Operational Level of Categorization

• Juvenile detention centers are categorized in different ways. State run facilities, for example, are funded by tax payer funds. There are also private for profit and not-for-profit organizations, which are funded primarily through tax-payer funds also, but not actually managed by a state organization. There is a paid per prisoner, per day fee for managing the prisoners. State governments ensure the prisons are being operated lawfully. Another type is a county-run facility.
  
  

Security Level

• When a juvenile is convicted and sentenced to a jail term, the judge assigns a restrictiveness level. This is based on the severity of the crime and perhaps the convict's criminal history. Restrictiveness typically has five levels, five being the highest, requiring the greatest amount of supervision and security. Level one is the minimal level of restrictiveness and may allow the juvenile to return home at night.
  
  

Boot Camps

• In Florida, juvenile boot camps are operated by a county sheriff's department. They're designed to help the juvenile develop a sense of discipline and structure. The facility implements a military-style curriculum that is rigorous and physically demanding. Judges must discriminate who may enter a boot camp facility. Not all juveniles have the physical or psychological profile that suggests a boot camp program would have an effective outcome.
  
  

Juveniles in Adult Prisons

• Juveniles as young as 14 years of age have been tried in adult courts and sentenced to adult prisons. This is based on the severity and type of crime committed. The laws defining the ages and types of crimes for which a youth may be forwarded onto adult court varies by state. In some cases, a juvenile judge is offered discretion on waiving the case and sending the juvenile on to the adult criminal court. Juveniles in adult prisons are offered the same rights they would have in the juvenile facility. The treatment they receive, however, from other prisoners in the adult prison is severe and in itself can be considered punishment.