Navigating the Juvenile Justice System

Eric Kelly

National Juvenile Justice/Youth Guidance Director

Youth for Christ USA

ericjkelly@hotmail.com

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Taxpayers save $2 million for each child who is prevented from beginning a life of crime 20% of teens live in poverty50% of teens will witness a divorce40% of teens grow up without a father70% of long term prison inmates grew up in broken homesIt costs society $39,000/year to keep a youth in a correctional centerSuicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among teens1 teen commits suicide every 100 minutes70 percent of girls in the juvenile justice system have histories of physical abuse Girls under 18 are the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population.

SOURCES: Vanderbilt University; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; American Youth Policy Forum; and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice.

The Facts

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Juvenile JusticeJuvenile JusticeTerms QuizTerms Quiz

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Probation

Young offenders will not be detained in a juvenile facility as long as they meet regularly with a probation officer and live up to the terms of their probation (e.g. avoid illegal conduct, attend school or hold down a job). Probation typically lasts for a year, but can be longer

Intake Officer

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An official who receives, reviews, and processes cases in which a young person is alleged to have committed an offense.  The intake officer can recommend either handling the case informally or scheduling the case for a hearing in juvenile court.  The intake officer may also provide referrals for juveniles and their families to other community agencies.

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Status offenders

Youth who engage in behavior—breaking curfew, running away from home, truancy—which if committed by adults, would not be considered criminal. In other words, it is the youth's minor status which makes the action a violation of law.

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CINS, CHINS,CHINA

Children can be found to be in need of supervision for behaviors such as being out of control and truancy without necessarily committing a delinquent act.

Children can be found to be in need of assistance if the child’s parents or guardian’s are unable or unwilling to give necessary and proper care to the juvenile

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Detention Hearing

A hearing held if a juvenile is considered dangerous or his/her well-being is threatened at which time the court decides whether the juvenile should be detained or released from custody. Analogous to a

pre-trial release or bail hearing.

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Adjudicatory Hearing

A hearing held to determine whether or not the child will be found to be delinquent. Analogous to an adult criminal trial.

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Disposition Hearing

If the juvenile is found to be delinquent, the judge will hold this hearing to review the juveniles history and determine what action the court will take. Analogous to adult criminal sentencing.

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Deferred Disposition

If youth complete conditions for 6-12 months, all charges will be dropped.

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Emancipation

Independence of a minor from his or her parents before reaching age of majority (18).

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Recidivism

Repetition of criminal behavior.

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Placement

Removing a youth found to have committed an offense from the home and placing him or her elsewhere for a specified period of time, such as in a juvenile or other facility.

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Aftercare

Control, supervision, and care exercised over youth after they leave community-based programs or are released from juvenile facilities.  Aftercare may include probation, counseling, enrollment in a community program, or other forms of treatment.  Aftercare services are designed to support young people's return to their families and communities and to lessen the chance that they will get in trouble again.

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Juvenile vs. AdultJuvenile Justice System Adult System

Delinquent Act Crime

Adjudication Hearing Trial

Found Delinquent Convicted/Guilty

Disposition Sentencing

Detention Jail

Youth ArrestedOr Detained

Runaway, Abuse, or Neglect

ACJC

Intake Officer

Release

Detention Hearing

Adjudicatory Hearing

Disposition Hearing

Alternative Placement

Logansport State Facility

Aftercare

Youth ServiceCenter

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Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders. This requirement specifies that non-secure alternatives must be found for juveniles who are charged with or who have committed acts that would not be against the law if committed by an adult.

Sight and Sound Separation. This requirement states that juveniles being securely detained must be “sight and sound” separate from adult detainees (including trusties).  

Jail Removal. This requirement stipulates that no juvenile shall be detained or confined in any adult jail or lockup. The following exceptions are made:

Juveniles accused of a crime  may be held for up to six hours for processing.

Juveniles awaiting a court   hearing may be locked up to 6 hours prior to and up to 6 hours after the hearing to facilitate the   hearing process and transport to placement.

Juveniles waived to adult court may be detained because they are no longer under the jurisdiction of the JJDP Act.  

Disproportionate Minority Confinement. If the number of juveniles from minority groups who are confined in secure detention facilities exceeds the proportion such groups represent in the general population, then such confinements should be addressed.

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Mental Health Programs

Every day only 1/3 of youth who need mental health interventions receive them.

Twenty percent of all youth experience mental health problems to varying degrees during childhood.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds.

Every year, mental health disorders cost the United States more than $150 billion for treatment, social services, disability payments, lost productivity and premature mortality

Between 50 to 75 percent of incarcerated youth have diagnosable mental health problems.

Youth suicides in juvenile detention and correctional facilities are more than four times greater than youth suicides in the general public.

Incarcerated African American youth are less likely than their white peers to have previously received mental health services.

Nearly 60 percent of female juvenile offenders had symptoms that were diagnosed as an Anxiety Disorder, as compared to 32 percent among boys.

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Facts to Consider

Latinos represent the country’s largest minority group. With a population over 35 million, they comprise 12.5% of the national population.

Currently, 35% of Latinos are under age 18. They comprise 17% of the national youth population.

Twenty-one percent of married Latinos with children lived in poverty in 1997, compared with six percent of white and nine percent of black families.

More Latino youth (11.4%) ages 12-17 use illicit drugs than their white (10.9%) or black (10.7%) peers

•Delinquent girls have often experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as have family problems. Many suffer from physical and mental disorders and/or endure academic failure.

•Forty to 73 percent of girls in the juvenile court system have been physically abused. In the general United States population, 26 percent of teenaged girls report physical abuse.

•Girls are three times more likely than boys to be sexually abused, and sexual abuse has been recognized as a cause of mental health disorders. Sexual abuse is also related to increased truancy, prostitution and violence, among other destructive behaviors.

•In early adolescence, the incidence of depression rises significantly among girls, but not among boys; depression is a much stronger predictor of delinquency for girls than boys.