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High School Educational Outcomes for Justice-Involved Youth: General Trends and Predictors
Sat, April 13, 11:25am to 12:55pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 117Abstract
Previous research has shown that justice-involved youth are substantially less likely to graduate from high school (e.g., Kirk & Sampson, 2013), and subsequently more likely to recidivate (e.g., Blomberg et al., 2011). However, efforts to fully understand the educational attainment of justice-involved youth and predictors of their attainment have been limited (Aizer & Doyle, 2015; Abram et al., 2017; Sweeten, 2006). One reason is that states rarely have integrated data allowing for the examination of high school educational outcomes among justice-involved youth. The current study aims to fill this gap by integrating data across a state’s juvenile justice and public K-12 education agencies.
Our data were derived from the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The sample includes 1,593 previously DYS-committed youth (87.0% male; 39.6% Hispanic, 25.9% Non-Hispanic Black, and 28.7% Non-Hispanic White). The average rates for four- and five-year high school graduation, five-year high school equivalency attainment, and five-year high school dropout were calculated. We also conduct a series of multivariate logistic regression models to examine whether the five-year outcomes were associated with youth characteristics or DYS-related factors.
Descriptively, the average four-year (16.6%) and five-year (25.8%) graduation rates among DYS-involved youth were substantially lower than all Massachusetts public school students (88.0% and 90.0%, respectively). The five-year high school equivalency rate (18.1%) was much higher than the statewide rate (0.9%), but the five-year dropout rate (45.6%) was 8.6 times higher than the state.
Statistically, race and ethnicity, English language learner (ELL) status, special education (SPED) status, geographic location, offense severity, timing of discharge from DYS, and participation in a voluntary reentry program (VRP) were significant predictors of five-year outcomes. More specifically, Hispanic youth were more likely (OR=1.71, p < .001) to drop out and less likely (OR=0.50, p < .001) to earn a high school equivalency than Non-Hispanic White youth. They were also more likely to drop out than non-Hispanic Black youth (OR=1.62, p < .01). ELL students were more likely (OR=1.54, p < .05) to drop out and less likely (OR=0.51, p < .01) to earn a high school equivalency than non-ELL youth. SPED youth were more likely to earn a high school equivalency than non-SPED youth (OR=2.34, p<.001). Youth whose DYS commitment extended beyond their expected four-year graduation date were more likely to graduate (OR=2.97, p < .001) and less likely to drop out (OR=0.43, p < .001). VRP youth were more likely to graduate (OR=1.63, p < .001) and less likely to drop out (OR=0.66, p < .001).
The findings will inform the policies and practices of DYS and DESE and their future research agenda on the educational attainment among justice-involved youth. In addition, we will discuss the benefits of integrating data across these agencies to provide actionable insights to more effectively support justice-involved youth on positive educational pathways.