Researchers Identify More Than 1,000 Children Buried at Former Juvenile Detention Sites

Researchers have identified more than 1,000 graves of children located next to juvenile detention facilities across 29 states, uncovering a largely overlooked part of the history of youth incarceration in the United States.

Scale of the findings

The research documents burial sites tied to institutions that housed children in the juvenile justice system, spread across nearly thirty states. The scope of the findings suggests that the practice of burying children who died while in custody at or near these facilities was not limited to a small number of locations, but occurred in multiple states over time.

A Maryland site

Among the sites identified, one gravesite in Maryland alone contains the remains of 230 Black boys, according to the researchers. The concentration of Black children at that site points to broader questions about race and the juvenile detention system during the period these burials took place.

The findings add documented detail to concerns that have periodically been raised about conditions and oversight at juvenile detention facilities historically, particularly regarding how the deaths of children in custody were recorded, investigated and memorialized.

Ongoing research

Researchers involved in the project indicate that work to document and understand these burial sites is ongoing, as they continue to piece together records tied to facilities where oversight and record-keeping were often limited.