First-time Juvenile Offenders Research Articles

36. Predictors of Diversion From the Criminal Justice System Among First Time Juvenile Offenders

First-time juvenile offenders are increasingly diverted from the justice system post-arrest. Although widely researched, programs frequently differ in how they define diversion, with two broad categories of program emerging in the literature: formal and informal diversion programs, which differ in the level of monitoring youth receive post-arrest. Reports on diversion programs frequently emphasize their relationships to recidivism, however, few describe differences between diverted and non-diverted youth.

Does Speed Matter? The Association Between Case Processing Time in Juvenile Court and Rearrest

The present study assessed the relationship between case processing time and rearrest among a sample of first-time juvenile offenders referred to the Florida juvenile justice system and examined the extent to which this association varied by youth and case characteristics. Propensity score analyses suggested youth with longer case processing times had higher odds of being rearrested within 1 year compared to youth with shorter case processing times. Subgroup analyses suggested differences in the effects of case processing time by youth and case-level characteristics. According to results, policymakers should prioritize implementing and enforcing case processing time restrictions in their jurisdictions, particularly for detained youth and remain aware of the potential ensnaring implications of longer case processing times to reduce rearrest rates for first-time juvenile offenders.

Childhood Maltreatment and Repeat Offending in Juvenile Delinquents: A Propensity Score Matched-Control Study

Juvenile recidivism is a serious public health concern. Using statewide administrative data, this study examined the independent predictive value of childhood maltreatment on repeat offending and compared risk factors for recidivism between 698 first-time juvenile offenders with maltreatment and their propensity score matched sample of 698 without maltreatment. For 3 years, 65.2% of maltreated offenders and 61.5% of their matched sample recidivated after their initial offense. The effect of childhood maltreatment on recidivism remained statistically significant beyond the inclusion of control variables. In both groups, being a youth of color and having a diagnosed emotional/behavioral disability increased risk for recidivism. Additional risk factors included being a male for maltreated offenders and out-of-school suspension, entry into the juvenile justice system at younger ages, and out-of-home placement only after their first offense or continuing placement for their matched sample without maltreatment. Preventive interventions must be responsive to such different risks.

Disparities in Criminal Justice System Responses to First-Time Juvenile Offenders According to Indigenous Status

This study explored the intersection between Indigenous status, gender, and age in relation to law enforcement responses to offending in 53,632 first-time juvenile offenders in Australia. Findings demonstrated that Indigenous offenders were more likely to receive a court summons (rather than diversionary alternative) following their first offense compared with non-Indigenous offenders when controlling for gender, age, and the nature and number of charges processed at first offense. No interactions were observed between Indigenous status, age, and gender. Indigenous status predicted receiving a court summons; however, the strength of this relationship diminished when offenders had one-to-two violent charges and when offenders’ first contact occurred after the commencement of the Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW), which formalized police responses to diversion. Stronger efforts are needed to prevent initial justice system contact and formal processing among Indigenous youth with a focus on community-led early intervention strategies.

How Does Juvenile Offending Relate to Mothers' Aspirations and Expectations for Their Sons?

Mothers of 317 first-time juvenile offenders (M=15.35years old) were interviewed over 2.5years about their expectations and aspirations for their sons' futures. Mothers' expectations were lower than their aspirations, reflecting a discrepancy between what mothers felt was important for their child's future and what they considered likely to happen. As their children continued to engage in delinquent acts, mothers' expectations for their sons' future success diminished. Youth age moderated the association between delinquency and maternal expectations, such that when perceived delinquency was high, expectations were lower for mothers of young sons compared to mothers of older sons. These findings carry implications for practice and intervention, as parent expectations and aspirations are both directly and indirectly associated with youth achievement.

Understanding the link between exposure to violence and aggression in justice-involved adolescents.

The current study advanced research on the link between community violence exposure and aggression by comparing the effects of violence exposure on different functions of aggression and by testing four potential (i.e., callous-unemotional traits, consideration of others, impulse control, and anxiety) mediators of this relationship. Analyses were conducted in an ethnically/racially diverse sample of 1,216 male first-time juvenile offenders (M = 15.30 years, SD = 1.29). Our results indicated that violence exposure had direct effects on both proactive and reactive aggression 18 months later. The predictive link of violence exposure to proactive aggression was no longer significant after controlling for proactive aggression at baseline and the overlap with reactive aggression. In contrast, violence exposure predicted later reactive aggression even after controlling for baseline reactive aggression and the overlap with proactive aggression. Mediation analyses of the association between violence exposure and reactive aggression indicated indirect effects through all potential mediators, but the strongest indirect effect was through impulse control. The findings help to advance knowledge on the consequences of community violence exposure on justice-involved youth.

A Study on the Probation Process of the First-time Juvenile Offenders

A Study on the Probation Process of the First-time Juvenile Offenders

The Longitudinal Association of Relationship Quality and Reoffending Among First-Time Juvenile Offenders and Their Mothers.

To understand how youth desist from crime after their first arrest, it is necessary to investigate their primary support system: their parents. As such, this study examined the reciprocal effects of justice system contact on the mother-child dyad. Interviews with 317 mothers and their sons from Orange County, CA, Jefferson Parish, LA, and Philadelphia, PA were conducted semiannually over two and a half years. At the beginning of the study, the sons were first-time offenders aged 13-17 and mostly non-White (i.e., 19.2 White, 56.5 Latino, 21.5 Black, and 2.8% another race/ethnicity). The results revealed that a high quality initial mother-son relationship reduces youths' re-offending over time. Furthermore, as mothers perceived that their sons were offending more, they reported less warmth in their relationships with their sons two and a half years later. Interestingly, youth's age emerged as a moderator. First, older youth were less likely to engage in reoffending if they had a warm maternal relationship. Second, decreases in relationship warmth associated with re-offending were steeper for younger youth. The findings have implications for juvenile justice policy in terms of improving probationary outcomes for youth offenders, and alleviating the financial and emotional burden on justice system-involved families.

And justice for all: Determinants and effects of probation officers’ processing decisions regarding first-time juvenile offenders.

When a youth is accused of committing a crime, juvenile justice system arbiters, such as probation officers, interview both the youth and the youth’s guardian to gather information before deciding to either process the youth formally or informally. Factors about a youth that are unrelated to the criminal charge may contribute to arbiters’ processing decisions. Such extralegal factors include demographic characteristics and characteristics of the youth’s context (e.g., home environment, peer delinquency). Little is known about how extralegal factors other than age and race affect youth processing. The present study draws on data from probation officer assessment interviews with 359 male, first-time, low-level juvenile offenders, as well as longitudinal self-report and official records of a youth’s reoffending after his first arrest, to determine how extralegal factors affect probation processing decisions, and whether processing is associated with youth reoffending and rearrest. The results indicate that even after taking into account legal factors and demographic characteristics, youth are more likely to be processed formally if they refuse to comment on the charge, if their probation officers believe their guardians to be relatively more disapproving of their friends, and if their probation officers perceive their home environments to be more problematic. Although youth who are processed formally self-report reoffending at the same rate as youth who are processed informally, youth who are processed formally are more likely to be rearrested in the subsequent 6 months. Implications for how processing decisions may promote sustained involvement in the juvenile justice system are discussed.

Mental Health Referrals Reduce Recidivism in First-Time Juvenile Offenders, But How Do We Determine Who is Referred?

While psychiatric disorders are common among juvenile delinquents, many mental health problems go undetected, increasing the likelihood for persistent difficulties. This is the first known study to examine mental health referral rates and recidivism in the juvenile justice system. In addition to the study, we review juvenile justice mental health screening to improve detection and treatment. Juvenile criminal records in conjunction with behavioral health screenings were analyzed to determine differences in referrals and recidivism among first time offenders. Recidivism rates were significantly lower (p=0.04) and time to recidivism was significantly longer (p=0.03) for those referred specifically for mental health services than for those without any referrals, even after adjusting for offense severity. While black youths had a significantly higher recidivism rate (p=0.02) and a shorter time to recidivism (p=0.009) than white youths, there was no significant difference between races when referred specifically for mental health services. Among the groups studied, black youths had the most profound positive effect from mental health referrals (p<0.0001). This study indicates the importance of detecting mental health problems among juvenile delinquents, especially for black offenders. The apparent protective effect of mental health interventions necessitates screening that better identifies underlying psychosocial factors rather than strict reliance upon diagnostic criteria and self-report. Broader or even universal mental health referrals for juvenile offenders could reduce future legal system involvement and costs to society. We review potential reasons that mental health problems go undetected and provide recommendations.

Prevalence of mental health problems and service use among first-time juvenile offenders.

It is known that youth engaged in the juvenile justice system show high rates of psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about the course of those disorders over time, or about mental health service use on the part of children and families during justice system involvement. Boys and girls recruited from their first contact with juvenile court (n=75), at a mean age of 13.6 years, completed three waves of interviews, each consisting of a structured clinical interview and questionnaires regarding service use, family functioning, parental burden, parental psychopathology. High rates of psychiatric disorders were evident. Three quarters (n = 56) met criteria for a mood, anxiety or behavioral disorder by parent or child report. Despite the high prevalence of mental health concerns, relatively few youth (approximately 20%) were involved in mental health services in follow-up waves. The presence of ODD and higher levels of family communication problems were associated with involvement in mental health services. Although parents experienced burden associated with their child's mental health problems, burden was not a strong correlate of help-seeking. Mental health problems declined from the point of initial involvement with juvenile justice; only ODD symptoms showed stability over time. Low rates of engagement in mental health services are found for juveniles subsequent to their first contact with juvenile justice. ODD and family communication problems most influenced service engagement, while burden due to mental health problems did not. The results provide potential targets for efforts to enhance parental motivation towards service engagement.

Occupying Anonymous: Juvenile Arbitration Girls Perform Disidentities

In this article, we discuss a video project, Occupying Anonymous, conducted with a group of adolescent girls in an arts-based arbitration program for first-time juvenile offenders. By law, the program requires all adolescent participants to conceal their faces and other physical identity markers in their artwork to protect their public image. Through Occupying Anonymous, we aspired to address the tension between our participants’ public visibility and anonymous art making by embracing anonymity as a performative strategy. The girls transformed their physical identities by creating alternate personas using wigs, makeup, costumes, and props to perform their poems or prose about significant issues in their lives. We employ productive intersections between theoretical frameworks of Muñoz’s (1999) theory of disidentification, Deleuze’s and Guattari’s (1987) concept of becoming, and Butler’s (1990, 1993) notion of performativity to reframe gendered identity and self as supple, fluid, and open to multiple possibilities.

Teen Court Counseling Groups: Facilitating Positive Change for Adolescents Who Are First-Time Juvenile Offenders

Teen Court is a promising type of diversion program offered to adolescents who have been arrested for first-time misdemeanors, serving as a voluntary and effective alternative to the juvenile justice system. Diversion programs that use group counseling as a mandatory component of sentencing demonstrate initial success in reducing recidivism rates in national outcome studies. In this article, the authors provide a description of 1 Teen Court counseling group model, offer pilot evaluation data, and highlight the implications of implementing Teen Court counseling groups for group counselors.

Screening Offenders: The Exploration of a Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) Brief Screener

Although structured assessments have helped standardize juvenile court processes by systematically measuring risk for recidivism, it has been argued that some assessments lack the ability to perform as a brief screener. This study explored the potential for the original 42-item Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) risk assessment to perform as a brief screener for a sample of first-time juvenile offenders in a Midwestern, industrialized county. Results indicated that the original and shortened version of the YLS/CMI significantly predicted 2-year recidivism for male and female offenders. Implications for situationally targeted forms of risk assessment are discussed.

Socio-Demographic Variables Predicting Formal vs. Informal Juvenile Justice System Handling and Associated Outcomes

This analysis compares and contrasts first-time juvenile offenders enrolled in a community-based balanced and restorative justice program whose cases were processed either informally or formally. The study examines contributors to both levels of processing and re-offending. This study examines how family characteristics are associated specifically with level of processing, which are unique attributes compared with juvenile justice studies in the literature. Multivariate predictors of formal levels of processing were age, gender, race, type of offense, marital status of biological parents, and the number of children in the home. Analyses also found that almost twice as many youth who were formally processed were recidivists at 1 year as compared to youth who were informally processed. No significant difference was found in regards to rates of recidivism at 3 years.

An experimental evaluation of teen courts

Teen Court (TC) is a juvenile diversion program designed to prevent the formal processing of first-time juvenile offenders within the juvenile justice system. TC instead utilizes informal processing and sanctions in order to prevent future offending. Despite its widespread popularity throughout the United States of America, little rigorous research has been conducted on the effectiveness of the TC model for reducing recidivism. Using an experimental design, this study examined the effectiveness of TC in reducing recidivism and improving the attitudes and opinions of juvenile offenders in comparison with a control group of youth who were formally processed. Self-reported delinquency was higher for those youth who participated in TC. TC youth were also found to have significantly lower scores on a scale of belief in conventional rules than had youth who were processed in the Department of Juveniles Services. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Juvenile Diversion: Results of a 3-Year Experimental Study

In a 3-year longitudinal study of first-time juvenile status offenders assigned at random to three treatment groups and a control group, no significant differences were found in recidivism rates among the groups. A total of 398 juveniles in this study were cited for offenses of tobacco or alcohol in a medium-sized metropolitan northwest city. The offenders were assigned at random to four groups: a traditional magistrate court, a traditional youth court diversion program, a new nonjudicial-diversion program, and a control group. None of the groups, including the control group, showed a significant difference in recidivism rates. It was determined from the evaluation of all groups that the diversion program offered the most cost-effective program intervention to provide more services to potentially troubled teens.

Programa Shortstop: A Culturally Focused Juvenile Intervention for Hispanic Youth

Culturally sensitive juvenile delinquency and substance abuse interventions are relatively limited and unavailable to many first-time Hispanic juvenile offenders. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a culturally focused juvenile and substance abuse intervention program for first time Hispanic youth offenders. The intent of the program was to decrease juvenile recidivism and increase substance abuse resistance. Programa Shortstop is a family based intervention designed for Hispanic youth ages 9-17. The intervention was delivered to 352 youth and at least one parent/caregiver over the 5-year study period. For intervention youth, the results of the recidivism study (n = 321) indicated that 89% of youth participating in Programa Shortstop between 1995 to 1997 were not rearrested within one year of completing Programa Shortstop. Additionally, statistical paired t-test analysis found that the intervention model had a positive effect on legal knowledge and school related factors associated with substance abuse and delinquency. Parent participants demonstrated significant increases in knowledge related to substance abuse and the legal system.

A multiple family group intervention for first‐time juvenile offenders: Comparisons with probation and dropouts on recidivism

AbstractThis study evaluated a multiple‐family group‐intervention program (MFGI) for first‐time juvenile offenders. The recidivism rate for subjects who completed the MFGI (the Family Solutions Program) was compared to recidivism rates of two other groups of first‐time juvenile offenders. Using logistic regression analysis predicting who will recidivate, juvenile first offenders who were placed on probation (N = 95) were 9.3 times more likely to re‐offend compared to the Family Solutions Program (FSP) graduates (N = 267). Families referred to FSP but who dropped out (most never attended the 10 session program) (N = 93) also were 4.4 times more likely to re‐offend compared to FSP graduates. An intent‐to‐treat model comparing the combined group of FSP graduates and dropouts with the probation group indicated that a youth in the probation group was 8.1 times more likely to re‐offend than a youth referred to the FSP. Results indicating better outcomes on recidivism for FSP graduates were significant for both male and female youths. Implications for policy and practitioners are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 177–200, 2004.

Control group study of juvenile diversion programs: an experiment in juvenile diversion—the comparison of three methods and a control group

Juvenile diversion methods have been tested in many states in an effort to reduce recidivism. This paper reports on an experimental juvenile diversion program and the evaluation to assess the effects on recidivism during the experimental period. In this control group design first-time juvenile status offenders were randomly assigned to three experimental groups: Juvenile Accountability Program, Youth Court, or Magistrate Court and compared with an Educational Control group. The data revealed that the Juvenile Accountability diversion program, which diverted offenders from the justice system and held them accountable of their offenses, showed positive signs for reducing recidivism.