Found 162 matches.
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Sticker Shock 2020: The Cost of Youth Incarceration
Tags: Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
In 2014, when the Justice Policy Institute first analyzed the cost of secure youth confinement, 33 states and the District of Columbia reported an annual cost per youth that eclipsed $100,000. 1 In 2020, despite more than a half-decade of falling youth arrests and declining rates of youth incarceration since 2014, 40 states and Washington, D.C. report spending at least $100,000 annually per confined child, with some states spending more than $500,000 per youth per year The average state cost for the secure confinement of a young person is now $588 per day, or $214,620 per year, a 44 percent increase from 2014. These cost figures over a six-year period represent the growing economic impact of incarcerating youth. However, the long-term impact of these policies extends well beyond the fiscal cost. Extensive research reveals that secure youth incarceration increases the likelihood of recidivism and harms educational attainment, lifetime wages, and future health outcomes for youth. Additionally, carceral settings have proven to be a primary vector for the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Many jurisdictions have reduced the number of youth detained pre-trial to stem the spread of the virus, either by cutting down the number of youth admitted to detention, or by releasing some young people from confinement; but much more work remains to be done. For example, while admissions to youth detention fell by 50 percent between February and May 2020, rates of release also declined after a brief increase in March.2
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The Presence of School Resource Officers (SROs) in America's Schools, Justice Policy Institute, July 2020
Tags: School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
Communities across the country have come together to demand meaningful changes to law enforcement practices in the wake of the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of the police. The focus has rightly been on how deadly police actions have had an outsized impact on communities of color. These calls for action have delivered some immediate victories, including changes in leadership in some law enforcement agencies as well as cultural paradigm shifts, such as calls to defund the police and invest those resources into community-designed and community-owned public safety strategies. Minneapolis, the epicenter of the movement, passed legislation to dismantle the police department and revisit that city’s law enforcement and public safety strategies.i This movement for reform extends beyond municipal police departments. In fact, one of the first demands from community advocates in Minneapolis was to remove police from within city schools.
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Building a Positive Future for LA's Youth
Tags: California | Prevention | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
Arguing for funding for youth development including history of suppression in LA County, history of youth development in other regions, and LA's addiction to suppression and incarceration.
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Pre-Booking Youth Diversion Evaluation Metrics
Tags: California | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Prevention | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
Human Impact Partners (HIP) developed this resource to highlight metrics, indicators, and potential data sources detailed in the Advancing Racial Equity in Youth Diversion: An Evaluation Framework Informed by Los Angeles County. The HIP team partnered with the Los Angeles County Office of Youth Diversion and Development (YDD) to produce this evaluation framework.
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Crime, Shame and Reintegration
Tags: Restorative Justice | Reports | Research
“Crime, Shame and Reintegration” by John Braithwaite describes the pivotal theory of reintegrative shaming that he discussed in his book by the same title and discusses why restorative justice is most likely to be the best method of crime prevention.
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Youth Justice in Europe: Experience of Germany, the Netherlands, and Croatia
Tags: International | General System Reform | Reports | Research
Youth Justice in Europe: Experience of Germany, the Netherlands, and Croatia in Providing Developmentally Appropriate Responses to Emerging Adults in the Criminal Justice System
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Tap into Funding by Tapping into your Confidence
Tags: Federal | North Carolina | Fiscal Issues and Funding | Evidence-Based Practices | Advocacy | Presentations | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
This PowerPoint, presented by Erin Dale Byrd of Blueprint NC at NJJN Forum 2018, provides a toolkit of best practices for nonprofit organizers when reaching out to potential donors.
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Intersectional Justice in Practice
Tags: Federal | North Carolina | LGBTQ Youth | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Prevention | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Victims | Advocacy | Presentations | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
This powerpoint from NJJN Forum 2018 was put together by Ames Simmons, Director of Transgender Policy at Equality North Carolina, and addresses potential legislative responses to discriminatory policies and practices that unfairly target LGBTQ youth.
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LGBTQI Youth in Juvenile Justice Settings: Closing the Gap between Recommended Practice and Reality
Tags: Federal | New York | Collateral Consequences | Crime Data and Statistics | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | LGBTQ Youth | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Physical Health | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Prevention | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Evidence-Based Practices | Advocacy | Administrative/Regulatory Policies | Court Decisions and Related Documents | Legislation | Presentations | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
This presentation from NJJN Forum 2018 was developed by Currey Cook, Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project Director at Lambda Legal, and provides information on how LGBTQ youth are disproportionately represented in the justice system and legal protections granted to members of the LGBTQ community.
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Improving Outcomes for Justice-Involved Youth Through Structured Decision-Making and Diversion
Tags: Federal | Virginia | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | General System Reform | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Risk Assessment and Screening | Restorative Justice | Evidence-Based Practices | Advocacy | Administrative/Regulatory Policies | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
This issue brief by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University reviews research on the structured decision-making process and diversion, including the use of risk and needs assessment tools and dispositional matrices. It also has a focus on how these tools can improve the effectiveness of juvenile diversion programming. Moving from research to practice, this brief further highlights some of the recent reform efforts in Fairfax County, Virginia.
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Understanding Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) Data for Stanislaus County, CA
Tags: California | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Girls | LGBTQ Youth | Advocacy | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
This study by Dr. Angela Irvine at Ceres Policy Research examines the need to continue to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, while also considering the way that race intersects with sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) among system-involved youth. This report also highlights the efforts of Stanislaus County, CA to achieve both of these goals.
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NORCOR_DRO_Don't Look Around-A Window into Inhumane Conditions for Youth ...
Tags: Oregon | Deinstitutionalization | Detention | General System Reform | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Physical Health | Youth in the Adult System | Correctional Education | Reports | Research | Member Publications
The report shows the fact and statistics of youths being incarcerated in correctional facilities in Oregon. Due to the fact that a lot of facilities are not regulated, the safe and humane conditions for youth in such facilities have become a big concern. The lack of oversight and accountability has allowed Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility (NORCOR), for example, to neglect the basic mental health and social development needs of kids in custody. Disability Rights Oregon is calling for immediate implementation of the 2016 recommendation by the Oregon State Court Juvenile Justice Mental Health Task Force: that all child-serving systems commit to employing evidence-based, trauma-informed practices and that juvenile detention facilities be regulated and licensed.
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Putting Justice in North Carolina’s Juvenile System
Tags: North Carolina | Family and Youth Involvement | General System Reform | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Youth in the Adult System | Restorative Justice | Reports | Research | Member Publications
This report by the Youth Justice Project Southern Coalition for Social Justice shows the number and statistics of youths entering the adult court system at an early age. It mentions the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, that, beginning in December 2019, will no longer automatically charge all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal system. However, the report further explain the existence of problems in the juvenile justice system that should be improved to treat youths fairly without compromising public safety.
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Western States Rubric
The goals of this exercise are to give you time to begin to analyze your organization in terms of the organization's anti-racist vision. This is an evaluation tool. This evaluation is designed for organizations that are either all white or which include both white people and people of color.
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BULLIES IN BLUE: THE ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SCHOOL POLICING
Tags: Federal | Texas | Washington | Crime Data and Statistics | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Family and Youth Involvement | Gangs | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
This report explains the unfavorable result of school policing, especially in low-income Black and Latino communities with the evidence from some states. Police is often seen using force or violence against youth, such as arresting and handcuffing students, even for minor crimes or misbehaviors. In addition, more presence of police in school including their presence in a classroom has increased fear among them. All these facts help support why schooling policing should be reconsidered.
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Western States Anti-Racist Organizational Development
The goals of this exercise are to give you time to begin to analyze your organization in terms of the organization's anti-racist vision. This is an evaluation tool. This evaluation is designed for organizations that are either all white or which include both white people and people of color.
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Western States Racial Jusice Assessment Tool
A checklist to see where your organization is on the anti-racist continuum.
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Building Organizational Capacity for Social Justice: Framework, Approach and Tools
This packet contains information about the capacity building framework and accompanying tools developed by the National Gender & Equity Campaign (NGEC), a pilot project of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) for use within its Organizational Fellowship Program (OFP) currently being tested in Minnesota and California.
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Concentric Circles: Unpacking Privilege and Power
Tags: Research | Fact Sheets and Briefs
An assessment on unpacking privilege and power.
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Moving a Racial Justice Agenda: Organizational Assessment
The following assessment is designed to raise critical issues as organizations and organizers think about their capacity to move a racial justice agenda. This assessment is designed to identify potential barriers to taking on a racial justice focus and outline the preparatory work that may be needed to effectively engage in and sustain racial justice work.
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Social Service and Social Change by Building Movement Project
This guidebook was developed for staff and board members of nonprofit service organizations who are interested in learning how to incorporate progressive social change values and practices into their work. Progressive social change aims to transform the underlying systemic problems that result in inequalities in the distribution of power and resources—inequalities that directly affect the lives of those served by the vast majority of nonprofit service organizations.
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Be Her Resource: A Toolkits About School Resource Officers and Girls of Color
Tags: Girls | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research | Fact Sheets and Briefs
Over the past several decades, police officers have become a familiar and growing presence in our nation’s schools. Initially deployed in response to school shootings, these officers — known as school resource officers (SROs) — have, over time, become increasingly involved in students’ everyday lives. While the presence of law enforcement on campus signals a prioritization of student safety, it has also produced undesired consequences associated with the surveillance and criminalization of youth. Most significantly, it has been shown to result in an increase in arrests and other forms of student contact with the juvenile justice system — particularly for students of color.
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Implicit Bias Studies Bibliography
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ADDRESSING THE INTERSECTIONS OF JUVENILE JUSTICE INVOLVEMENT AND YOUTH HOMELESSNESS: PRINCIPLES FOR CHANGE
Tags: National | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Detention | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Physical Health | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Prevention | Risk Assessment and Screening | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research | Partner Publications | Fact Sheets and Briefs
Coalition for Juvenile Justice reports ways to ensure young people do not experience homelessness as a result of involvement with the juvenile justice system, and likewise do not become involved with the justice system because of a lack of housing.
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Unsealed Fate: The Unintended Consequences of Inadequate Safeguarding of Juvenile Records in Maine
Tags: Maine | Aftercare/Reentry | Collateral Consequences | Crime Data and Statistics | Life Without Parole and Parole Issues | Status Offenses | Evidence-Based Practices | Research | Partner Publications
Research into the impact of juvenile records show authors conducted focus groups, interviews and surveys of youth and adults with juvenile records, family members, juvenile justice practitioners, and key stakeholders and found that individuals with juvenile records face barriers in applying for jobs and professional licenses, enrolling in the military, accessing housing and securing other financial supports.
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Charging Youth As Adults Is Ineffective, Bias-Fraught & Harmful
Tags: California | Brain and Adolescent Development | Collateral Consequences | Crime Data and Statistics | Detention | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Risk Assessment and Screening | Youth in the Adult System | Victims | Evidence-Based Practices | Legislation | Reports | Research
Prop. 57 passed this past November, one section took away from prosecutors the power to cause a young person to be tried as an adult out, and gave the power back to judges. The report includes disproportionality of race and geography in adult sentencing.
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Juvenile InJustice: Charging Youth as Adults is Ineffective, Biased, and Harmful
Tags: California | Brain and Adolescent Development | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Youth in the Adult System | Restorative Justice | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research | Member Publications
A collaboration of formerly incarcerated youth and their families. Shows the harmful effects and provides recommendations for restorative justice-oriented solutions to improve health outcomes.
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HOW SHOULD JUSTICE POLICY TREAT YOUNG OFFENDERS?
Tags: National | Brain and Adolescent Development | General System Reform | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Physical Health | Evidence-Based Practices | Administrative/Regulatory Policies | Research | Partner Publications
Research findings show that adolescents differ from adults in brain development and function, as well as behaviors. Current research identify differences in the brains of young adults, aged 18 to 21, indicating that they too may be immature in ways that are relevant to justice policy.
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NCCD Now: A Question of Evidence, Pt. 2
Tags: International | Risk Assessment and Screening | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
National Council on Crime and Delinquency board chair Chris Baird critiques several risk assessment models in a comprehensive report.
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The Harms of Juvenile Detention
Tags: Federal | Aftercare/Reentry | General System Reform | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
This infographic outlines the harms of juvenile detention on youth. Increased involvement in the justice system causes lack of access to education and poor mental health outcomes for youth.
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Total Youth Arrests for Violent Crime Still Falling Nationwide
Tags: Federal | National | Crime Data and Statistics | Research | Fact Sheets and Briefs
Estimates based on data released by the FBI in September 2016 show that youth arrests for violent crime are falling, continuing the 20-year decline. Research and data follow the trends of youth violent crime include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
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New Information About the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Up to Nine in Ten Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Have Been Disciplined in School
Tags: Federal | Deinstitutionalization | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
This policy brief addresses issues of the School-to-Prison Pipeline in discussion with data based on a surveys of seven detention halls across the country, who's finding show that 9 in 10 detained and incarcerated youth were suspended or expelled before entering the justice system.
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The Path From School Suspensions to Youth Incarceration in California
Tags: California | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
A report discussing how suspensions dramatically increased the chance that youth will be detained or incarcerated in California. Data also shows how youth of color are more likely to become incarcerated than their counterparts.
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Justice System Imposed Financial Penalties Increase the Likelihood of Recidivism in a Sample of Adolescent Offenders
Tags: Pennsylvania | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Fines and Fees | Administrative/Regulatory Policies | Research
Study of the effect of financial costs incurred by youth int he justice system and the extent to which such costs relate to the likelihood of recidivism and eventual reintegration into society. Related to JLC Debtors' Prison report here: http://bit.ly/2deF6cP.
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Report on the Evaluation of Judicially Led Responses to Eliminate School Pathways to the Juvenile Justice System
Tags: California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Indiana | Kentucky | Massachusetts | Maryland | Michigan | North Carolina | New Mexico | Tennessee | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
Report on judicially-led collaboratives to reduce stringent school discipline and referrals of youth to juvenile courts for school-based behaviors. Discusses findings and some lessons learned. (Copyright 2015, released in June 2016.)
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Burdened for Life: The Myth of Juvenile Record Confidentiality and Expungement in Illinois
Tags: Illinois | Confidentiality | Reports | Research
llinois’ treatment of juvenile records is failing the citizens of Illinois.Its confidentiality and expungement laws and policies threaten public safety, produce substantial unnecessary costs, and impede young people’s ability to transition to productive adulthood. While many believe juvenile records are kept confidential, they are not. The erosion of record confidentiality protections over the past 40 years calls into question whether the word “confidential” can be used in good faith anymore.
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Evidence-Based Policies, Programs, and Practices in Juvenile Justice: Three States Achieving High Standards Through State Support Centers
Tags: National | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research
JJGPS reports on states' use of evidence-based policies and programs in the field of youth justice reform.
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Fight for Our Girls: Status Offenses
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Girls | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Status Offenses | Reports | Research
This resource from the Center for the Study of Social Policy unpacks the history of girls of color's interaction with the justice system through the disproportionate application of status offense statues.
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More Harm Than Good: How Children are Unjustly Tried as Adults in New Orleans
Tags: Louisiana | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research | Member Publications
This SPLC report examines the practice of trying youth as adults in New Orleans: Research consistently demonstrates that prosecuting children as adults increases the likelihood that they will end up behind bars again. As a general matter, juvenile transfer also unjustly treats a child as a fully formed adult when science shows that young people's brains -- and their decision-making abilities -- are still developing. The sentences that transferred youth receive in Orleans Parish are often the same as they could have received in the juvenile justice system. But young people in the adult system will serve those sentences without the services offered by the juvenile system -- services that rehabilitate, educate, and prepare them for successful re-entry into the community, even as they are held securely in a juvenile prison.
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No Place for A Child: Direct File of Juveniles Comes at a High Cost; Time to Fix Statutes
Tags: Florida | General System Reform | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research
Since 2009, more than 12,000 children have been tried as adults in Florida over the last five years -- 98 percent of these children are "direct filed" in adult court by prosecutors with no hearing, due process, oversight or input from a judge. This policy brief from the James Madison Institute examines the consequences of "direct file" for Florida's youth.
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Support Not Punish: Participatory Action Research Report
Tags: New York | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Family and Youth Involvement | General System Reform | Reports | Research
A team of Bronx youth who are actively engaged with community-led efforts to keep youth free from incarceration have just released the results of their 18-month inquiry into what their peers experience in the juvenile justice system. The team of researchers are Bronx youth, under the age of 24, who have either experienced the juvenile justice system personally, or have family members and close friends who have been locked up. The young people used a form of inquiry called Participatory Action Research (PAR), which mobilizes individuals who are directly impacted by a problem to study the issue, and to generate solutions using collective inquiry with their peers.
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What Works in Managing Young People who Offend? A Summary of the International Evidence
Tags: International | General System Reform | Prevention | Reports | Research
In agreement with previous reviews, this review found that the approaches that tend to be the most effective at reducing youth reoffending are those that: 1) are targeted at individuals who are most at risk of reoffending; 2) consider their needs (including pre-existing risks); 3) assess their ability to respond to services provided; and, 4) take into account the wider context within which the offence occurred.
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Instead of Suspension: Alternative Strategies for Effective School Discipline
Tags: North Carolina | National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
This report includes a compendium of alternatives to suspension and brief profiles of examples of where those alternatives are in place. It is a unique and valuable resource for school boards, school administrators, teachers, and others who are rethinking their approaches to school discipline without compromising the learning opportunities or safety of the school community as a whole. The report will acquaint school districts with a range of approaches to school discipline. Some are proven, others are promising. All have the potential to foster better school climates and better student outcomes.
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The Irrelevance of Reform: Maturation in the Department of Corrections
Tags: National | General System Reform | Life Without Parole and Parole Issues | Research
This article addresses retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation from the perspective of a thirty-six year old prisoner who has been serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole since he was fourteen years old.
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Protecting Childhood: A Blueprint for Developmentally Appropriate School Policing in Virginia
Tags: Virginia | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research | Member Publications
The report describes the problems with school policing in Virginia and then provides recommendations for reforms. The appendices include tools for lawmakers and policymakers, such as a model memorandum of understanding (MOU) that school divisions and law enforcement agencies can use to incorporate best practices. The goals of the report are two-fold: 1) to stress the acute need for reform and create a more nuanced understanding of specific problems related to school policing; and 2) to advance proven reforms.
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Black, Brown, and Over-Policed in L.A. Schools
Tags: California | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
Structural Proposals to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline in the Los Angeles Unified School District and to Build a National Movement to Stop the Mass Incarceration of Black and Latino Communities.
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Zero Tolerance: How States Comply with PREA’s Youthful Inmate Standard
Tags: National | Institutional Conditions | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
This report explores how states house youth under 18 in prisons in the new age of PREA compliance and enforcement. Furthermore, this report highlights national trends in juvenile arrests, crimes, and incarceration of children in the adult system.
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Missed Opportunities: Preventing youth in the child welfare system from entering the juvenile justice system
Tags: National | Crossover and Dual Jurisdiction Youth | General System Reform | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
Children pulled into the child welfare system are too often not afforded the kinds of stabilizing support systems that are essential for their healthy growth and well-being. We must seek interventions to prevent these “multi-system,” “dual-status” or “crossover” youth from entering the juvenile justice system. This review found that within the children welfare system, children who eventually had juvenile justice involvement had significantly different experiences from those who did not. These findings present opportunities to intervene, and incorporate different policies and programs that can prevent these children’s juvenile justice involvement.
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Justice Redirected: The Impact of Reducing the Prosecution of Children as Adults in Colorado and the Continuing Need for Sentencing Reform
Tags: Colorado | General System Reform | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research | Member Publications
In 2012, Colorado reformed the way children can be prosecuted as adults by changing the law that previously allowed prosecutors to press charges in adult court without judicial review. The changes to the law reduced the number of children who could be “direct fled,” — or charged — in adult court by the prosecutor, and put in place a system of oversight by allowing a judge to review the prosecutor’s decision to prosecute a juvenile in adult court.
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Locked Out: Improving Educational and Vocational Outcomes for Incarcerated Youth
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | General System Reform | Institutional Conditions | Reports | Research
This report from the Council of State Governments analyzes survey results of state educational and vocational services for youth and makes recommendations for further improvement of those services.
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R Street | The Costs and Benefits of Sex Offender Registration and Notification
Tags: National | Sex Offender Registries | Research
This report from the R Street Institute finds that the costs of sex offender registries far outweigh the benefits.
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Youth Arrest and Court Involvement Trends in the District of Columbia 1998-2014
Tags: District of Columbia | General System Reform | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research | Member Publications
This report summarizes recent data on youth arrests and court involvement in the District of Columbia. It reports key findings and makes policy recommendations, including employing a public-health approach to youth crime in the District, and encouraging more thorough data collection.
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Repairing the Breach: A Brief History of Youth of Color in the Justice System
Tags: National | Reports | Research
Trying to meaningfully address the unacceptable levels of racial and ethnic disparities in our youth justice system without an understanding and knowledge of the historical roots that drive it will not bring about sufficient engagement strategies. As you will see from this essay, there are deeply held beliefs and social norms from this nation’s earliest days that are embedded into youth justice administration, which create and exacerbate racial and ethnic disparities. It is a largely untold story that should be known by every youth justice professional, service provider, and practitioner as well as families and communities.
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Maltreatment of Youth in U.S. Juvenile Corrections Facilities: An Update
Tags: National | General System Reform | Institutional Conditions | Reports | Research
This report, released as a follow-up to No Place For Kids, introduces new evidence on the widespread maltreatment of youth in state-funded juvenile corrections facilities. It tells of high rates of sexual victimization, the heavy-handed use of disciplinary isolation and a growing roster of states where confined youth have been subject to widespread abuse.
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Studying Deterrence Among High-Risk Adolescents - OJJDP Bulletin
Tags: National | Brain and Adolescent Development | Research
In this bulletin, the authors present some key findings on the link between perceptions of the threat of sanctions and deterrence from crime among serious adolescent offenders.
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The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls' Story
Tags: National | Girls | Reports | Research
This report exposes the ways in which we criminalize girls — especially girls of color — who have been sexually and physically abused, and it offers policy recommendations to dismantle the abuse to prison pipeline. By illuminating both the problem and potential solutions, we hope to make the first step toward ending the cycle of victimization-to-imprisonment for marginalized girls.
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Juvenile Prisons: National Consensus and Alternatives
Tags: Connecticut | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Reports | Research | Member Publications
This report by NJJN member the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance makes the case for the closure of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the Pueblo Unit, based on national research citing the failure of youth prisons nationwide to rehabilitate young people. The report makes recommendations based on successful state-level models.
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Disproportionate Contact: The Color of Maine's Juvenile Justice System
Tags: Maine | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Reports | Research
This research documents the rate of disproportionate minority contact for youth involved in Maines juvenile justice system, differences in pathways to detention for youth of color, and the experiences of youth and families of color who have had contact with Maines juvenile justice system.
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Psychiatric Disorders and Violence: A Study of Delinquent Youth After Detention
Tags: National | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Research
This study examines the relationship between psychiatric disorders and violence in youth post-detention. The study finds that the disorders studied are not useful predictors of future violence.
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Psychosocial Maturity and Desistance From Crime in a Sample of Serious Juvenile Offenders
Tags: International | National | Brain and Adolescent Development | Research
This study of 1,300 serious juvenile offenders concludes that the majority of youthful offenders mature out of criminal behavior as their brains develop toward impulse control and future-orientation.
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From Playgrounds to Prisons: An updated look at school-based arrests in Arkansas
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research | Member Publications
Each year, law enforcement action is taken in more than 3,000 incidents in Arkansas schools. The data show that the majority of children in the state of Arkansas affected by school policing are arrested for nonviolent offenses. This finding is consistent with the nationwide trends. Across the country, millions of students are being removed from their classrooms each year for minor misconduct.
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State Juvenile Justice Profiles, 2005
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Reports | Research
The National Center for Juvenile Justice compiles a vast body of knowledge concerning the organization and administration of juvenile justice in each of the fifty states in 2005.
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Closer to Home: An Analysis of the State and Local Impact of the Texas Juvenile Justice Reforms
Tags: Texas | Deinstitutionalization | Research
This study of 1.3 million Texas juvenile case records over eight years shows youth incarcerated in state-run facilities are 21% more likely to be rearrested than those who are supervised closer to home. When they do reoffend, youth released from state-secure facilities are three times more likely to commit a felony than youth under community supervision.
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Trauma in Dual Status Youth: Putting Things In Perspective
Tags: National | Crossover and Dual Jurisdiction Youth | Research | Partner Publications
This article describes the state of our understanding of the prevalence of trauma-based behavior problems and considerations in designing agreed-upon best practices to identify them.
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An IEP for the Juvenile Justice System: Incorporating Special Education Law Throughout the Delinquency Process
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | Institutional Conditions | Correctional Education | Research
In correctional institutions, the number of youth with special education needs is nearly three times the national average of all school-aged children identified as having a disability. This article encourages and attempts to demystify the use of special education law and its “byproducts” (e.g., Individual Education Programs and Independent Education Evaluations) throughout the delinquency process.
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Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | Research
This white paper was written to guide leaders across all branches of government; juvenile justice system administrators, managers, and front-line staff; and researchers, advocates, and other stakeholders on how to better leverage existing research and resources to facilitate system improvements that reduce recidivism and improve other outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The focus of the white paper is to promote what works to support successful reentry for youth who are under juvenile justice system supervision.
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How Effective Is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here?
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | Institutional Conditions | Correctional Education | Research
More than 2 million adults are incarcerated in U.S. prisons, and each year more than 700,000 leave federal and state prisons and return to communities. Unfortunately, within three years, 40 percent will be reincarcerated. One reason for this is that ex-offenders lack the knowledge, training, and skills to support a successful return to communities. The RAND team conducted a systematic review of correctional education programs for incarcerated adults and juveniles. The study included a nationwide survey of state correctional education directors to understand how correctional education is provided today and the recession's impact.
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Highlights from Pathways to Desistance: A Longitudinal Study of Serious Adolescent Offenders
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | Brain and Adolescent Development | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research
The Pathways to Desistance Study is a large collaborative multidisciplinary project that is following 1,354 serious juvenile offenders age 14-18 for 7 years after their conviction. The primary findings of the study to date deal with the decrease in self-reported offending over time by most serious adolescent offenders, the relative inefficacy of longer juvenile incarcerations in decreasing recidivism, the effectiveness of community-based supervision, and the effectiveness of substance abuse treatment in reducing both substance use and offending.
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Perils of Registering Youth Who Commit Sex Offenses: Research Update
Tags: National | Sex Offender Registries | Research | NJJN Publications
Registries and notification laws for people who commit sex offenses offer no clear public safety benefits. Though registration is not an effective way to reduce sex offending among adults and youth alike, it is an especially inappropriate response to youth, who are highly unlikely to become repeat sex offenders.
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Youth Who Commit Sex Offenses: Research Update
Tags: National | Sex Offender Registries | Research | NJJN Publications
Registries for youth who commit sex offenses not only fail to protect child welfare and overall public safety, but actually jeopardize it, while taking an enormous toll on the youth who have offended. New research sheds light on why youth commit sex offenses and how to achieve the best outcomes.
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The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences
Tags: National | Crime Data and Statistics | Deinstitutionalization | General System Reform | Reports | Research
This study encompasses research on, and analyses of, the proximate causes of the dramatic rise in the prison population, the societal dynamics that supported those proximate causes, and the effects of this increase on U.S. society.
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LGBTQ Youth of Color: Discipline Disparities, School Push-Out, and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Tags: National | LGBTQ Youth | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
LGBT students are at an increased risk for verbal and physical harassment and assault, mental illness and suicide, harsh disciplinary policies that contribute to school push-out, etc. This study finds that schools are hostile spaces to many students of color.
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Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | Reports | Research
This report, put out by the Sentencing Project, examines skewed racial perceptions of crime – particularly, white Americans’ strong associations of crime with racial minorities – have bolstered harsh and biased criminal justice policies.
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In Their Own Words: Young People’s Experiences in the Criminal Justice System and Their Perceptions of Its Legitimacy
Tags: Illinois | General System Reform | Reports | Research
The John Howard Association of Illinois, in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, compiled this report that examines system-involved youth's opinions on the youth justice system. The report finds that from policing, to trial, to sentencing and incarceration, the criminal justice system’s responses are seen as illegitimate, unequal, arbitrary, and racist from the eyes of young offenders and the predominantly minority communities most impacted by crime.
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Close to Home: Strategies to Place Young People in Their Communities
Tags: National | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
This report from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency details ways in which juvenile justice advocates and practitioners can promote policies to keep youth in their communities and out of confinement facilities.
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Preventing Youth Violence: Opportunities for Action
Tags: National | Prevention | Reports | Research
The Centers for Disease Control provide this guide to the causes and costs of youth violence, and provides recommendations for intervention to prevent young people from engaging in violence.
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A Toolkit for Status Offense System Reform, Module One: Structuring System Change
Tags: National | Status Offenses | Research | Web-Based Tools
This toolkit on status offense reform offers ways in which youths can be provided the effective treatment and guidance needed; all while avoiding the trauma and stigmatization of the criminal justice system. These steps include diversion from court, focus on home-life, accessible services to those who need them, and following up on those who do require assistance.
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Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children
Tags: National | LGBTQ Youth | Research
Research combined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, provides guidelines for families on how to promote the well-being of LGBT children. Parents and caregivers are big influences in their children's life, and learning how to be accepting and provide a stable home environment is key.
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Runaway Youth: A Research Brief
Tags: National | Status Offenses | Research
Running away not only is a status offense for youths, but there are so many more consequences tied along with it. This research shows that runaways have a higher correlation of an unstable home-life, a higher chance of drug use, and a high correlation between those who run away and those who are victims of sexual abuse. While running away is considered a status offense in 39 states, there are bigger underlying problems these youths have than entering the juvenile justice system.
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Behavioral Health Problems, Treatment, and Outcomes in Serious Youthful Offenders
Tags: National | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Reports | Research
Research done by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, provides pathways to desistance for youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system. This can be accomplished by focusing on mental health needs, behavioral health problems, and following up with these youth once care has been adminstered.
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Breaking School's Rules: A Statewide Study of How School Discipline Relates to Students' Success and Juvenile Justice Involvement
Tags: Texas | National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
This combined report by the Justice Center and Public Policy Research Institute shows that students who receive more school disciplinary action have a greater likelihood of becoming involved with the juvenile justice system. The research also shows that more focus needs to be put towards whether these school disciplinary actions are having the deterring effect they are intended to.
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Trauma and Resilience A New Look at Legal Advocacy for youth in the juvenile justice and child welfar systems
Tags: National | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Physical Health | Research
This research addresses trauma in the juvenile justice system and child welfare cases. Both "trauma" and "resilience" are defined in terms of their relation to the juvenile justice system and neither have the same meaning across our diverse youth population. Several factors such as stressors, environment, and experiences contribute to personal definitions of "trauma" and "resilience."
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Blind Discretion: Girls of Color & Delinquency in the Juvenile Justice System
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Girls | Research
The purpose of the juvenile justice system, is to cater to each youth's individual needs. However, according to Jyoti Nanda, girls of color tend to slip through the crack of the juvenile justice system. Not only is there a gender gap in the system, but also a racial one. Nanda provides solutions to help close this gap.
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Girls and Boys in the Juvenile Justice System: Are There Differences That Warrant Policy Changes in the Juvenile Justice System?
Tags: National | Girls | Research
The occurrence of offending girls is steadily rising. Due to this statistic, the juvenile justice system needs to be more readily equipped in order to provide the services and resources that these girls need. Research was collaborated by The Future of Children organization, and according to this data, suggestions for treatment are made and consequences that may result if no action is taken.
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Justice for Girls: Are We Making Progress?
Tags: National | Brain and Adolescent Development | Girls | Research
The Juvenile Justice System's goal is rehabilitation for all youths. However, unintentional discrimination towards girls may occur due to societal standards and norms. Francine T. Sherman suggests ways of how people within the Juvenile Justice System can be aware of unconscious gender bias, and not let it hinder providing both girls and boys the individual specific treatment that they need. History of girls in the justice system, information on child development, and data on the impact on girls who are involved in the system, provide insight as to how gender bias can be eliminated.
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California Crime Victims' Voices Findings from the First-Ever Survey of California Crime Victims and Survivors
Tags: California | Victims | Research
This survey on California victims and survivors of crime reveals the longlasting psychological impact of crime, how often a crime goes reported/unreported, and that victims and survivors are not always receiving the most effective services to help deal with their trauma. This research sheds light on why improvements in the criminal justice system in California need to be made, and focus should be concentrated across several areas in order to do so.
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Can Risk Assessment Improve Juvenile Justice Practices?
Tags: National | Risk Assessment and Screening | Research | Partner Publications
The MacArthur Foundation provides steps in identifying risk factors for delinquency. Research shows that past approaches for deterrence have actually increased the likelihood of youths becoming involved in the justice system. By learning to identify certain risk factors, children can avoid the juvenile justice system.
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Transforming Victim Services Executive Summary
Tags: Federal | National | Victims | Reports | Research
Vision 21 aims to bring more awareness and knowledge about crime victimization. The final report provides recommendations on how to do so through state, local, and federal levels. Through a collaborative effort, data at all levels should be combined, which should bring an end to the research gap that exists on the topic of crime victimization.
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Transforming Victim Services Final Report
Tags: Federal | National | Victims | Reports | Research
Vision 21 expands the knowledge of crime victimization by delving into three areas of research: basic research, program evaluation, and evidence-based practices. These three areas of research exposes the impact of crime on victims and its consequences. Research shows that more focus needs to be put on victims' rights and providing services to them.
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Explanations for Offending
Tags: National | Crime Data and Statistics | Research
This publication from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention describes five broad theoretical perspectives that explain these patterns of offending: (1) static theories, (2) dynamic or life-course developmental models, (3) social psychological theories, (4) the developmental psychopathological perspective, and (5) the biopsychosocial perspective.
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Using Cost-Benefit Analysis for Justice Policymaking
Tags: National | Fiscal Issues and Funding | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Reports | Research
The Vera Institute for Justice convened a working group of researchers and policymakers to help advance the use of rigorous cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in decisions about criminal justice programs and policies.
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Just Learning: The Imperative to Transform Juvenile Justice Systems Into Effective Educational Systems - Executive Summary
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Correctional Education | Reports | Research
Exec. summary of Southern Education Foundation survey of the educational provisions of Southern youth justice facilities. The data shows that both state and local juvenile justice systems are failing profoundly in providing adequate, effective education in the South and the nation.
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Just Learning: The Imperative to Transform Juvenile Justice Systems Into Effective Educational Systems
Tags: National | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | General System Reform | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
This study by the Southern Education Foundation surveys the educational provisions of Southern youth justice facilities. The data shows that both state and local juvenile justice systems are failing profoundly in providing adequate, effective education in the South and the nation.
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Untold Stories of California Crime Victims: Research and Recommendations on Repeat Victimization and Rebuilding Lives
Tags: California | Victims | Research
A growing body of research indicates that the strongest predictor of many forms of victimization is having previously been a victim of crime. As we strive to find ways to improve public safety, it is imperative that we also put the experience of this vulnerable population at the center of our inquiry.
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Stakeholders' Views on the Movement to Reduce Youth Incarceration
Tags: National | Deinstitutionalization | Reports | Research
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Study Methods for the NCCD Deincarceration Project
Tags: National | Deinstitutionalization | Reports | Research
This National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) paper explains NCCD's research methodology for its 8 part series on deincarceration in the U.S. youth justice system.
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Using Bills and Budgets to Further Reduce Youth Incarceration
Tags: National | Deinstitutionalization | Reports | Research
This National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) research brief explores how to leverage fiscal concerns to reduce youth incarceration. It is part of an 8 part series from NCCD on deincarceration in the U.S. youth justice system.
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Blueprint: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Domestic Sex Trafficking of Girls
Tags: National | Girls | Research
The report stems from the conference Human Rights Project for Girls co-hosted with Georgetown's Center on Poverty and Inequality last year titled, "Critical Connections: A Multi-Systems Approach to the Domestic Sex Trafficking of Girls." This is a groundbreaking analysis on the ways in which girls are at the dangerous intersection of child welfare, juvenile justice, and CSEC--and highlights the innovative programs that are serving them in an effective, multidisciplinary manner.
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California Crime Victims' Voices: Findings from the First-Ever Survey of California Crime Victims and Survivors
Tags: California | Victims | Reports | Research
This report describes the findings of a large-scale survey of California crime victims and points to opportunities for further research and reforms to improve victim recovery.
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Dual Status Youth: Technical Assistance Workbook
Tags: National | Crossover and Dual Jurisdiction Youth | Reports | Research
This Technical Assistance Workbook to provide practical guidance for state and local jurisdictions in their endeavor to improve the outcomes for dual status youth and families and to enhance system performance among the critical youth- and family-serving agency partners.
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Guidebook for Juvenile Justice & Child Welfare System Coordination and Integration
Tags: National | Reports | Research
CWLA and RFK Children’s Action Corps developed this guidebook to help state and local jurisdictions determine how they might achieve useful integration and cooperation between their child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Direction in this guidebook is based on research, evidence-based practice, and the experiences of other jurisdictions.
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CIVIL RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION - Data Snapshot: School Discipline
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
The Civil Rights Data Collection branch of the U.S. Department of Education's latest (2014) data snapshot regarding civil rights and school discipline.
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Restorative Practices: Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Restorative Justice | Research | Web-Based Tools
The Advancement Project's toolkit for implementing restorative practices in the classroom.
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Improving Illinois' Response to Sexual Offenses Committed by Youth
Tags: Illinois | Sex Offender Registries | Reports | Research
The State of Illinois' first comprehensive study of youth who commit sexual offenses. The study finds that such youth are highly amenable to treatment and unlikely to reoffend.
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Discipline Disparities Series: How Educators Can Eradicate Disparities in School Discipline: A Briefing Paper on School-Based Interventions
This paper in the Discipline Disparities Series goes over interventions that educators can make to eliminate disparities in school discipline.
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Discipline Disparities Series: Eliminating Excessive and Unfair Exclusionary Discipline in Schools Policy Recommendations for Reducing Disparities
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
This section of the Discipline Disparities Series offers policy suggestions for reducing excessive and unfair disciplinary practices in schools.
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Overview: Discipline Disparities
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
The Discipline Disparities Research to Practice Collaborative, within a national context of troubling disparities and promising solutions, has used information from stakeholder groups, as well as knowledge of the current status of research in the field, to craft this series of informational briefs and supplementary research papers with targeted recommendations customized for different audiences.
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Executive Summary: Discipline Disparities
Tags: National | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Reports | Research
The Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative's three-part Disciplinary Disparities Briefing Paper Series about disparities in school removal and research based interventions, conducted by a national group of researchers, educators, advocates and policy analysts, and funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and Open Society Foundations.
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OJJDP Bulletin: Delays in Youth Justice
Tags: National | General System Reform | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Research
This bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention summarizes Jeffrey Butts' thorough research analyzing the causes of court processing delays in the juvenile justice system, and drawing on examples of successful models to reduce these delays.
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OJJDP Bulletin: Young Offenders - What Happens and What Should Happen
Tags: National | Youth in the Adult System | Research
This bulletin examines policies that affect young offenders who cross over from the juvenile to the criminal justice system.
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A Comparison of Risk Assessment Instruments in Juvenile Justice
Tags: National | Risk Assessment and Screening | Reports | Research
This report from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency compares risk assessment instruments used in youth justice.
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Toward Abolishing the Use of Disciplinary Isolation in Juvenile Justice Institutions: Some Initial Ideas
Tags: National | General System Reform | Positive Youth Development and Strengths-Based Programming | Evidence-Based Practices | Research
This paper makes the case for the abolition of isolation as a disciplinary practice in youth institutions. It outlines clear steps and practices that staff can take to reduce or outright abolish the practice, relying instead on more effective and humane disciplinary strategies.
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Juvenile Competency Procedures
Tags: National | Reports | Research
Juvenile Competency Procedures
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Appendix 2: Compendium of School Discipline Laws and Regulations for the 50 States, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico
Tags: Federal | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Legislation | Research | Web-Based Tools
Appendix 2 of the Department of Education and Department of Justice's federal guidelines on school discipline. This appendix compiles laws and regulations regarding school climate and school discipline for each state in the U.S., plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
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Law Enforcement’s Leadership Role in the Advancement of Promising Practices in Juvenile Justice
Tags: National | General System Reform | Research
The goal of this project is to increase the leadership role of state and local law enforcement executives to effectively address systemic juvenile justice issues as well as improve local responses to juvenile offenders. The initiative focuses on the potential for police leaders to have a stronger role in juvenile justice system issues and is providing information and training to the field of law enforcement, accelerating progress towards more successful outcomes for youth, families, and communities.
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Criminalizing Normal Adolescent Behavior in Communities of Color: The Role of Prosecutors in Juvenile Justice Reform
Tags: Racial and Ethnic Disparities | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
Professor Henning implores juvenile prosecutors to resist external pressures to respond punitively and symbolically to exaggerated perceptions of threat by youth of color and envisions a path toward structured decision making at the charging phase that is informed by research in adolescent development, challenges distorted notions of race and maturity, and holds prosecutors accountable for equitable decision making across race.
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Combatting Gun Violence in Illinois: Evidence-Based Solutions
Tags: Illinois | Prevention | Evidence-Based Practices | Reports | Research
This memo from Northwestern Law details evidenced-based solutions that have been proven to reduce gun violence in Illinois.
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Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership
Tags: National | Gangs | Reports | Research
This book, a collaboration between the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, details how community members, schools, and lawmakers--not only law enforcement officials--can help to steer young people away from gang membership. The research emphasizes a comprehensive, prevention-based approach to keeping youth out of gangs.
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Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and Low-Crime Taxes Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations
Tags: National | Privatization | Reports | Research
Report discusses how prison bed occupancy guarantees in private prison contracts undermine criminal justice policy and democratic, accountable government.
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Juveniles in Residential Placement, 2010
Tags: National | Crime Data and Statistics | Research
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) releases its report analyzing data on youth in residential confinement from 1997-2010. OJJDP organizes and analyzes this data based on factors such as overall population, state, gender, race.
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Berks County, Pennsylvania Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment
Tags: Pennsylvania | Risk Assessment and Screening | Administrative/Regulatory Policies | Reports | Research
This report assesses the efficacy of a draft Juvenile Detention Risk Assessment Instrument in Berks County, Pennsylvania using data from an 8-month trial period. The report offers data analysis as well as policy recommendations to improve future risk assessment models, advance best practices, and reduce the rate of juveniles in detention.
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Protocol for Competence in California Juvenile Justice Proceedings
Tags: California | Juvenile Defense and Court Process | Reports | Research
This tool suggests approaches for developing juvenile competence proceedings in cases where competency may be an issue and there are no specific existing provisions.
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The Impact of Family Visitation on Incarcerated Youth's Behavior and School Performance
Tags: National | Family and Youth Involvement | Reports | Research
This study by the Vera Institute examines the effect of family visitation on the behavior and school performance of incarcerated youth. The researchers found that family visitation was associated with improved behavior and school performance, highlighting the importance of visitation to incarcerated youth's rehabilitation and success. The researchers recommend that correctional facilities adjust their visitation policies to promote more frequent visitation with families to improve social and familial support and increase these positive outcomes.
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A Multi-State Recidivism Study Using Static-99R and Static-2002 Risk Scores and Tier Guidelines from the Adam Walsh Act
Tags: Federal | National | Sex Offender Registries | Legislation | Reports | Research
This study seeks to examine important components of our nation’s sex offender tracking and monitoring systems, with a focus on risk assessment and sexual recidivism (measured by re-arrest). On average, we found that the recidivism rate was approximately 5% at five years and 10% at 10 years. AWA tier was unrelated to sexual recidivism. The findings indicate that the current AWA classification scheme is likely to result in a system that is less effective in protecting the public than the classification systems currently implemented in the states studied.
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Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails, Reported by Inmates 2011-12
Tags: National | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research
This Bureau of Justice Statistics report uses data gathered from interviews with prison and jail inmates to determine the prevalence of sexual victimization in prisons and jails. The report includes specific statistics on the incidence of sexual victimization among incarcerated youth, aged 16-17.
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Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach
Tags: Federal | National | Brain and Adolescent Development | Deinstitutionalization | Family and Youth Involvement | General System Reform | Status Offenses | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research
The National Research Council's report brief combines a summary of new research in adolescent developmental psychology with an evaluation of reigning policies in juvenile justice. Based on these materials, the NRC makes recommendations for juvenile justice policy reform.
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To Punish A Few: Too Many Youth Caught in the Net of Adult Prosecution
Tags: National | Brain and Adolescent Development | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
This 2007 report from the Campaign for Youth Justice highlights some of the consequences of prosecuting and detaining youth through the adult criminal justice system. The report explores the consequences of transfer for public safety, the costs of prosecuting youth as adults, the lengthy prison sentences faces by juveniles convicted as adults in states with strike laws, the developmental differences between children, teenagers and adults, the disproportionate representation of youth of color in both the adult and juvenile justice systems, and the incarceration of youth in adult detention facilities.
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Raised on the Registry: The Irreparable Harm of Placing Children on Sex Offender Registries in the US
Tags: National | Aftercare/Reentry | Family and Youth Involvement | Sex Offender Registries | Reports | Research
This Human Rights Watch report challenges the view that registration laws and related restrictions are an appropriate response to sex offenses committed by children. The report shows that such measures amount to continuing punishment for youth who commit sex offenses and in fact have a neutral or even negative effect on public safety by overburdening law enforcement with monitoring large numbers of people, undifferentiated by their dangerousness.
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Reducing Youth Incarceration in the United States: KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot
Tags: Deinstitutionalization | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Reports | Research | Partner Publications
KIDS COUNT data snapshot from the Casey Foundation finds the rate of young people locked up because they were in trouble with the law dropped more than 40 percent over a 15-year period, with no decrease in public safety, though racial disparities persist.
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OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin - The Northwestern Juvenile Project: Overview
Tags: Federal | Illinois | Aftercare/Reentry | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Research
This bulletin reviews the Northwestern Juvenile Project, the first large-scale, prospective longitudinal study of drug, alcohol, and psychiatric disorders in a diverse sample of juvenile detainees from Cook County, IL.
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Diverting Youth from the Justice System: Why and How
Tags: Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | General System Reform | Research | NJJN Publications | Partner Publications
This policy update from NJJN briefly summarizes the research on the effectiveness of juvenile diversion programs and summarizes the contents of *The Juvenile Diversion Guidebook,* a resource from Models for Change that offers users practical insight, advice, and direction in developing and improving diversion programs.
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Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation, Gina Vincent, Models for Change
Tags: Risk Assessment and Screening | Reports | Research
This Guide from Models for Change provides a structure for jurisdictions, juvenile probation or centralized statewide agencies to implement risk assessment or to improve their current risk assessment practices.
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A Multi-State Recidivism Study Using Static-99R and Static-2002 Risk Scores and Tier Guidelines From the Adam Walsh Act
Tags: Federal | Sex Offender Registries | Legislation | Reports | Research
This study seeks to examine important components of our nation’s sex offender tracking and monitoring systems, with a focus on risk assessment and sexual recidivism (measured by re-arrest). On average, the study finds that the recidivism rate was approximately 5% at five years and 10% at 10 years. AWA tier was unrelated to sexual recidivism. The findings indicate that the current AWA classification scheme is likely to result in a system that is less effective in protecting the public than the classification systems currently implemented in the states studied.
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Knowledge Brief: Is There a Link between Child Welfare and Disproportionate Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice?
Tags: Crossover and Dual Jurisdiction Youth | Research
One of a series of publications from the MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change initiative. Investigates the link between disproportionate rates of African-American children in child welfare placements and disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice and finds a strong link.
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Students of the Mass Incarceration Nation, Katayoon Majd, Howard Law Journal
Tags: School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
The article, from the Howard Law Journal, argues that not only do schools contribute to mass incarceration, but mass incarceration policies also negatively affect education, creating a "symbiotic relationship" that can only be dismantled with coordinated effort.
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The Connector: Working Together for Multi-System Youth (Fall 2011)
Tags: Crossover and Dual Jurisdiction Youth | Research
Focusing on challenges faced by the juvenile justice system, the second issue of The Connector brings to light current research necessary to juvenile justice reform. Articles include findings on the dominance of child welfare intervention in the history of youth referred to juvenile court on delinquency matters and suggestions to improve cross-system collaborations.
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Summary of Sex Offender Research Briefing, Elizabeth Letourneau
Tags: Sex Offender Registries | Research
Summary of findings presented at an NJJN teleconference (6/29/11) of the most recent research on juvenile sex offenders that indicate extremely low levels of recidivism and inefficacy of both public and private sex offender registries.
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Federal Standards for Community Registration of Juvenile Sex Offenders: An Evaluation of Risk Prediction and Future Implications, Ashley Batastini, et al., Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 2011, Vol. 17, No. 3, 451-474
Tags: Federal | Sex Offender Registries | Research
Article addressing several key concerns relating to the application of the federal standards of the Adam Walsh Act to adolescent offenders. The article examines the ability of the Adam Walsh Act's classification system to predict future offending over a two-year outcome period. Results indicate that offenders who met criteria for registration did not reoffend (sexually or nonsexually) at a significantly higher rate than those who did not meet registration criteria.
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Improving the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs: A New Perspective on Evidence-Based Practice
Tags: National | Evidence-Based Practices | Research
Meta-analysis of more than 500 controlled studies conducted by Dr. Mark Lipsey has identified the key characteristics associated with positive effects on recidivism for many of the types of programs already widely used in juvenile justice systems. A new tool based on those research findings defines concrete best practice guidelines that can be used routinely within a juvenile justice system to identify effective programs and improve those with the potential to be effective.
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Never too Late: Public Optimism About Juvenile Rehabilitation, Alex R. Piquero et al., Punishment and Society
Tags: Public Opinion and Messaging | Reports | Research
Study found a broad public consensus in support of juvenile rehabilitation and an abiding optimism that youthful offenders could be reformed deep into their teenage years, if not beyond.
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Formal System Processing of Juveniles: Effects on Delinquency, The Campbell Collaboration
Tags: Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Research
Meta-analysis of 29 randomized controlled trials comparing youth who were formally processed in the juvenile justice system with youth who were diverted to alternative programs or simply released.
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Research on Pathways to Desistance, Research Update Created for the Fourth Annual Models for Change Working Conference
Tags: Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Research
Summary of research suggesting that community-based options may be more effective than incarceration for some youth convicted of serious offenses.
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New Research Shows Community-Based Alternatives are Effective in Curbing Re-arrest in Youth with Serious Offenses
Tags: Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Deinstitutionalization | Research
Summary of research suggesting that community-based options may be more effective than incarceration for some youth convicted of serious offenses.
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Improving School Climate: Findings From Schools Implementing Restorative Practices
Tags: International | Pennsylvania | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Restorative Justice | Reports | Research | Fact Sheets and Briefs
Restorative justice has the potential to transform the way schools, communities, and the criminal justice system respond to disruptive student behavior and violence.These findings are composed of excerpts from articles, as well as disciplinary data from individual schools and school districts, that give a snapshot of how restorative practices are being implemented and its effects.
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Iatrogenic Effect of Juvenile Justice, Uberto Gatti, et al., The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Tags: International | General System Reform | International and Human Rights | Research
Study using data from a community sample of 779 low-SES boys to investigate whether intervention by the juvenile justice system is determined, at least in part, by particular individual, familial and social conditions, and whether intervention by the juvenile courts during adolescence increases involvement in adult crime. The results show that youth who are poor, impulsive, poorly supervised by their parents, and exposed to deviant friends are more likely, for the same degree of antisocial behavior, to undergo intervention by the juvenile court, and that this intervention greatly increases the likelihood of involvement with the penal system in adulthood. The results also show that the various measures recommended by the juvenile court exert a differential criminogenic effect; those that involve placement have the most negative impact.
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Juvenile Justice Diversion Programs: A Study of Civil Citation and Teen Court Programs
Tags: Florida | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Research
This report focuses on the current operationalization of Civil Citation and Teen Court programs as well as establishing guidelines for starting Civil Citation programs in communities that are planning to begin a program.
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D.C. Poll on Juvenile Justice, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner
Tags: District of Columbia | Public Opinion and Messaging | Youth in the Adult System | Reports | Research
D.C. poll found that 77 percent of those polled believe youth who are arrested and awaiting trial should be placed in a juvenile facility, not in the D.C. jail, an adult facility. The poll also found that the public overwhelmingly believes that youth should be rehabilitated and not merely incarcerated.
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Adolescent Brains Show Lower Activity in Areas that Control Risky Choices, National Institute of Mental Health
Tags: Brain and Adolescent Development | Research
Article describing a National Institute of Mental Health Study explaining that adolescents are prone to riskier behavior because the region of the brain that controls decision-making is less active in youth.
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Attitudes of U.S. Voters Toward Youth Crime and the Justice System, Barry Krisberg and Susan Marchionna, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Tags: Public Opinion and Messaging | Reports | Research
National public opinion poll about American attitudes toward the nation's response to youth crime. The results of this poll show that striking majorities favor rehabilitative services for young people and, despite a lack of confidence in the juvenile system, are largely opposed to prosecuting youth in the adult court and incarcerating youth in adult facilities.
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Public Opinion Favors Youth Tried in Juvenile System, Florida State University
Tags: Florida | Public Opinion and Messaging | Reports | Research
Press release about public opinions regarding the juvenile justice system in Florida. The main finding of the poll was that about 64 percent of survey respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that even violent juvenile offenders can be rehabilitated.
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Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs, and Crime Rates, Washington State Institute for Public Policy
Tags: Washington | Community-Based Alternatives and Supervision | Research
Paper providing background information on historic and projected incarceration rates in Washington, as well as a history of crime rates and fiscal costs of the criminal justice system. It also describes the process used to determine if evidence-based and economically sound options exist, and examines adult corrections, juvenile corrections, and prevention programs.
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Public Preferences for Rehabilitation Versus Incarceration of Juvenile Offenders: Evidence from a Contingent Valuation Survey, Daniel S. Nagin, et al.
Tags: Public Opinion and Messaging | Reports | Research
Study assessing public support for both punitively- and nonpunitively-oriented juvenile justice policies by measuring respondents' willingness to pay for various policy proposals. It employs methodology known as "contingent valuation" (CV) that permits the comparison of respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for competing policy alternatives. Specifically, study compares CV-based estimates for the public's WTP for two distinctively different responses to serious juvenile crime: incarceration and rehabilitation. An additional focus of analysis is an examination of the public's WTP for an early childhood prevention program. The analysis indicates that the public is at least as willing to pay for rehabilitation as punishment for juvenile offenders and that WTP for early childhood prevention is also substantial.
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Reforming Juvenile Detention in Florida, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Tags: Florida | Detention | Research
Study assessing the conditions of confinement, needs of youth entering the system, and services received as reported by youth and staff in Florida. It also estimates the number of youth that could safely be placed in a non-secure alternative environment, thus reducing the overall burden on the system. Study answers three primary research questions: (1) What are the profiles of youth in detention (characteristics, conditions of confinement, youth needs and services received, and safety and security)? (2) Are there any significant differences between gender and race/ethnicity regarding conditions (emotional conditions, services received, perceptions of staff)? (3) What are the standards of operation in detention facilities across the state? What are the potential benefits for youth and taxpayers of using research-based alternatives to detention in Florida?
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Poll Results: Kids in Adult Prisons, Pendulum Foundation
Tags: Colorado | Public Opinion and Messaging | Reports | Research
Survey results detailing public opinions about juvenile justice issues in Colorado.
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What Do Juvenile Offenders Know About Being Tried as Adults? Implications for Deterrence, Richard E. Redding and Elizabeth J. Fuller, Juvenile & Family Court Journal
Tags: Youth in the Adult System | Research
Study examining juveniles’ knowledge and perceptions of transfer laws and criminal sanctions. Researchers interviewed 37 juveniles who had been transferred to criminal court in Georgia, obtaining quantitative as well as qualitative data based on structured interviewed questions. Four key findings emerged: (1) juveniles were unaware of the transfer law; (2) juveniles felt that awareness of the law may have deterred them from committing the crime or may deter other juveniles from committing crimes, and they suggested practical ways to enhance juveniles’ awareness of transfer laws; (3) the juveniles generally felt that it was unfair to try and sentence them as adults; (4) the consequences of committing their crime were worse than most had imagined, and the harsh consequences of their incarceration in adult facilities may have had a brutalizing effect on some juveniles.
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Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?, Building Blocks for Youth
Tags: Youth in the Adult System | Research
Study taking an in-depth look at the prosecution of minority youth in criminal court. It includes the full range of "transfer" mechanisms, e.g., judicial decisions, prosecutorial decisions, and legislative exclusions. Study is broad-based, examining all the major decision points in criminal case processing, from arrest to final disposition. Additionally, there are a sufficient number of Latino youth to consider them separately in the analysis and this is a multi-jurisdictional study of juvenile cases prosecuted in adult courts in 18 large urban counties across the country. The findings are based on data gathered specifically for this study and not from secondary sources.
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Priming Unconscious Racial Stereotypes About Adolescent Offenders, Sandra Graham and Brian S. Lowery, Law and Human Behavior
Tags: Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Research
Paper elaborating on attributional approach to racial disparities in the juvenile justice system by incorporating recent insights from social psychology on the content and function of stereotypes. First, the paper argues that the most prevalent stereotypes about African Americans in this culture are negative. Second, it proposes that those stereotypes operate largely at an unconscious level. Third, it suggests that unconscious stereotypes, once activated, influence the attributions that perceivers make about the causes of crime, and those attributions, in turn, predict treatment of juvenile offenders.
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Ethnic and Gender Equity in Missouri Juvenile Court Decisions: Preliminary Findings, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Tags: Missouri | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Research
Study examining decision points in the juvenile court process and comparing decisions according to the ethnicity and gender of youth. Study is focused on addressing two primary questions: (1) is there disproportionate representation by ethnicity or gender at any decision point in the juvenile court process and (2) if there is disproportionate representation of minorities or females, are there referral or youth characteristics correlated with ethnicity or gender and are contributing to minority and/or female over-representation at a stage of the juvenile court process?
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Adolescent Girls with Mental Health Disorders Involved with the Juvenile Justice System
Tags: Girls | Mental Health and Substance Abuse | Reports | Research
Research shows that mental disorders are prevalent among girls in the juvenile justice system. This brief focuses on how mental health disorders affect girls in the juvenile justice system.
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The Mark of a Criminal Record, Devah Pager, American Journal of Sociology
Tags: Collateral Consequences | Youth in the Adult System | Research
Study focusing on the consequences of incarceration for the employment outcomes of black and white job seekers. The study adopts an experimental audit approach—in which matched pairs of individuals applied for real entry-level jobs—to formally test the degree to which a criminal record affects subsequent employment opportunities. The findings of this study reveal an important, and much under-recognized, mechanism of stratification.
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An Assessment of Minority Overrepresentation in Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System, Eliot C. Hartstone and Dorinda M. Richetelli, Spectrum Associates
Tags: Connecticut | Racial and Ethnic Disparities | Research
Study detailing the nature and extent of minority overrepresentation in Connecticut's juvenile justice system.
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Research on School Security: The Impact of Security Measures on Students
Tags: Brain and Adolescent Development | School-to-Prison Pipeline | Research
The National Association of School Psychologists published this brief on school security measures' impact on students. The brief cautions against over reliance on extreme security measures, and emphasizes an approach that addresses the full continuum of students' needs.
