The proposals were outlined by the Youth Justice Board in its secure estate strategy in July and were touched on by justice minister Lord McNally during a debate in the House of Lords this month.
They involve developing smaller units within existing YOI sites that can offer specialist provision, such as the existing Keppel Unit at Wetherby YOI.
But the Howard League for Penal Reform has hit out at the idea, raising "severe reservations".
In a letter to Lord McNally, Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League, said: "Prisons fail children and it seems nonsensical to attempt to fix something that is broken beyond repair, rather than decommission them entirely.
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