Rethinking Juvenile Status Offense Laws: Considerations for Congressional Review of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

Abstract

Families struggling with a breakdown in communication, trying to control the behavior of an unruly child, or experiencing a crisis often look for outside help. Many families, particularly those without resources to pay for private support, turn to their local status offense system. Status offenders are young people charged with behavior unique to their status as juveniles such as running away, truancy, or disobedience. In 2007, Congress will begin to consider reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the federal act related to status-offender policy. By providing an overview of recent state status-offense legislation and case law, this article identifies issues to be addressed by Congress in reauthorizing the JJDPA.

Knocking on the Door: Juvenile and Family Courts as a Forum for Facilitating School Attendance and Decreasing Truancy

“…In collaborating with service providers in truancy cases, court personnel perform another non‐traditional function: facilitator of access to services. Increasingly, courts are moving away from punitive sanctions, and instead, electing “less restrictive” methods (Shubik & Kendall, 2007). Toward this end, courts are linking families to needed services that for some individuals may not be readily available (Hendricks et al., 2010; Stone & Breon, 2007).…”

Truancy Programs: Are the Effects Too Easily Washed Away?

“…Social disorganization theory supports the presumption that crime or delinquency is not inherent in individuals but a consequence of malfunctioning environments, communities, and neighborhoods (Shaw & McKay, 1969;Skogan, 1990;Skogan & Maxfield, 1981). Truancy falls under the scope of social disorganization not because of its static definition of being illegal but as a status offense or a behavior that is unlawful only for juveniles and not adults (Shubik & Kendall, 2007;Steinhart, 1996). Furthermore, schools and communities do not operate in isolation from one another so that disorganization in the outside community affects the environmental constructs inside school buildings (Gottfredson, Gottfredson, Payne, & Gottfredson, 2005;Welsh, Stokes, & Greene, 2000).…”

“…Yet, it is arguable that a consensus exists in realizing that truancy is a problem for a society because of its connection to future offending, alcohol and other drug abuse, and unemployment. Furthermore, historically in the United States, truancy has moved along with the trends of the juvenile justice system with respect to whether it is a status offense, whether parents should be held responsible, and whether police should be involved (Shubik & Kendall, 2007). For instance, in the 1970s truancy was removed from the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system but more recently, as evident by TPI, law enforcement and court systems again are addressing truancy.…”

Adolescents’ and Parents’ Knowledge of Laws Pertaining to Adolescent Sexual Behavior: The Role of Perceived Policy Fairness on Adolescents’ Willingness to Violate the Law

“…Furthermore, these policies represent a particular type of status offense (i.e. a behavior that is illegal only if carried out by a young person) that is treated as a criminal offense in the justice system (Shubik and Kendall, 2007). Few studies have directly examined adolescents' perspectives on status offenses; however, it stands to reason that such policies may be viewed as less legitimate and fair by adolescents due to their inherent bias on the basis of age.…”