County Juvenile Court Research Articles

Codesigning youth diversion programmes with community-led organisations: a case study

Background:We explore the feasibility of applying methods of participatory codesign to collaborative service development with community-led youth diversion programmes. Collaborative partnerships can support wealth redistribution and community mobilisation, a goal of governments aiming to implement equity-focused policy. There is little systematic exploration of methods aiming to structure the relationship between government and community-led programmes as part of youth criminal-legal diversion efforts. Methods:We use case study methodology to assess the feasibility and impact of a curriculum codesign approach between a university research team and two community-led organisations providing diversion services through a county juvenile court. The codesign method was informed by participatory design and use of research evidence frameworks. Findings:The analysis focuses on the feasibility of the approach from the perspective of the university research team and community organisations as well as how well the approach successfully navigated critical components of participatory process, including shared power, deference to community vision and values, and a valued end product. We conclude that the approach was generally feasible as a quality improvement strategy and well-received by the community-led organisations. Discussion and conclusions:Codesign is a promising strategy for reconciling public administration and health equity goals. The approach used in this case study adds to a small literature on methods of using codesign as a quality improvement process with applications for government contracting and monitoring, programme development and capacity-building.

Understanding the Role of Neighborhood Typology and Sociodemographic Characteristics on Time to Recidivism Among Adjudicated Youth

This study examined the effect of neighborhood disadvantage and criminogenic risk on juvenile recidivism. The sample included 893 youths involved in the delinquency/formal probation division of one Midwestern county juvenile court between 2004 and 2010. Juveniles were classified into one of three neighborhood typologies (i.e., Distressed/Disadvantage, Resilient/Mixed, Benchmark/Advantaged) based on the socioeconomic conditions in their neighborhoods. Survival models revealed that when examining the effect of neighborhood type, youth who lived in Resilient/Mixed neighborhoods, characterized by having the most transient residents, yet high graduation rates, were at greatest risk of recidivism. However, neighborhood effects disappeared after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and criminogenic risk. Although there was no significant interaction between neighborhood and risk group classification, there was a significant interaction between risk group, age, and gender. These findings suggest the need for advanced statistical models that can disentangle the conflated effects of socioeconomic conditions and sociodemographic characteristics.

Validation of the Ohio Youth Assessment System Dispositional Tool (OYAS-DIS): An Examination of Race and Gender Differences

The Ohio Youth Assessment System-Disposition Tool (OYAS-DIS) is a juvenile risk assessment that is used in numerous states and jurisdictions to assess criminogenic risk of juvenile offenders. Still, there is little published research on the predictive validity of the tool. The purpose of the current study was to examine the predictive validity of OYAS-DIS, with a specific focus on understanding prediction of recidivism across racial and gender subgroups. The sample consisted of 4,383 youth that received a court petition in a single large Midwestern county juvenile court. The findings indicated that the OYAS-DIS was a statistically significant predictor of recidivism across all racial and gender subgroups. However, there was statistically significant variation in predictive validity across subgroups. For instance, the tool was a statistically significantly better predictor of recidivism for White males as compared to Black male youth. There was also statistically significant variation in the predictive validity of certain domains (e.g., juvenile justice history) on the OYAS-DIS across racial and gender subgroups. Implications of research favor the use of the OYAS-DIS to predict recidivism for adjudicated juveniles.

The Kids are Alright: Making a Case for Abolition of the Juvenile Justice System

When considering abolition of the criminal justice system, there is no greater or more impactful relevance than for juveniles that find themselves inextricably linked to the juvenile justice system. From its inception, the philosophical foundation of juvenile care was to provide individualized, compassionate assistance to young men and women perceived to be in need of emotional care and/or social control. With the establishment of the Cook County Juvenile Court in 1899, the American juvenile justice system has endured a 118-year odyssey that has produced progressively rational, largely unsympathetic, and increasingly punitive practices. With happenings such as the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’, ‘juvenile life without the possibility of parole’, ‘teen courts’, and ‘deferred prosecution probation’, current juveniles that make unassuming mistakes and errors in judgment are adjoined to a system that sustains and reinforces itself through these mistakes and errors. The charge of this article is to recommend the abolition of the contemporary juvenile justice system, with safeguards for the protection from serious offenders and a return to the compassionate care that is warranted for the majority of juveniles that currently bolster the system.

50.2 Girls and the Juvenile Justice System: Specialty Courts and Approaches to Work With Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court System

50.2 Girls and the Juvenile Justice System: Specialty Courts and Approaches to Work With Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Court System

Evaluation II: Risk outcomes from a specialized treatment and management program for youth who commit sexual crimes

ABSTRACTFew studies have systematically evaluated holistic treatment and management programs for youth with sexually problematic behaviors. In partnership with the Lucas County Juvenile Court in Northwest Ohio, and using the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS), this study evaluates changes in criminogenic risk factors for youth adjudicated of a sexual crime (N = 234) who received specialized holistic programming. Hierarchical linear models revealed support for the program as evidenced by reduction in risk domains related to prosocial skills, criminal values, beliefs, and attitudes, and overall OYAS risk. Policy implications are discussed.

Gender-Responsive Intervention for Female Juvenile Offenders: A Quasi-Experimental Outcome Evaluation

The increasing proportion of girls in the juvenile justice system has prompted courts to develop gender-responsive services. The present study examined data from a mid-sized county juvenile court to examine the effects of a group home intervention for girls. The study compared group home participants ( n = 172) with girls who did not receive group home treatment ( n = 814) using propensity score matching (PSM). Girls who received group home treatment were significantly less likely to re-offend in the 2-year follow-up period. Policy and practice implications for gender-responsive services as well as future directions for research are discussed.

Foster care, geographic neighborhood change, and the risk of delinquency

Background and purposePrevious studies report that foster care placement is associated with an increased risk of delinquency. Yet it remains unclear which aspects of the placement experience increase the risk of delinquency. The current study addresses this knowledge gap. This study investigates the relationship between geographic neighborhood change and the risk of delinquency for adolescents in foster care settings. Based on findings from the neighborhood effects literatures, we hypothesize that moving to a neighborhood characterized by concentrated disadvantage and residential instability is associated with increased risk of delinquency. MethodsThe design for the current study is longitudinal. The sample is comprised of 145 foster youth from two birth cohorts, one born in 1983 and one in 1984, in Chicago, Illinois. The sample was 92% African American and 52% male. Overall, 11% had an official juvenile arrest. We used data from multiple sources, including the 1990 census data and administrative data from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Cook County Juvenile Court. To measure neighborhood change, we calculated a difference between children's home and placement neighborhoods on ten census variables: percentages of households in a given neighborhood that were below the poverty line, neighborhood households on public assistance, female-headed households, unemployed population, and persons <18years old, African American, Latino, foreign-born, residents living in the same house as five years earlier, and owner-occupied homes, all of which are commonly used in neighborhood studies. We identified two factors within the neighborhood variables—concentrated disadvantage and residential instability,—and used the two-factor scores in the following analysis. We conducted a Cox regression to model time to first arrest. ResultsThe results indicate that moving to a neighborhood with high residential instability significantly increases an individual's risk of juvenile delinquency. In addition, two subgroups—male foster youth; and all foster youth with an experience of neglect—are significantly more likely to be associated with a formal delinquency petition. Conclusions and implicationsThe current study is unique and builds the knowledge base with regard to the placement of children and adolescents in substitute care settings. The findings indicate that the neighborhoods in which children are placed do matter in terms of their outcomes, and thus they should be considered in the placement decision process. This finding is consistent with the “person-in-environment” concept advanced by social work professionals.

Safeguarding foster care youth from overmedication

IntroductionThere are increasing concerns regarding long-term psychotropic polypharmacy prescribed for foster care youth 3.5 to 5 times more often than in at-home youth (Kreider et al., 2014). Polypharmacy risks include weight gain, glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes. (De Hert et al., 2011). In view of these risks, novel interventions are essential to safeguard foster care youth from overmedication.ObjectivesTo present guidelines for identification and management of polypharmacy in foster care youth.AimsTo demonstrate a novel intervention to monitor and diminish polypharmacy and enhance psychiatric care in foster care children.MethodsPolypharmacy is identified using LA County Juvenile Court Mental Health Service (JCMHS) Psychotropic Parameters* to review medication consent forms from treating psychiatrists. Polypharmacy triggers an in-person JCHMS consultation. *(Parameters 3.9 for JCMHS PMAF Review, Revised May 2015).JCMHS Psychotropic Parameters (summary):– age 0–5 years:– 2 or &gt; psychotropic medications,– Any antipsychotic (*except Risperidone in ASD);– age 6–8 years:– 3 or &gt; psychotropic medications;– age 9–17 years:– 4 or &gt; psychotropic medications;– All age youth:– 2 or &gt; psychotropic medications in the same class (antipsychotics, antidepressants, stimulants, mood stabilizers, alpha agonists).Psychotropic medication doses in excess of recommended (*LA County Department of Mental Health Parameters 3.8 for use of Psychotropic Medications for Children and Adolescents).ResultsApproximately 25% of JCMHS annual psychiatric consultations were initiated by JCMHS parameters for polypharmacy. Corresponding consultations included education and recommendations discussed with treating psychiatrists regarding polypharmacy and optimal psychiatric management.ConclusionsJCMHS Psychotropic Parameters is a useful tool to identify polypharmacy and enhance psychiatric care of foster care youth.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Race, prior offending, and juvenile court outcomes

Both theory and research in the study of race in the juvenile justice system have attempted to identify the contexts in which race matters. The objectives of the present research are to examine the roles that race and the history of prior offending, individually and in combination, have on juvenile justice outcomes at detention, intake, adjudication and judicial disposition. An interpretation of the focal concerns/loosely coupled perspective is used as a backdrop to analyze data from a Midwestern county juvenile court to address these objectives. While race and the history of prior offending individually explained case outcomes, the interrelationship between the two with court decision-making, for the most part, was not found to exist. The overall results suggest that prior offending may not be racialized as hypothesized in this juvenile court but being black by itself results in unjust treatment.

Assessing the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency: An Evaluation of a Court‐Based Delinquency Prevention Program

In 2002, the State of Ohio mandated juvenile courts to provide prevention for at‐risk youth. This study examined official court records to evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention program administered by the Greene County Juvenile Court. A sample of 362 youth referred to the program for the years 2002 to 2009 by concerned caretakers, teachers, and police was analyzed. Consistent with intake goals, 81.7% of clients were referred for at‐risk but not actually delinquent behaviors. Completion of the prevention program did not predict future court referrals, but neither did seriousness of referral behavior. Children with two biological parents were significantly more likely to complete the program, whereas referrals to Strengthening Families Program and substance abuse screening significantly predicted program noncompletion. Implications for policy and research are discussed. Key Points for the Family Court Community: This article highlights efforts by county juvenile court to implement a secondary prevention program for at‐risk but not officially court‐referred youth. Delinquency prevention research depends on good juvenile court data and adequate comparison groups. Evidence‐based predelinquent interventions with external process and outcome evaluations should be the standard.

Assessing the Status of Gender-Specific Programs through the Lens of Juvenile Justice Staff

The gender-specific approach for working with offenders gained momentum during the 1990s and has since been largely accepted by academics and practitioners. Despite numerous studies demonstrating a need for gender-responsive programs and policies within both adult and juvenile correctional systems, scant research has explored whether these services are meeting the intended goals. The current study addresses this through a qualitative analysis of 1 county juvenile court using in-depth interviews with staff. Findings reveal that in spite of the court's efforts to incorporate a gender-responsive approach, much work still remains regarding training staff and meeting girls' needs. Staff identified critical gaps in services and continued to perpetuate gendered norms and stereotypes. Included is a discussion as to why it has been difficult to effectively implement gender-specific programs.

Diverting victims of commercial sexual exploitation from juvenile detention: development of the InterCSECt screening protocol.

Identifying victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the juvenile justice system is a challenging complexity requiring concerted organizational commitment. Using a three-tiered, trauma-informed screening process, a 3½-month pilot intervention was implemented in Clark County Juvenile Court (Washington) to identify victims in an effort to connect them to community youth advocates and sexual assault resources. A total of 535 boys and girls ages 9 to 19 were screened during intake; 47 of these youth reported risk factors associated with commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and were subsequently referred to community advocates. Six youth (all girls) were confirmed CSEC victims and were successfully diverted from juvenile detention. Study results suggest that despite the lack of reliable data surrounding the prevalence of CSEC, juvenile justice agencies need to become educated on the risk factors to triage victims to services.

Trauma exposure, psychiatric disorders, and resiliency in juvenile-justice-involved youth.

Recent studies suggest that juvenile-justice-involved youth have high levels of trauma exposure, and that trauma correlates with psychiatric disorders. We assessed the relationships between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and resiliency factors in a population of justice-involved youth in New Hampshire (NH) and Ohio. We screened 350 youth at 5 NH family courts, the NH juvenile detention center, NH residential treatment facilities, and at one Ohio county juvenile court. The Web-based screen measured trauma, PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and resiliency factors. Ninety-four percent reported at least 1 trauma; the mean was 5.4. Screening showed 45.7% of youth positive for PTSD, 49.4% for depression, 61.2% for substance abuse, and 26.3% positive for all 3 disorders. Trauma exposure was significantly correlated with PTSD (p .001), depression (p .001), and substance abuse (p .009). Juveniles reporting 5.4 traumas had almost 8 times the probability of PTSD compared with those reporting 1 trauma, 7 times the likelihood of depression, and over 6 times the likelihood of substance abuse. Total resiliency score was not a moderator, but one subscale (Involvement) significantly moderated depression (p .036) and showed a trend to moderate PTSD (p .102). Results support recent findings reporting high levels of trauma exposure and related psychiatric disorders in juvenile-justice-involved youth. Multiply traumatized youth appear at risk for PTSD, depression, and substance use disorder. The apparent moderating effects of one resiliency subscale on depression and PTSD should be further explored.

Long-Term Evaluation of a Trauma Center-Based Juvenile Driving Intervention Program

Motor vehicle-related trauma remains the leading cause of adolescent injury and death in the United States. We previously reported results from the Drive Alive (DA) program-a comprehensive juvenile prevention program that highlights risky driving behavior and consequences-and demonstrated a reduction in recidivism 6 months after its completion. We further evaluated the results of the original and subsequent participants on a long-term basis. Bureau of Motor Vehicle records of all individuals who had completed the DA program were prospectively reviewed. This 4-week, Level I trauma center-based program provides 10 contact hours of exposure to mock trauma sessions, drug and alcohol education, former trauma patients and their families, state troopers and other pertinent driving safety, educational, and prevention topics. The County Juvenile Court ordered participation after driving-related convictions. The driving records were compared with a control group consisting of adolescents convicted of similar driving offenses in the same period, not referred to the DA program. Comparisons were made at 6 monthly intervals up to 60 months using Fischer's exact test. A total of 488 teens (346 male and 142 female) completed the DA program between May 2003 and October 2008. Mean participant age was 17.4 years. Speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol were the most frequent reasons for referral. Consistent with our prior results, this interactive intervention for juvenile driving offenders resulted in a statistically significant reduction in driving-related offenses for the 6-month periods after its completion. This effect is lost in the long term. The role of booster interventions at 6 months and beyond, as adjuncts to initial interventional prevention initiatives, needs to be explored to aid sustained positive effects in this population of drivers.

Correcting Community Service: From Work Crews to Community Work in a Juvenile Court

In 2001, the Clark County Juvenile Court in Washington State implemented the use of “restorative community service” (RCS) as part of its larger adoption of a restorative justice framework. This paper explores the court’s implementation and use of RCS, including: (1) the types of institutional changes made by the court in its development of RCS, (2) the types and qualities of social interactions observed by the researcher through participant observation at several RCS sites, (3) the practical implications of these findings for proponents of restorative justice in the use of community service in youth settings, and (4) the theoretical implications of these findings for sociological and criminological research on community service.

"Horseman, Pass By!"

"Horseman, Pass By!" Cary Holladay (bio) Rapidan, Virginia August 1945 After a long dry spell comes a rainy season of creatures that slither and spin. Spiders crochet over Nelle Fenton's doors. Nelle's husband, Richard, says, "Run into a spider web, and you'll run into a friend." Frogs glory in the rain that falls on the yellow grass and the brick terrace baked by months of heat. At night bats squeeze through holes in window screens and bobble in the hallways until Philip and Edmonia, the servants, sweep them outside with a broom. Between drizzles, Nelle's sister-in-law, Iris, sits on a garden bench reading. From the porch, Nelle observes a blacksnake drop from a tree and land beside Iris. Iris jumps up and sprints toward the house, screaming. Nelle takes pleasure in withholding sympathy. "It was harmless." "How could you tell from up here?" Iris asks. "I have good eyes." Iris huffs past her into the house. The war is over, and Nelle's boys are coming home, yet Nelle's heart is heavy. Richard is recovering from a heart attack. He and Nelle argue bitterly these days. He is angry that she refuses to sell a horse to a colored man named Bootney Sims. Twice the man has come by, and twice Nelle has sent him away. "He wouldn't take proper care of the horse," Nelle tells Richard. They are in the garden, beside the bench where the snake scared Iris. Nothing is blooming except a few daylilies. "Bootney Sims is a good man," Richard says. "Has he ever been in your court?" Nelle asks, guessing. She tosses a handful of Quaker Oats into the pond, and fish kiss the water with orange lips. [End Page 1] "His wife was beating him," Richard says reluctantly. "He wanted a divorce. I granted it. She's a violent woman." Nelle pops the lid back on the box of oats. "You should be resting," she says. "Have you ever listened to anything I say?" Richard says. "I have the right to approve the buyers of my horses. I don't believe most negroes know how to treat thoroughbreds." "Some of the best trainers in the county are colored," Richard says. "Look at the Ellis brothers. Their standards are as high as yours." "Nobody's standards are as high as mine," she says. Until the war the show was an annual event, drawing crowds of negroes and whites alike. Nelle and Richard went every year. There were jumps, mule races, sulky races, and prizes for best draft horse, harness horse, yearling, and brood mare. Bands played, and black jockeys in colored silks flew around on horses with plaited manes. Now the Ellis brothers are reviving the show. "Let Bootney Sims buy a horse from the Ellis brothers," Nelle says. "I don't want to do business with him." "You're wrong, Nelle. You're wrong about so many things," Richard says. He turns and leaves her. She can't bear to watch how slowly he trudges up the lawn. She really does want to go to the Colored Horse Show. It was fun to bet on the races and eat fried fish from paper plates. If Richard turned around and asked her to go, she'd say yes. Hasn't she provided for the family, doing as much as Richard or more? All during the war, her household suffered no privation. Iris promoted foolish economies, digging up wild greens to put on the table, though the gardens were bursting with crops. Iris knits ugly socks for Nelle's boys, but Nelle receives more letters from them. She is Mother; Iris is Aunt. Richard writes to each boy once a week. He reads his letters aloud: which friends came for dinner, reports of his own health. "Mr. Jenkins had to carry me up the courthouse steps," Richard wrote, proud that he is still Judge Fenton of the Orange County Juvenile and Domestic Court. All of their boys served in the war. Gordon, the weakest-willed, is stateside already. He visited last week with a new girlfriend. She had the face of a cutpurse, with enough mascara to tar...

Child Protection Mediation: An Evaluation of Services Provided by Cook County Juvenile Court

Mediation in the Cook County Circuit Court Child Protection Mediation Program provides the family of children in state custody with the first opportunity to voice their concerns, feel heard and discuss their children’s future. This was one of the major findings of an evaluation of the program conducted by Resolution Systems Institute. The study looked at three areas: program performance, program process and stakeholder understanding and assessment of mediation and its role and function within the child protection system. The study included data from 164 cases referred to mediation, as well as interviews of mediation participants, judges, attorneys and program staff. Participants, particularly family members, had very positive reactions to the program. However, very few were given the opportunity to experience it. Judges and hearing officers saw the value in the program, but did not often make referrals to it. The majority of judges and attorneys interviewed believed mediation could occur early on, but almost always referred cases to the program after the disposition hearing (generally two years after the children were brought into the system). This is the paradox of the program. It works well, is well-regarded by almost everyone, and the participant families find it to be a rewarding experience, but it is underutilized.

Predicting Secure Detention Placement for African-American Juvenile Offenders: Addressing the Disproportionate Minority Confinement Problem

Disproportionate minority contact and confinement (DMC) are significant problems within the juvenile justice system in the United States. Minority youth are more often arrested, court referred, placed in locked facilities, and transferred to adult criminal courts. In fact, African American youth are 6 times more likely than White youth to experience a secure facility placement. Standardized risk assessments have been used, in part, to reduce these biased placement outcomes. The purpose of this article is to determine if DMC impacts secure detention placement even when a standardized risk assessment is used to determine youths’ risks and needs in 1 Midwest county's juvenile court population over a 17-month time frame. Multivariate binary logistic regression results indicated and confirmed that African American youth were 2 times more likely to receive secure detention center placement than non–African American youth even when a standardized risk assessment was used. Practical applications and recommendations are set forth.

Low‐Risk Youths Referred to Pima County Juvenile Court Center Detention Intake: Needs, Detention, and Recidivism

ABSTRACTDelinquent youths who were low risk to re‐offend were the subject of this study. It was hypothesized that these youths would have high levels of need (e.g., mental illness) and that detention would lead to increased recidivism. Demographic and social factors, delinquency history, and recidivism data were analyzed, producing four major findings: low‐risk youths have high needs, low‐risk youths recidivate at high rates, unaddressed needs increase the likelihood of detention and recidivism, and behavioral health needs were among the strongest predictors of recidivism. The factors that lead to recidivism are discussed, and suggestions for improving outcomes are also presented.