Tear Down the Wall: Examining Immigrant Experiences in the Juvenile Justice System

• In Event: Experiences and Needs of Diverse Youth in the Justice System

Abstract

This paper examines the experiences of 156 immigrant juvenile boys who were adjudicated
delinquent in Rhode Island between 1975-2015 and placed on FOC at the Ocean Tides School;
an alternative to the youth prison in the state. Suspicion abounds in the country about additional burdens experienced by the juvenile justice system due to delinquent immigrant children. Are immigrant delinquents and their families less compliant in rehabilitation programs than non-immigrants; are they less likely to successfully complete these programs; do they experience greater precursors to delinquency; are they more violent; and is their presence in these programs placing undue burden on the juvenile justice system? These suspicions are analyzed with a large
database (N=2,053) of delinquent boys ages 13-17 across 40 years. Information about the boys is derived from multiple sources: police records, parent surveys, counseling sessions, social workers, teachers, administrators, and the boys themselves. Data collection was partially funded by DOJ -OJJDP grant no. 2015-JF-FX-0062. This particular analyses was not commissioned by that funding agency

Author

• Judy A Van Wyk, University of Rhode Island