INDIANAPOLIS — State officials say the rate of youths who return to Indiana prisons within three years of release has dropped.

The Indiana Department of Correction and its Division of Youth Services cited the decrease in a study that showed about a third of the youth offenders released in 2009 had been imprisoned again in 2012. The rate peaked at nearly 40 percent in 2010.

Officials say the youth services division was set up to provide services to help young prisoners successfully re-enter society. The agency has also worked with courts to reduce the number of juvenile offenders sent to prison and has taken steps to reduce the lengths of their stays behind bars. The population of juveniles in Indiana prisons has dropped from almost 1,000 in 2008 to about 500 today.