Good News coming soon!
For a more detailed look at this data, or data on many other indicators of child well-being, visit the Kids Count Data Center.

by Karissa Propson