Management of Juvenile Correctional Facilities

Legislatively and philosophically, the juvenile justice system in the United States is becoming more punitive. There has been a variety of research assessing the attitudes of adult correctional administrators and personnel. However, relatively few studies have examined juvenile correctional administrators. A national survey of juvenile correctional facility directors was conducted to assess their attitudes on several issues in juvenile corrections and their managerial problems and issues. Comparisons are made with adult prison wardens on several dimensions including demographics, job satisfaction, correctional orientation, and correctional programming emphasis and operation. Results show striking differences between perceptions of juvenile facility directors and those of directors of adult facilities. Several other managerial issues such as job-related stress, confidence in staff, role conflict, and attitudes toward juveniles and juvenile corrections are also discussed.