Archival Version

The second National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC-2) was conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia by Westat (Rockville, MD), under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Data collection was conducted in 326 juvenile facilities between February and September 2012. Interviewing juveniles in residential facilities on such sensitive topics required extensive preparations with agency and facility administrators prior to the interview. These preparations ranged from methods to obtain consent, procedures to file mandatory reports of child abuse or neglect, arrangements for counseling in case a youth became upset, and logistical support to physically carry out the interviewing. The specific procedures that had to be negotiated with state and local authorities were: Consent to interview minors - 22 states and the District of Columbia provided consent in loco parentis (ILP), in which the state agency acting as the guardian provided consent; 20 states required written consent and 3 states required either verbal or written parental or guardian consent (PGC); and 5 states allowed for a combination of ILP and PGC. Mandatory reporting of abuse or neglect - all survey staff in direct contact with youth had to comply with state and local reporting requirements when a youth made a verbal statement suggesting abuse or neglect. Jurisdictions provided contact information and instructions for submitting reports to an agency outside of the facility (e.g., local Child Protective Services). Counseling services - jurisdictions were asked to identify both facility-based and external resources for counseling services in the event a youth would become emotionally upset during the interview or make a specific request to the interviewer for such services. The NSYC-2 comprised two questionnaires - a survey of sexual victimization and a survey of past drug and alcohol use and treatment. Youth were randomly assigned one of the questionnaires so that, at the time of the interview, the content of the survey remained unknown to facility staff and the survey interviewers. The interviews, which averaged approximately 30 minutes in length, used audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) data collection methods. Youth interacted with the computer-administered questionnaires using a touchscreen and synchronized audio instructions delivered through headphones. Youth could choose to take the interview in either English or Spanish. Youth completed the interview in private, with the interviewer remaining in the room but in a position that did not offer a view of the computer screen. A total of 9,703 youth participated in the NSYC-2. Of these, 8,707 youth completed the survey on sexual victimization and passed editing and consistency checks. A total of 996 completed the survey on drug and alcohol use and treatment.