Racial disparities among juvenile detainees; declining juvenile detentions amid COVID-19; and the impact of criminally charging only those at least 18 years old are topics recently addressed by a range of governmental, academic and nonprofit entities.
Juvenile Justice Resource Hub curates those and other analyses, reviews and research on juvenile justice policy, practice, reform and programs, including ones involving mental and behavioral health, gun violence, foster care and paring racial and economic parity/disparities.
Here are some of the latest resources:
“Black Disparities in Youth Incarceration”
Racial disparities in youth incarceration persisted in 2019, despite falling from an all-time high set in 2015. According to The Sentencing Project brief, based on recently released data, Black youth were four times more likely to be incarcerated than their white peers. In addition, while racial disparities in Indiana, New Jersey, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Nevada decreased by at least one-third, the same disparities grew by one-third in South Carolina, Tennessee and Nebraska.
“Latinx Disparities in Youth Incarceration”
According to The Sentencing Project, Latinx youth remained 28% more likely to be incarcerated than white youth in the United States in 2019. In addition, Latinx youth were at least 50% more likely to be incarcerated than white youth in Maryland, Washington State, Virginia, Texas and Tennessee.
“Disparities in Tribal Youth Incarceration”
In 2019 Indigenous youth were more than three times as likely to be incarcerated in juvenile facilities as their white peers. That represents a 14% increase in detention and commitments since 2010. In North Carolina and California, those rates more than doubled during the same period. But they fell by 25% in Montana, Texas and New Mexico.
The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform reports that its “Crossover Youth Practice Model,” aiming to encourage more collaboration between juvenile justice and child welfare agencies, is being implemented in more than 120 counties across 23 states.
“Responding to the Pandemic: Fewer Youths in Custody”
Efforts to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in youth detention facilities led to a 50% drop in the average daily population of juvenile detention centers nationwide since April 2020, according to a data snapshot from the PbS Learning Institute, which also found that juvenile justice facilities made numerous changes to policies governing admission, transfer and release of youth.
In 11 states that, during the last 20 years, raised from 17 to 18 the age when youth can be criminally charged, there were no costly expansions of secure juvenile facilities, as opponents of “raise the age” reforms predicted. That’s according to The Sentencing Project’s analysis of the costs of those reforms and their impact on the youth of color, which disproportionately account for those on juvenile justice rolls.
Find more information, including links to each new resource, at JJIE Hub: Latest on the Hub.