Mortality in a Juvenile Court Cohort

• In Event: Juvenile Offenders and Justice: Mass Incarceration, Plea Bargaining, Desistance, and Mortality

Abstract

Youths in the justice system are at risk for early mortality whether by homicide, accident, or suicide. This study includes all youths who entered one Midwestern urban juvenile court on delinquency charges from 2003-2008 (n=2669). Seventy youths in this population died, most before age 21. Among the 70 deaths for whom the cause is known, nearly half (45%) were homicide victims, 17% were completed suicides, 17% were accidents, and the remainder were split among overdose, natural causes, or other causes. We compare this cohort with the remainder of the sample who survived throughout the same follow up period (through 2015), examining their juvenile and adult justice history such as arrests and incarcerations. We examine their lifetime child welfare system experiences such as abuse or neglect complaints or out of home placements. We compare neighborhood characteristics such as average household income and education as well as the individual factors of sex and race. By knowing their age at death and full incarceration history, we are able to “annualize” their time at risk for continued justice involvement or desistance. Together, the justice, child welfare, neighborhood, and individual factors combine for an understanding of which justice-involved youths are at heightened risk for early mortality.

Authors

• Lisa Callahan, Policy Research Associates, Inc.

• Roumen Vesselinov, Queens College, CUNY