In the late 1980s, the public perceived that juvenile crime was on the rise and that the system was too lenient. Many states passed punitive laws, including mandatory sentences and automatic adult court transfer for certain crimes.
In the 1990s, this tough on crime trend accelerated. Tougher laws made it easier to transfer youth offenders to the criminal justice system. By the mid-1990s, use of institutional confinement for even minor offenses was growing. Youth correctional facilities across the country were overcrowded and conditions were deplorable.
Beginning in the late 1990s, the drive to increase rates of youth incarceration began to recede. Led by California, many states began reducing the number of youths committed to youth correctional institutions.
Borrowing from the lessons learned from the closing of the Massachusetts training schools in the early 1970s, the efficiency of the congregate institution was now being questioned.
By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, states such as California were instituting the most sweeping reforms in the history of the juvenile justice system.
