Although the juvenile crime rate has generally declined, the involvement of girls in the juvenile justice system has been increasing. Possible explanations for this gender difference include the impact of exposure to trauma and mental health needs on developmental pathways and the resulting influence of youth's involvement in the justice system. This study examined the influence of gender, mental health needs and trauma on the risk of out-of-home placement for juvenile offenders. The sample included youth referred to three urban juvenile probation departments in Texas between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 and who received state-mandated mental health screening (N = 34,222; 30.1 % female). The analysis revealed that, for both genders, elevated scores on the seven factor-analytically derived subscales of a mental health screening instrument (Alcohol and Drug Use, Depressed-Anxious, Somatic Complaints, Suicidal Ideation, Thought Disturbance, and Traumatic Experiences), especially related to past traumatic experiences, influenced how deeply juveniles penetrated the system. The findings suggest that additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of trauma interventions and the implementation of trauma informed systems for youth involved with the juvenile justice system.

Estimates of mental health disorders among youth involved with the juvenile justice system range from 50% to 75%, while general population prevalence is 9% to 20%. The system is ill-equipped to supervise these juveniles, and many are funneled deeper into the system due to noncompliance and often preventable problems. The authors used a retrospective design and evaluated a pre-adjudication diversion initiative utilizing specialized juvenile probation officers in Texas. Use of specialized supervision was effective at diverting youth with mental health needs from adjudication and increased participation and access to services by juveniles with such needs. Youth who received specialized supervision were significantly less likely to be adjudicated for the initial offense than those in a comparison group who received traditional supervision.

Justice-involved youth have high rates of psychiatric diagnoses, and these youth are often placed out-of-home, although evidence identifies several negative implications of juvenile confinement, especially for youth with psychopathology. Furthermore, youth in the justice system may be processed differently based on gender. As males and females tend to manifest symptoms differently, the psychopathology of youth may act to moderate the relationship between gender and placement in the juvenile justice system. The present study used a large, diverse sample (n = 9 851, 19.8 % female) to examine whether youth placed in various types of out-of-home facilities differed in terms of externalizing, internalizing, substance use, or comorbid disorders, and to determine the predictive value of mental health diagnoses in placement decisions. The moderation effect of psychopathology and substance use on the relationship between gender and placement also was explored. The results indicated that each type of disorder differed across placements, with internalizing being most prevalent in non-secure, and externalizing, comorbid, and substance use being most prevalent in secure settings. Mental health diagnoses improved the prediction of placement in each out-of-home placement beyond legal and demographic factors such that externalizing and substance use disorders decreased the likelihood of placement in non-secure settings, and internalizing, externalizing, and substance use disorders increased the likelihood of placement in secure and state-secure facilities. The relationship between internalizing pathology and placement in more secure facilities was moderated by externalizing pathology. The relationship between gender and placement was significantly moderated by mental health such that females with mental health diagnoses receive less secure placements. Implications for policymakers and practitioners are discussed, as well as implications for reforming juvenile justice within a developmental approach.

This study examines the influence of gender and history of trauma exposure on the length of time juvenile offenders served in post-adjudicatory placements. Data were drawn from a database that included information on all juvenile referrals from three large urban counties in Texas during a 2-year period. The study sample included all juveniles (N = 5,019) placed in local non-secure and county-operated secure facilities. Findings indicate that female juveniles served significantly longer periods of confinement in local facilities than boys, even when controlling for other influential variables such as offense severity, prior record, age at referral, and facility type. Findings also indicate that girls with histories of trauma served longer periods in confinement than boys for violating their court-ordered conditions of probation.

The National Institute of Corrections urges use of motivational interviewing (MI) techniques by its workforce, and it is incumbent on criminal justice organizations to find effective methods of personnel training in this evidence-based practice. The current study evaluates impact of a 2-day, advanced MI workshop on personnel skills. Utilizing a validated skill instrument, four cohorts of juvenile justice personnel (aggregate N = 87) completed skill assessments at the outset and conclusion of an advanced MI workshop. Results indicated robust and reliable skill improvements across cohorts and skill domains, with nearly 80% of trainees attaining a proficiency criterion upon leaving the workshop. Furthermore, individual personnel with lesser reported education evidenced both lesser preworkshop skill and greater skill improvement such that postworkshop skills approximated more educated peers. Study findings reinforced the value of the professional training workshop as a practical and effective means of preparing personnel for monitored implementation of MI.

This study examined the influence of gender, participation in public mental health services, perceived mental health need, and traumatic experiences on juvenile justice system processing. Data were collected on youth formally processed for delinquency or status offenses by a large statewide juvenile justice system and youth served by the state’s public mental health system during a 7-year period ( n = 271,427). The results indicated that accessing mental health services in the community or being viewed as having a mental health need by a juvenile probation officer increased the likelihood of youth being removed from their home by the juvenile justice system, especially for girls. While girls generally had decreased odds of out-of-home placement compared to boys, their odds significantly increased when combined with involvement in public mental health services and/or receiving a violation of probation. Once placed out of the home, boys discharged much more quickly than girls, with the rate of discharge being related primarily to the severity of their offenses. When controlling for relevant variables using propensity score matching, girls who experienced trauma or involvement with the public mental health system had a significantly lower rate of discharge from out-of-home placement than similarly matched boys.

Although several studies have examined the differences in sentencing decisions by gender for adult offenders, a limited amount of research on the role of gender in the post-adjudication disposition determination exists for juvenile offenders. Specifically related to the role of gender and the rate of incarceration, previous research has developed a commonly accepted consensus that female juvenile offenders are often detained pre-adjudication for less serious offenses than their male counterparts. This article evaluates the results of previous studies regarding the role of gender in disposition decisions, and the process of bootstrapping juvenile offenders into incarceration. This study examines whether the role of gender and the process of bootstrapping results in similar gender bias decisions in post-adjudication dispositional decisions as has been demonstrated by previous literature for pre-adjudication detention decisions. The results of the study indicate that there is no empirical support to indicate that gender plays a role in the postadjudication decisions resulting in out of home placement or incarceration. In fact, the main effect of the study indicates that females are actually less likely to be removed from their home and placed in residential care as a condition of their postAm J Crim Just (adjudication disposition than their male counterparts. These findings suggest that the differences in the level of the adjudicated offense accounted for more of the variance in disposition decisions than that of gender. Thus, this study found little support for the increasing argument for the sex stratification of theories of delinquency.

Using administrative data from an urban juvenile probation department between January 2007 and August 2016, the study included youth who were placed on court-ordered postadjudication community supervision and who were deemed to have a moderate risk of reoffending by the department’s risk and needs assessment. The two programs evaluated include a vocational support program (VSP) and the Community Connections program (CC). Youth across both groups were matched using propensity score matching, creating a final sample of 301 individual youth per program. When examining the program effect of CC versus VSP across six time-to-event variables (i.e., time to second program, detention, out-of-home placement, another offense, violation of court order, and days in program), the findings were mixed. However, across both programs, analyses revealed youth with a successful discharge and longer time spent in their program had better outcomes.