Examining the “Correction Effect” in the Relationship between Race and Juvenile Court Outcomes

• In Event: The Ohio Disproportionate Minority Contact Assessment: Examining Emerging Topics

Abstract

When the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was reauthorized by Congress in 1988, it included a DMC mandate in which states receiving federal funding had to implement programs and policies aimed at reducing disproportionate representation of minority youth throughout the juvenile court process. Some research has found “overcorrection” in juvenile courts where white youth are more likely to have unfavorable outcomes at certain decision points—at least for specific race/offense type combinations (Leiber et al., 2011). Using case-level data from 13 juvenile courts (N=78,331), this study examines the relationship between race and juvenile court outcomes by disaggregating frequently used explanatory variables (e.g., offense type, offending frequency) and examining the effects of their interaction with race on key decision points in the court process to consider possible countervailing effects across different locations. It is hypothesized that one or more interaction effects between these variables and race may have an outsized influence on the overall relationship between race and court outcomes like detention, adjudication, and secure confinement. The discussion focuses on the study’s findings in terms of understanding and responding to the DMC problem.

Authors

• Shaun M. Gann, Columbus State University

• Christopher Sullivan, University of Cincinnati

• John Wooldredge, University of Cincinnati