The Use of Solitary Confinement on Juveniles
Solitary confinement—also referred to as seclusion, exclusion or room confinement—is the most extreme form of isolation in a detention setting. Solitary confinement can include both physical and social isolation in a cell for 22 to 24 hours per day. The use of solitary confinement with juveniles can lead to depression, anxiety and even psychosis according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
In December 2018, Congress passed the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, which requires state plans to support scientific knowledge of adolescent development and behavior and “describe the policies, procedures and training in effect for the staff of juvenile state correctional facilities to eliminate the use of dangerous practices, unreasonable restraints, and unreasonable isolation.”
Many states have since followed suit by enacting bans on punitive confinement or otherwise limiting the use of solitary confinement for juveniles. Twenty-nine states have banned the use of punitive solitary confinement through statute, regulation, policy, or court order. Also, through statute, regulation, policy or court order, 37 states have placed some type of limit on the use of juvenile solitary confinement by identifying appropriate justifications for its use, limiting the length of time isolation may be utilized, and requiring periodic observation of the confined juvenile.