In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau, through an interagency agreement with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), administered the Juvenile Residential Facility Census (JRFC) for the first time. JRFC collects information about the facilities in which juvenile offenders are held. The census is conducted on the fourth Wednesday in October in even numbered years. JRFC routinely collects data on how facilities operate and the services they provide. It includes questions on facility ownership and operation, security, capacity and crowding, and injuries and deaths in custody. JRFC also collects supplementary information each survey year on juvenile facility practices around identifying youths' needs and the specific services that facilities provide, such as mental and physical health, substance use, and education. JRFC does not capture data on adult prisons or jails, nor does it include facilities used exclusively for mental health or substance use treatment or for dependent children.

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