Race differences in the impact of juvenile detention on likelihood of young adult incarceration of males aging out of care

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Youth involved in the child welfare system are more likely to be involved in the juvenile justice system, and juvenile justice involvement is linked to increased likelihood of subsequent incarceration. For these reasons, overrepresentation of Black youth in the child welfare system contributes to racial disparities in incarceration rates. It is, therefore, important to study youth transitioning out of foster care to examine how their young adult outcomes differ by race. Employing the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD), this study compared the incarceration experiences of non-Hispanic White and Black males aging out of foster care. Specifically, this study examined the impact of juvenile detention on the likelihood of incarceration ages 19 to 21and factors that mediated this relationship. Notably, 33.5% of White males and 30.7% of Black males in the sample experienced juvenile detention. Findings indicate that juvenile detention disproportionately impacts Black males who age out of foster care compared to their White counterparts. The direct effect of juvenile detention on reported incarceration between age 19–21 for Black males in the sample was OR = 2.31 compared to OR = 1.91 for White males. Reported incarceration between age 17–19 significantly mediated the relationship between juvenile confinement and incarceration age 19–21 for both Black and White males in the sample, although this effect was substantially stronger for Black males. Research and policy implications are discussed.