Disparate Juvenile Court Outcomes for Disabled Delinquent Youth: A Social Work Call to Action

Current service delivery for at-risk youth is through four separate systems: special education; mental health and substance abuse; juvenile justice; and child welfare. Many youth (and their families) are involved with more than one of these systems, making early disability identification and subsequent systems coordination paramount in leading to more successful juvenile court outcomes. This coordination is an important and prioritized public policy concern because a majority of youth (disproportionately minority) within juvenile justice populations has been identified with mental health disorders, special education disabilities, or maltreatment histories. This study of a unique sample of probation-supervised delinquent youths (n = 397) identifies these disabilities and their corresponding court supervision, detention, and incarceration outcomes for a 48-month period in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (greater Cleveland). Within this youth sample over 32% had a special education disability, over 39% had a mental health disorder, over 32% had a substance abuse disorder, and over 56% were victims of maltreatment. Even higher disability rates were found for those youth who were subsequently detained or incarcerated. Many of these youth had multiple disabilities (and subsequently poorer juvenile court outcomes) and were concurrently involved in more than one disability service system. Policy and client services implications are reviewed and discussed.

Educational risk,recidivism, and service access among youth involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems

Dually-involved youth represent a population of youth who receive some level of supervision from both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems concurrently. The current study examined education-related risk factors, recidivism, referrals for services, and service access among dually-involved youth in Los Angeles County. Specifically, whether increased educational risk was associated with referrals to, and access of, educational services and supports and whether higher receipt of educational services reduced recidivism approximately six months post-disposition. Data for this study consisted of a sample of dually-involved youth (N = 131) who were adjudicated delinquent and also had a child welfare case open. An Educational Risk Index (ERI) was developed and included school attendance, credit deficiency, problem school behavior, and current grades. Results indicate that educational risk was negatively associated with mental health services accessed, demonstrating that those with higher educational risk accessed less mental health services. Educational risk, however, was not associated with increased educational service referrals or access, suggesting a possible mismatch in educational need and service referrals. Lastly, there were no significant differences between those that recidivated and those that did not recidivate in service access and educational risk.     

The role of interagency collaboration in facilitating receipt of behavioral health services for youth involved with child welfare and juvenile justice

Unmet need for behavioral health care is a serious problem for crossover youth, or those simultaneously involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Although a large percentage of crossover youth are serious emotionally disturbed, relatively few receive necessary behavioral health services. Few studies have examined the role of interagency collaboration in facilitating behavioral health service access for crossover youth. This study examined associations for three dimensions of collaboration between local child welfare and juvenile justice agencies - jurisdiction, shared information systems, and overall connectivity - and youths' odds of receiving behavioral health services. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national survey of families engaged with the child welfare system. Having a single agency accountable for youth care increased youth odds of receiving outpatient and inpatient behavioral health services. Inter-agency sharing of administrative data increased youth odds of inpatient behavioral health service receipt. Clarifying agency accountability and linking databases across sectors may improve service access for youth involved with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.     

“A Bad Combination”: Lived Experiences of Youth Involved in the Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems

Youth with involvement in foster care and the juvenile justice system, often called dual-status youth, are at increased risk for negative outcomes as they transition into adulthood, including homelessness, and involvement in the adult criminal justice system. Increase of interest in the phenomenon of youth dual involvement within the last decade, reveals focus on challenges associated with the dual-status population, the importance of multi-system collaboration, and foster care factors contributing to juvenile delinquency. This study aims to build on the current literature, through exploration of how dually-involved youth make sense of their experiences in the juvenile justice and foster care systems; and what youth believe are their unique challenges of being in two systems? This phenomenological study engaged ten individuals in Houston, Texas, between the ages of 18 and 24 years old, and previously involved in the juvenile justice and foster care systems. Research subjects participated in-depth, semi-structured, and audio-recorded interviews, disclosing their experiences in two systems. Interviews were transcribed and entered in the qualitative analytical program, Atlas.ti, where common themes of participant responses were extracted. Accounts from participants highlighted three key experiences: (1) experiences of and leading to dual involvement, (2) traumatic experiences, and (3) absence of normalcy. Study results are categorized based on their pathways to dual-involvement. This current study offers rich insights into how dually-involved youth make sense of their experiences in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. Implications for enhanced service provision among child welfare and juvenile justice professionals are offered.

     

Allegations of maltreatment and delinquency: Does risk of juvenile arrest vary substantiation status?

There exists a healthy debate about the process and value of substantiation in child welfare. Much of this debate focuses on understanding whether substantiated and unsubstantiated allegations of maltreatment share equal risk of recurrence. In the current study we seek to advance this debate by extending the analyses to focus specifically on the risk of juvenile delinquency. We also seek to determine whether the relationship between substantiation and delinquency varies by race and gender. Our sample includes 38,223 youth between 5 and 16 years of age from Los Angeles County. We use propensity score matching to create relatively equivalent groups and use Cox Regression to model the risk of juvenile arrest. The results indicate that the relative risk ratio of arrest is 2.2 times greater for youth associated with a substantiated report of maltreatment as compared with similar youth associated with an unsubstantiated report of maltreatment. Older youth, and African American youth are also at an increased risk of juvenile arrest. These findings indicate that the process of substantiation is not without merit - as investigators and supervisors are clearly able to distinguish cases based on individual risks and strengths.     

Youthful Offending and Delinquency: The Comorbid Impact of Maltreatment,Mental Health Problems,and Learning Disabilities

A majority of adolescents formally involved in juvenile court have at least one, if not more than one, significant emotional or learning impairment, or maltreatment experience. This is particularly true in juvenile detention and incarceration facility populations. While this problem is increasingly recognized within the juvenile justice system and social work profession, often the impact and correlation to delinquency of these child and youth difficulties is underestimated. This paper reviews the links from mental health disorders, learning (and academic-related) disabilities, and maltreatment victimizations to delinquent and serious youthful offending behaviors, and provides successful collaboration outcome examples to address this problem. The most difficult challenge to juvenile courts and youth-caring systems is working with adolescents and families with comorbid difficulties, for this group is most at risk for incarceration and involvement with the adult criminal justice system.     

Running away from child welfare placements: Justice system entry risk

A growing body of research indicates that running away from foster care increases the probability of subsequent involvement in the juvenile and/or adult justice system, especially for males. Using administrative data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, this study examined the characteristics and behavior of a sample of 371 child welfare youth in Wayne County who ran away from foster care with a propensity scored matched sample of youth who did not run away. Youth were followed in administrative records of the MDHHS and justice system for eight years. The correlates of involvement in the juvenile and/or the adult justice systems included age at first child welfare placement, years in placement, number of placements, total length of time in residential care, running away from placement, as well as gender and legal status. Overall, 42% had at least one juvenile and/or adult conviction. Running away from foster care had the largest effect on subsequent justice system contact.     

Examining the link between child maltreatment and delinquency for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders

This study examined service delivery and risk factors for 93 youth with emotional and behavioral disorders who were served by one jurisdiction's child welfare, juvenile justice, and special education agencies. The researchers collected data through an archival review of agency records. The article discusses findings as they relate to the link between maltreatment and delinquency for youth with emotional and behavioral disorders and includes recommendations for integrating early intervention efforts.     

The Youngest Victims of Violence: Examining the Mental Health Needs of Young Children Who Are Involved in the Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice Systems

Children placed in the state’s custody due to neglect, abuse or maltreatment are one of America’s most vulnerable populations. Seventy-five percent of child victims of maltreatment are under the age of 12. Not only is their suffering a problem, these children are also at increased risk for delinquent behavior later in life. While research has documented the potential long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect, the mental health needs of young children involved in the foster care and juvenile justice systems have been largely overlooked. This study examined the social, emotional and behavioral difficulties of 670 children, age 3–11, who were involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Children in this study were living in residential treatment facilities, group homes, foster care homes or were receiving intensive home-based services. To assess the children’s mental health needs caregivers completed the parent form of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 38:581–586, 1997). The findings indicated a high prevalence of mental health problems, with 81 % of the children in the sample having a total difficulties score in the borderline or abnormal range and 90 % of the children having borderline or abnormal scores on at least one of the subscales (conduct, emotional, peer or attention problems). When characteristics such as gender, race and age were considered significant differences were found among boys and girls, Caucasian and minority children, and age groups. The findings highlight the importance of mental health assessment and interventions that are gender and culturally sensitive and developmentally appropriate.     

Crossover youth post arrest: Placement status and recidivism

The association between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency is well established. Maltreated youth experience significantly higher delinquency rates than their peers. Studies report that placement instability in substitute care and placement in congregate settings (e.g., group homes) contribute to higher rates of offending. To date, no studies have focused on the judicial response and the likelihood of continued offending. The current study investigates the association between post-arrest placement decisions and recidivism. We analyze administrative records from the Los Angeles County Department of Probation and the Department of Children and Family Services. The sample includes all first-time violent offenders with an open child welfare case. Forty-nine percent of youth experienced a subsequent arrest. Using Cox regression, we find that moving crossover youth from a family-like setting to a congregate care setting was associated with significantly higher rates of recidivism. We discuss the policy and practice implications of these findings.     

Prevention of child maltreatment in high-risk rural families: A randomized clinical trial with child welfare outcomes

Few studies have specifically examined prevention of child maltreatment among higher-risk populations in rural communities. The overarching goal of this study was to conduct a randomized clinical trial of SafeCare augmented for rural high-risk population (SC+) compared to standard home-based mental health services (SAU) to examine reductions in future child maltreatment reports, as well as risk factors and factors proximal to child maltreatment. Parents (N = 105) of young children (5 years or less) who had identifiable risk of depression, intimate partner violence, or substance abuse were randomized to SC+ or SAU. Participants randomized to SC+ were more likely to enroll (83% vs. 35% for SAU) and remain in services (35 h vs. 8 h for SAU). SC+ (for participants who successfully completed services) may have had limited impact on child welfare reports during service provision. Further, SC+ had fewer child welfare reports related to DV than SAU. Parent self-reports of parenting behaviors, risk factors, and protective factors did not demonstrate significant sustained program impact. Limitations include power constraints related to sample size. Promising next steps entail future trials with larger sample sizes examining service compliance and further augmentation of SafeCare to bolster service impact and address risk and protective factors.     

Culturally Competent Practice with African American Juvenile Sex Offenders

African American juveniles adjudicated for sexual offenses may struggle with the mistrust of both the judicial and treatment systems. Unlike general mental health services, juvenile sex offender treatment is often mandated by the court or child welfare services, thus these youths and their families must engage in the treatment process. Without clinicians and services that can acknowledge and respond to a minority youth’s experience in a sensitive, culturally competent manner, there could be significant resistance to treatment. Traditional treatment approaches fail to prioritize issues involving cultural competence. This article addresses the unique challenges of African American juvenile sex offenders and makes recommendations for creating culturally competent practice for these youth and their families.     

Addressing the needs crossover youth: What key professionals are saying

Crossover youth have complex needs and can create difficulty for service providers who have to both provide effective services to the youth but also work with and navigate a system outside of their own. Professionals from the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system have recognized the need to work together to help crossover youth. A successful collaboration can be extremely beneficial to all those involved but certain barriers must be overcome. This study uses secondary qualitative analysis to examine the opinions of key professionals in both systems as they came together to create action plans to address issues facing crossover youth in their individual counties. Researchers identify common themes and discuss the importance of collaboration among systems and recognizing individual county's stages of change.     

Juvenile justice sentencing: Do gender and child welfare involvement matter?

For young people who come into contact with the juvenile justice system, how they are sentenced following an arrest may profoundly influence the course of their development and adjustment as adults. Much of the research to date has focused on racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice sentencing policies and practices, and less is known about sentencing disparities based on other youth characteristics. Using Los Angeles County administrative data, this study investigates the effects of gender and child welfare statuses on sentencing for young people who are arrested for the first time (N = 5061). Results indicate that both young men and women are sentenced more harshly dependent upon the disposition, such that girls were more likely to be sentenced to group homes compared to boys, but boys were more likely to be sentenced to correctional facilities compared to girls. Child welfare-involved youth with a recent placement history are prone to more punitive sentences compared to their non-child welfare counterparts. Further, child welfare young women were not more likely to be sentenced to a harsher disposition compared to child welfare young men or non-child welfare young women. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

The elementary-school functioning of children with maltreatment histories and mild cognitive or behavioral disabilities: A mixed methods inquiry

This mixed methods inquiry examined the school functioning of elementary school-aged children with maltreatment histories and mild cognitive or behavioral disabilities. Quantitative analyses of linked social service and education administrative data bases of 10,394 children in Minnesota with maltreatment histories indicated that 32% were eligible for special education services. Of those children with maltreatment histories and identified disabilities, 73% had mild cognitive or behavioral disabilities. The most frequent primary disabilities categories were specific learning disabilities (33%) and emotional/behavioral disabilities (27%). Children with maltreatment histories and mild cognitive or behavioral disabilities scored significantly below children with maltreatment histories and no identified disabilities on standardized assessments of math and reading, and this gap increased with grade level for math. Qualitative interviews with 22 child welfare professionals and 15 educators suggested why some children with maltreatment histories, especially those with mild cognitive or behavioral disabilities, struggle in school. Risks to school functioning included children's and families' multiple unmet basic and mental health needs which can mask or overshadow children's mild disabilities; poor cross systems collaboration between child welfare, education and mental health systems; and inadequate funding, especially for mental health services. Protective factors included child engagement in school, parent engagement with child welfare services and a professional culture of cross-systems collaboration. Implications are discussed for holistic child, family and system-level interventions.     

Child maltreatment and criminal convictions in youth: The role of gender,ethnicity and placement experiences in an Australian population

A number of previous studies have shown that out-of-home care (OHC) placement experiences can influence the pathway from maltreatment to offending, and that these pathways may differ depending on gender and ethnic backgrounds. Even though Australian welfare and justice systems are unique in terms of the over-representation of Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) young people, there have been few Australian longitudinal studies that explore the role of placement experiences in examinations of the maltreatment-offending association. The present study uses linked child protection and youth justice data for 17,671 young people and aims to provide insight into the way ethnicity, as well as gender, moderates the association between maltreatment, placement in OHC and youth convictions. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and the findings varied systematically depending on the type of conviction examined. There was some strong evidence that gender, ethnicity and placement factors moderated the relationship between maltreatment and convictions in general, and for violent convictions more specifically. Interaction effects revealed that placement experiences were more consequential for female than for male youth, but less consequential for Indigenous than for non-Indigenous youth. A one-size-fits-all approach to understanding, treating and preventing the consequences of child maltreatment could not be considered the most appropriate best practice given the gender- and ethnic-specific pathways found in this study.     

The legal rights of LGBT youth in state custody: what child welfare and juvenile justice professionals need to know

Youth in state custody, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have federal and state constitutional and statutory rights. These rights guarantee a young person safety in their placement as well as freedom from deprivation of their liberty interest. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth have these rights violated on a regular basis. Many cases in both the child welfare and juvenile justice contexts have resulted in extensive and time-consuming consent decrees as well as sizable damages awards. Knowledge of a youth's legal rights can help providers avoid legal liability while creating a safer and healthier environment for LGBT youth. This article provides a general overview of the successful federal legal claims that youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have made, discussion of the rights generated as a result, particle application of these rights to the experiences of LGBT youth with hypothetical scenarios, a focus on specific rights that emanate from certain state laws, and a focus on specific concerns of transgender youth.     

The participation of social services in youth justice systems in Europe

This article considers the participation of social services in youth justice systems in 11 European countries. In international children's rights instruments, the importance of the assessment of the background situation of juvenile defendants is acknowledged. In this article, three models for social work participation are proposed, on the basis of the distinction between adversarial and inquisitorial legal traditions and welfare and justice approaches towards youth justice. In the welfare model, social workers play the most active role in the youth justice process, whereas in the justice model, social workers have the least active role. In between, a mixed model can be found in which social workers play an active role in the youth justice system only to some extent.     

Street Life–Oriented African American Males and Violence as a Public Health Concern

This article discusses concerns pertaining to the impact of continued exposure to violence for African American street life–oriented adolescent males as a public health concern and the importance of social work and human services to address this issue. Youth interviewed in this study discuss issues of exposure to violence and the navigation of multiple systems involvement, including child welfare, juvenile justice, educational systems, and their neighborhood life. Implications for social workers include the development of community-centric interventions that provide opportunities for youth voice and access to relationship building with trusted professionals and mentors.