A line chart showing the number of youth in adult jails and prisons has declined nearly 80 percent since 2000. One line shows the decline in youth in state and federal prisons, another line shows the decline in youth held in local jails, and a third line shows the decline in total number of youth in adult facilities.

Data Source: The Bureau of Justice Statistics' annual Jail Inmates report series and Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool - Prisoners. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer, 2025)

This graph originally appeared in Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie 2025.

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