Youth detention center

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"Juvie" redirects here. For the MTV show Juvies, see Juvies.

A youth detention center, also known as juvenile hall, is a prison for people from the age of responsibility, which varies by jurisdiction, to the age of majority, which also varies by jurisdiction. An offender residing in a center is colloquially referred to as a juvie, and the center is often referred to colloquially by the same name by the general public. Some jurisdictions allow young adults over the age of majority to 21 or 25 to be sentenced to juvenile facilities instead of adult prison.

Its intended purpose is to protect the public from the delinquent acts of minors by granting those minors secure detention and temporary care with intent, in most cases, to make those who serve time functioning adults in society.

While juvenile hall is technically a prison, it differs from a penal institution because education is usually provided to compensate for the offender's removal from a public school, and the center is designed to be like an offender's home as much as possible.

Additionally, not all of the residents are necessarily juvenile delinquents. Some children or incompetents may be held in juvenile halls temporarily upon the deaths of their parents or guardians or upon the discovery of criminal neglect or abuse by their parents or guardians. This is not as a method of punishment for the child or ward, but rather a method of care because the juvenile hall contains the superior facilities for their needs where no alternative exists. Such children and wards are usually separated from juvenile delinquents and found more permanent care as soon as possible.