A study of the root causes of juvenile justice system involvement
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Date
11/1/2020
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District of Columbia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Abstract
This publication won the 2021 Douglas Yearwood Award for Statistical/Management. The Council of the District of Columbia mandated the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) submit a report to the Mayor and Council on the root causes of youth crime and prevalence of adverse childhood experiences that incorporates results from a voluntary survey of justice-involved youth on their perspectives. The CYJAA specified that the report should examine factors “such as housing instability, child abuse, family instability, substance abuse, mental illness, family criminal involvement, and other factors deemed relevant by the CJCC†(D.C. Law 21-23). In accordance with this mandate, CJCC obtained administrative data1 from multiple sectors on a representative sample of youth enrolled in public schools in the District during the 2016 – 2017 school year and identified who was justice-involved, which was defined as being arrested or petitioned/charged the following year. During the fall of 2018, we conducted surveys and focus groups with DYRS-committed and DOC-incarcerated youth under the age of 21, and, during the spring and summer of 2018, we conducted interviews with youth service providers. This report integrates the results and addresses the following questions: 1. How do justice-involved youth differ from non-justice involved youth? 2. What factors affect the likelihood that youth become involved in the juvenile justice system? 3. How and why do these factors impact youth behavior?
Description
This publication won the 2021 Douglas Yearwood Award for Statistical/Management. The Council of the District of Columbia mandated the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) submit a report to the Mayor and Council on the root causes of youth crime and prevalence of adverse childhood experiences that incorporates results from a voluntary survey of justice-involved youth on their perspectives. The CYJAA specified that the report should examine factors “such as housing instability, child abuse, family instability, substance abuse, mental illness, family criminal involvement, and other factors deemed relevant by the CJCC†(D.C. Law 21-23). In accordance with this mandate, CJCC obtained administrative data1 from multiple sectors on a representative sample of youth enrolled in public schools in the District during the 2016 – 2017 school year and identified who was justice-involved, which was defined as being arrested or petitioned/charged the following year. During the fall of 2018, we conducted surveys and focus groups with DYRS-committed and DOC-incarcerated youth under the age of 21, and, during the spring and summer of 2018, we conducted interviews with youth service providers. This report integrates the results and addresses the following questions: 1. How do justice-involved youth differ from non-justice involved youth? 2. What factors affect the likelihood that youth become involved in the juvenile justice system? 3. How and why do these factors impact youth behavior?
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Keywords
Douglas Yearwood Award Winner, Juvenile Offenders, Diversion, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Delinquency, Juvenile Justice Reform, Prisons, Status Offenders