Over 1,000 Children Found Buried at Juvenile Detention Centers Across United States

Researchers at Georgetown University's Center for Youth Justice have discovered the graves of more than 1,000 children buried across 29 states at reform schools and youth detention facilities. The findings, revealed through the university's Forgotten Children Initiative, identify burial grounds linked to 40 institutions nationwide. The largest site discovered is in Cheltenham, Maryland, where more than 230 Black boys were found buried in a wooded area near the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center, formerly known as the House of Reformation.

Established in 1870, the Maryland facility was the first juvenile detention center for Black youth in the American South. Historical state records show children as young as 5 were incarcerated not only for crimes, but also for being poor, orphaned, or homeless. Youths were subjected to severe physical punishment with brass-studded belts, forced into unpaid labor, leased to local farms, and exposed to hazardous working conditions in factories. "He didn't count for nothing. He meant nothing to them," remarked Chuck Copeland, a pastor whose family discovered a relative who died at the institution in 1885 at age 13.

Marc Schindler, a researcher involved in the study and former Maryland juvenile justice official, noted that several burial sites sit adjacent to facilities that remain operational. "I'm hopeful that in states around the country, people will step forward and we can see an appropriate response to what I think is unquestionably a national tragedy," Schindler stated. The research has prompted state-level actions, including a recent Maryland law creating a formal commission within the state attorney general's office to identify victims and consult surviving families on restitution.

The historical findings are directly influencing current legal reform debates regarding juvenile justice systems across the United States. Maryland state Senator Will Smith, who sponsored the commemorative commission legislation, emphasized that confronting this legacy requires reforming contemporary statutes that charge minors as adults. Following visits to the Cheltenham graves, Maryland lawmakers recently enacted legislation reducing the list of offenses that automatically try juveniles in adult courts, reflecting broader momentum for systemic accountability.