Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73not60
§5039 Commitment
Title 18 › Part IV— CORRECTION OF YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS › Chapter 403— JUVENILE DELINQUENCY › § 5039
Summary
Juveniles sent to the Attorney General's custody must not be kept with adult inmates. They must get food, shelter, recreation, education, counseling, and medical care (including mental‑health care), and when possible be placed in a foster or community facility near home.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §5039
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
No juvenile committed, whether pursuant to an adjudication of delinquency or conviction for an offense, to the custody of the Attorney General may be placed or retained in an adult jail or correctional institution in which he has regular contact with adults incarcerated because they have been convicted of a crime or are awaiting trial on criminal charges. Every juvenile who has been committed shall be provided with adequate food, heat, light, sanitary facilities, bedding, clothing, recreation, counseling, education, training, and medical care including necessary psychiatric, psychological, or other care and treatment. Whenever possible, the Attorney General shall commit a juvenile to a foster home or community-based facility located in or near his home community.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 inserted “, whether pursuant to an adjudication of delinquency or conviction for an offense,” after “committed” in first par.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Repeals
Pub. L. 93–415, title V, § 509, Sept. 7, 1974, 88 Stat. 1138, cited as a credit to this section, was repealed by Pub. L. 115–385, title III, § 307, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5152.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 5039
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60