Status Offenses
This report, by The Sentencing Project, examines the changes in involvement of women and girls in the criminal and juvenile legal system over the past quarter century. The report includes data examining the rise of women and girls’ incarceration in jails, state and federal prisons, residential placement centers, as well as women under the control of the U.S. Corrections systems through probation or parole., This…
From the conclusion” “Conclusion There is no question that the statistical picture of special education is bleak. But after its meeting of stakeholders, interviews with experts, and review of the research, NCD believes that IDEA and other related disability laws, with improved enforcement, can and should benefit at-risk students who are properly referred and served.…
This research report by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund provides an in-depth overview of the “At-Risk Youth Program” created by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Pasco County sheriff’s office relied on a “rudimentary, person-based predictive policing system” based on inherently biased criteria to identify young people who were “destined to…
This brief describes how states currently treat two categories of young people: youth who commit status offenses—behaviors that are not categorized as crimes—and young children who do not have the developmental capacity to fully understand the crimes they are committing. Through a 50-state scan of policy and practice, we detail how states respond to these…
The COVID-19 pandemic, declared a public health emergency in the United States on March 13, 2020, had an impact on the policies, procedures, and data collection activities of juvenile courts relating to the referrals and processing of youth. Mitigation efforts such as stay-at-home orders and school closures impacted the volume and types of law-violating behavior…
From the introduction: “Imagine you’re a student with a disability that impacts how you interact with others and process situations. In an instant, that disability may be criminalized, and you could find yourself thrust into a juvenile justice system that offers little support and few education resources. This scenario is all too common. Thousands of…
From the introduction: “This brief summarizes key findings from an unprecedented research study conducted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center on the impact of juvenile justice system involvement—particularly probation— on school attendance in South Carolina and challenges jurisdictions across the country—as well as the broader field—to reconsider whether system involvement is the…
This expert affidavit from Dr. Robert Bidwell, a physician who is board certified in pediatric and adolescent medicine and licensed in Hawaii, underscores the harm of indiscriminately shackling young people in the juvenile legal system. Dr. Bidwell highlights the high proportion of young people in the juvenile legal system who have experienced trauma and exhibit…
This resource offers a summary of key research on sex offender registration and notification for youth. This resource includes research on recidivism, residency restrictions, collateral consequences, stresses of registration, and perceptions by the public, criminal legal systems, and individuals.
From the introduction: “This report will describe, dissect, and draw lessons from Connecticut’s striking success in juvenile justice reform for other states and communities seeking similar progress. The first section details the timeline and dimensions of change in Connecticut’s juvenile justice system over the past two decades. In 1992, Connecticut routinely locked up hundreds of…
