Reform schools were created in the 19th century as an alternative to incarcerating young children with adult offenders, but they often caused emotional harm. Sexual abuse was noted in mid-20th century, leading to alternatives like juvenile correctional facilities and alternative schools. The term “reformatory” is not commonly used today due to negative connotations. Irish schools run by the Catholic Church have been designated for “juvenile delinquents” and have participated in near-systemic crimes against children. Parents considering sending a child to a reform institution should carefully consider the credentials of the individuals managing it.
The reformed schools essentially held places for juvenile offenders, and especially focused on the incarceration of boys. In the US, the reform movement was started in the 19th century as an alternative to incarcerating younger children with adult offenders, but unfortunately, incarceration in one of the many US reform schools was just as likely to cause emotional harm . This tended against the initial intent of the reform school movement.
Along with the establishment of reformatory locations across much of the United States came major changes in how minors were perceived by law. Initially, many people thought it was an excellent thing that teenagers were given the opportunity to correct their behavior and find a straight and narrow path before they became adults. It must be said that some people found the reform they needed, although the first schools were still formed before the great development of psychological theories.
Unfortunately, reformatories also became places where children were abused, not just by school keepers, but by older children as well. The trend of sexual abuse in reformatories was noted from the mid-20th century, and many states began to rethink how juvenile crime was treated and to find alternatives to incarcerating children and adolescents. This doesn’t mean that reformatory is completely gone, but standard state or federal juvenile detention facilities are not called reformatory and instead are called juvenile correctional facilities. The term reformatory had taken on many negative connotations.
The reformers’ idea was not just an American one. In Ireland, a number of schools run by the Catholic Church have been designated for “juvenile delinquents”. Even more than in the United States, these schools have participated in near-systemic crimes against children. In 2009, Ireland released documents confirming the intense abuse of children usually by priests and/or nuns in 50 of these schools to which children could be sent for cheap. Unlike the US reformatory, children could be placed in Irish institutions if a parent was deemed unworthy to parent them. This higher level of authority to remove children from homes may have led to greater license of abuse.
Today the term reformatory is not usually used, unless used by private organizations offering some type of reformatory assistance for older children and adolescents. These can vary in the quality of care they offer, and parents considering sending a child to a reform institution should carefully consider the credentials of the individuals managing it; some schools are excellent and others have very questionable practices. There has also been a trend not to incarcerate young people for lesser offences. Instead, they can live at home and attend schools better equipped to handle children with behavioral problems. These are often called alternative schools.
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