| Controversial expansion of the private sector in correctional institutions has sparked a number of debates. One concern is that the quality of conditions of confinement for inmates who are incarcerated in private institutions will not be as high as the quality of conditions of confinement for inmates in public institutions (Logan, 1993). Despite the large number of institutions that are becoming privatized, there is little empirical research examining how facilities operated by the private sector differ in quality from the publicly operated facilities. This research uses survey data collected in a national study of residential juvenile correctional institutions from over 4,000 juvenile inmates and 1,300 staff at 47 juvenile correctional facilities in 19 states. For a small subset of the cases (n= 545), repeated measures of the juveniles allow us to examine changes over time in perceptions of conditions of confinement, institutional adjustment and stress. Further, we will be able to examine the work experiences of the staff including job satisfaction, previous correctional experience, staff communication and stress levels.
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Updated 05/20/2006