What is Youth-in-Custody?

The Utah State Board of Education defines Youth-in-Custody as: “Individuals under the age of 21 who are in custody of or receiving services from the Utah Department of Human Services or an equivalent Native American tribe, or who are being held in a juvenile detention facilities.” STEMCAP works in facilities that span the whole spectrum of Youth-in-Custody, working in facilities that range from juvenile detention centers to residential treatment centers.

Youth-in-Custody are required by law to receive an education. We work with teachers within these centers and carry out our programming primarily during students’ science class periods. In the last fiscal year, between June 30th, 2020 and June 30th, 2021, the Utah Juvenile Justice Service served 5,871 individual juveniles.

For more information about the Utah Juvenile Justice Service and Utah YIC click for (a) the most recent Annual report available to the public (2016) or (b) the Online Data Dashboard updated annually. 

2016 JJS Annual Report
Annual Data Dashboard

Incarcerated and In-treatment youth in the United States

In the United States, on average there are 48,000 youth held in facilities away from their home as a result of juvenile or criminal involvement. This chart demonstrates the breakdown of holding facilities across the country. In Utah, in 2016, of all youths in custody on a typical day, about 45.4% were in community based programs and about 22% were in locked programs.