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This conceptual article synthesizes the empirical research on punitive environmental norms of schools and the disproportionate effects on certain child and adolescent groups, particularly within urban schools. This involvement has come to be known as the school-to-prison pipeline. The young people affected by harsh school discipline protocols and involved formally with the juvenile courts share a number of common vulnerabilities. A review of these common risk factors that children and adolescents experience is presented first. This is followed by identification of which child and adolescent groups are disproportionately involved in the pipeline: the impoverished, those of color, maltreatment victims, students with special education disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.

Background It is important to identify and provide preventative interventions for youth who are most at risk for offending behaviour, but the connection between early childhood or adolescent experiences and later delinquency adjudication is complicated.Aim To test for associations between specified mental disorders or maltreatment and later delinquency adjudication.Method Participants were a random sample of youth before the juvenile courts in two Northeast Ohio counties in the USA (n = 555) over a 4‐year time frame (2003 to 2006).Results Logistic regression analysis identified a lifetime diagnosis of depression and/or bipolar disorder to be predictive of later youth delinquency adjudication, but found that childhood maltreatment (or involvement with the child welfare system) made delinquency outcomes less likely.Implications Study implications are discussed as they relate to professionals working in the fields of child welfare, social work, mental health and juvenile justice. Awareness of risks associated with maltreatment may have led to effective interventions, while there may be less awareness of risks from depression in young people; however, studies tend not to take account of intervention variables. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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With suicide being the third leading cause of death among young people, early identification of risk is critical, particularly for those involved with the juvenile courts. In this study of court‐involved youth (N = 433) in two Midwest counties, logistic regression analysis identified some expected and unexpected findings of important demographic, educational, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile court‐related variables that were linked to reported suicide attempts. Some of the expected suicide attempt risk factors for these youth included prior psychiatric hospitalization and related mental health services, residential placement, and diagnoses of depression and alcohol dependence. However, the most unexpected finding was that a court disposition to shelter care (group home) was related to a nearly tenfold increased risk in reported suicide attempt. These findings are of importance to families, mental health professionals, and juvenile court personnel to identify those youth who are most at risk and subsequently provide appropriate interventions to prevent such outcomes.

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Little is known about youth who were previously placed in a detention facility and what factors predict a subsequent recidivism to placement. This study of a two-county juvenile offender population (one urban and one rural) investigates what demographic, educational, mental health, substance dependence, and courtrelated variables predict recidivism to detention placement. Findings from logistic regression analysis indicate that seven variables significantly predict juvenile offenders' recidivism placement, some expected and some unexpected. Predictors that made recidivism more likely include youth with a previous conduct disorder diagnosis, a self-reported previous suicide attempt, age, and number of court offenses. Conversely, predictors that made recidivism less likely include race (Caucasian), a previous attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnosis, and a misdemeanor conviction. These findings indicate that the use of a community-based suicide and mental health screening and referral approach may help to identify and assist these high-risk youth in receiving needed services prior to juvenile court involvement or during delinquency adjudication.

Background:  Youth involved with juvenile courts often suffer from mental health difficulties and disorders, and these mental health disorders have often been a factor leading to the youth’s delinquent behaviours and activities. Method:  The present study of a sample population (N = 341), randomly drawn from one urban US county’s juvenile court delinquent population, investigated which specific mental health disorders predicted detention for committing a personal crime. Results:  Youth with attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder diagnoses were significantly less likely to commit personal crimes and experience subsequent detention, while youth with bipolar diagnoses were significantly more likely. Conclusion:  Co‐ordinated youth policy efforts leading to early identification and treatment of bipolar disorder symptoms may be necessary.