Youth Involved with the Juvenile Justice System

While many youth cases do not get processed formally through the court, the majority of youth that are processed through the juvenile court are adjudicated (i. e., declared by a judge to be) delinquent, for most offenses.

• An average of 53 percent of all petitioned cases that went to juvenile court were adjudicated delinquent in 2019. Fifty-one percent of person offenses were adjudicated delinquent, 53 percent of property offenses, 51 percent of drug offences, and 56 percent of public order offenses. ⁴
• Between 1997 and 2019, the number of youth detained in residential placement decreased 50 percent to a total of 14,344, and the number of youth committed in residential placement decreased 73 percent to 21,141. The total number of youth in residential placement in 2019 was 36,479, its lowest level since the data collection began in 1997, when 105,055 youth were held in out-of-home placement. ⁵
• 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. ⁶
• Youth who are detained or incarcerated may be subject to various negative circumstances, including:
  • overcrowding
  • physical and sexual violence
  • risk of suicide
  • death⁷

Limiting incarceration as a punitive measure for youth when applicable has strong potential to mitigate some of these negative circumstances that occur in or are exacerbated by various out-of-home placement settings.

Repeated Involvement

Recidivism,⁸ as measured by various levels of reinvolvement with the justice system (e.g., rearrest, probation violations, reincarceration), is fairly high for youth under the age of 21. However, according to a follow-up study on previously incarcerated youth, most youth who committed serious offenses reduced their offending over time regardless of interventions, and (92%) experienced decreased or limited illegal activity during the first three years following their encounter with the juvenile justice system. The only two factors that played notable roles in rearrest rates in this seven-year study were:⁹

• The presence of substance use disorder. Youth with a substance use disorder were more likely to continue to offend over the 7-year study period and less likely to spend time working or attending school than those with no substance use disorder. Youth who used substances more often and in greater quantity were more likely to be arrested than less frequent users, a pattern that did not change over time.
• Quality services and positive experiences in institutions. The quality of youth services, the degree to which services were matched to individual youth’s needs, and a positive institutional experience and facility environment were associated with reduced rates of rearrest. These results suggest that investing in improved care and support services in facilities has potential to reduce rearrest rates and future involvement with the justice system.

Additionally, studies show that academic measures are predictive of chances of recidivism.

• Incarcerated boys between the ages of 12-18 who have high or average academic performance while in a correctional facility are two times less likely to engage in repeated involvement with the justice system after release than those with lower academic performance who are in a remedial education group while in a facility.¹⁰
• In a study of more than 4,000 juveniles released from secure facilities in Florida, youth with above average academic performance during the time they were confined were more likely to return to school upon release than their lower-performing peers, a notable finding given the fact that above average attendance in school serves as a protective factor against being arrested.¹¹

Educational Status and Outcomes

Many youth who encounter the juvenile justice system have experienced academic failure, disengagement from school, and/or school disciplinary challenges. Academic outcomes for these youth are generally less positive than those of youth who do not encounter the system, suggesting that academic interventions may be a strong avenue for serving youth at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.

• Nearly half of all students who enter residential juvenile justice facilities have an academic achievement level that is below the grade equivalent for their age.¹²
• Youth in the juvenile justice system are identified as eligible for special education services at three to seven times the rate of youth outside the system.¹³
• Many incarcerated youth are marginally literate or illiterate and have already experienced school failure.¹⁴
• Many youth who are incarcerated have a history of truancy and grade retention (repeating a grade due to failing the previous year). A study of more than 400 incarcerated ninth-graders found that, in the year prior to incarceration, these students had attended school barely half the time and were failing most of their courses.¹⁵ Youth with high truancy who later get funneled into the juvenile justice system are also more likely to have received special education services than their peers who had strong school attendance.¹⁶
• Exclusionary discipline practices such as expulsion or suspension significantly increase a student’s likelihood of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system rather than mitigating delinquent behaviors. Alternative disciplinary measures that do not remove at-risk students from the school setting prove more beneficial for youth.¹⁷

Considering the substantial correlation between academic failure and/or truancy and involvement with the juvenile justice system, academic interventions and truancy reduction programs provide promise for improving youth outcomes.

Mental Health and Substance Use

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have mental health¹⁸ and/or substance use disorders. These typically affect their academic performance, behavior, and relationships with peers and adults.

• Studies point to a significant overrepresentation of youth with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system, with a high percentage of youth (approximately 70 percent) involved in the system having a diagnosable mental health disorder and nearly 30 percent of those experiencing severe mental health disorders.¹⁹
  • About two thirds of youth in detention or correctional settings have at least one diagnosable mental health disorder, compared with an estimated 9 to 22 percent of the general youth population.²⁰
• Many youth in the juvenile justice system have a history of trauma and ensuing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders which are all correlated with later delinquency and/or involvement in the system.²¹ Particularly, adolescents who witnessed or were survivors of violence are more likely to be charged with a violent crime against another individual later.
  • Academic progress and high academic performance weaken this relationship between early violence-related trauma and juvenile justice involvement, serving as a protective factor against involvement with the juvenile justice system. ²²
• Youth in contact with the juvenile justice system experience higher prevalence rates for various categories of mental disorders than their peers. In addition to experiencing a high prevalence of disruptive disorders, the most common mental health challenge for these youth is substance use disorder (76 percent), followed by high anxiety (33 percent), ADHD (14 percent), depression (12 percent), posttraumatic stress disorder (12 percent), and mania (7 percent).²³
• Most youth in the system meet the criteria for or are diagnosed with more than one mental health disorder.²⁴
• Many court-involved adolescents have recently used illegal substances. The adolescents who perpetrate more serious and chronic offenses have been found to use more substances and are more likely to qualify for a diagnosis of a substance use disorder.²⁵
• Between 2005 and 2018, drug law violations among youth decreased by 44 percent.²⁶
• Higher levels of substance use increase the rate of offending, the severity of the committed offense, and the duration of antisocial behavior.²⁷

Despite the exceedingly high proportion of youth within the juvenile justice system who experience mental health disorders, referral rates for mental health treatment within justice facilities remain low.²⁸

Targeted trainings for juvenile correctional facility professionals regarding mental health screening and treatment referrals would point more youth toward the necessary treatment for their unique needs. Particularly, mental health diversion initiatives and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which helps patients adjust their thinking and behavior patterns have shown positive results in reducing delinquency and recidivism among justice-involved youth.²⁹

Resources for Justice-Involved Youth and Their Families

Model Programs Guide: Substance Abuse 
The Model Programs Guide contains evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. Each program is rated either effective, promising, or no effect. Users can search the database for programs and interventions based on the age range of the child or young adult or can use other search filters to search for programs addressing substance use.

National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk (NDTAC)
This website serves as an information hub, technical assistance center, resource for program evaluation and data reporting, and a facilitator of information and peer-to-peer learning in relation to educational programming for youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk of entering the juvenile justice system. Users can access webinars and conferences on the site and explore resources for parents, families, and service providers for neglected or delinquent youth.

Vulnerable Population: Incarcerated Youth 
For youth, parents, community members, or practitioners who need a starting point to familiarize themselves with the juvenile justice system and processes, this fact sheet may be a good place to start. It provides basic definitions and fast facts as well as links to various government reports and publications focusing on the juvenile justice system.