The study comes from the National Juvenile Justice Network and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. It credits the drop in part to California adopting several policies, including offering alternatives to jail time and not confining kids for minor offenses.
The study found the number of kids being held in California juvenile detention centers fell 36 percent. That number peaked in 2000 with 17,551 kids locked up. In 2010 that number was 9,781.
California was one of nine states highlighted in the report for drastically lowering juvenile incarceration rates. Nation-wide the rate fell by 39 percent during the same ten year period.
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