Offender Ethnicity and Mental Health Service Referrals from Juvenile Courts

Abstract

Juvenile courts play a critical role in facilitating access to mental health services for the large number of offenders with or at risk of emotional or behavioral problems. This research examines the decision of the court to refer offenders to treatment and whether offender ethnicity affects the referral decision. Results suggest that ethnicity has no independent effect on treatment recommendations. Rather, ethnicity modifies the effects of other variables, particularly legalistic variables such as petitioning and adjudication. Implications of the findings for research on ethnic disparities in juvenile court decision making as well as for Black offenders who are disproportionately involved in the juvenile justice system are discussed.

Significant Race Differences in Factors Related to the Detention Recidivism of Youthful Offenders

“…Some researchers have found that a referral for treatment service was one of the most common juvenile court dispositions, with 50% of supervised youth being referred for treatment (Breda, 2003). The need for treatment referrals does not seem to differ by youths' race (Martin & Grubb, 1990) in both short-term detention facilities (Rogers, Powell, & Strock, 1998) and long-term detention facilities (Glisson, 1996).…”

An Analysis of Oregon Youth Authority Populations: Who Receives Treatment and What Factors Influence Allocation of Treatment Resources?

“…Client factors such as race and ethnicity have been shown to influence referral to mental health treatment. Breda (2003) found no direct effects of ethnicity on referral for treatment, but when included with other factors such as offense type and prior record, ethnicity significantly affected the likeliness of a referral. Rogers, Zima, Powell and Pumariega (2002) highlight socio-demographic factors influencing treatment referral.…”

“…There is substantial evidence that factors aside from degree of need may play a role in determining which youth receive services. For example, evidence of race and ethnicity influencing mental health service referrals is supported by the work of Breda (2003) and Rogers, Zima, Powell, and Pumariega (2002). However, these studies focused on youth in the JJS in general and are not limited to youth placed in closed custody institutions.…”

“…Additionally, rates of youth with co-occurring substance abuse disorders range from ten to twenty percent (Breda, 2003). Often, these youth are detained or placed in the JJS for minor offenses due to lack of community options (Skowyra & Cocozza, 2006).…”

“…Factors such as youth, staff, and facility/program factors were investigated using a mixed methods methodology. The following three research questions are proposed: Furthermore, work by Breda (2003), Rogers, Zima, Powell, and Pumariega (2002) support the need to explore whether or not race and ethnicity play a role in determining who receives treatment in the OYA. Findings from this research will be very important to those who wish to address racial disparities in treatment allocation among the juvenile justice population.…”