NCJ Number
182906
Journal
Juvenile Offender Solutions Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: January/February 2000 Pages: 29-30
Date Published
2000
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This paper provides information (1987-1996) on the characteristics of adjudicated delinquency cases placed out of the home, the characteristics of adjudicated delinquents given residential placement, and residential placement by type of offender.
Abstract
In 1996 more than one in four adjudicated delinquency cases resulted in out-of-home placement. This included placement in residential treatment centers, juvenile corrections facilities, foster homes, and group homes. The Children in Custody Census reported that 65,300 juveniles were in out-of-home placement by court commitment for delinquency on February 15, 1995. The number of adjudicated cases that resulted in out-of-home placement increased from 105,600 in 1987 to 159,400 in 1996. The largest increase was in the number of drug offense cases that resulted in placement, increasing 102 percent from 1987 to 1996. In 1987, 60 percent of adjudicated youth who were placed out of the home had been detained prior to case disposition; in 1996 this figure dropped to 47 percent. In 1996 the majority of adjudicated cases that resulted in placement involved white juvenile (59 percent); however, between 1987 and 1996, the number of adjudicated cases that involved placement increased least for white youth (43 percent) compared with black youth (58 percent) and youth of other races (128 percent). Although these data cannot control for the severity of the offense or the court histories of the youth, the disproportionate representation of minorities in out-of-home placement is a national concern. 2 tables and 1 figure