Child Welfare Outcomes Predict Co-involvement with the Juvenile Justice System

• In Event: Vulnerabilities and Risks Among Justice-Involved Youth

Abstract

Previous research has identified risk factors of juvenile justice (JJ) involvement for children involved with child welfare agencies, including male gender (Vidal et al., 2017), minority race/ethnicity (Vidal et al., 2017), and child welfare involvement during adolescence (Thornberry et al., 2001). The current study tested additional potential risk factors, including child welfare (CPS) case outcomes and school poverty (as an indicator of SES), to determine if these variables were associated with risk of JJ co-involvement. In line with previous research, a logistic regression indicated that CPS involvement during adolescence was a strong predictor of JJ involvement, and that gender and race/ethnicity were also significant predictors. The regression model indicated that several CPS case outcomes (running away, living with relatives, placement changes, and reunification with parents) were associated with increased risk of JJ involvement, emancipation was associated with decreased risk of JJ involvement, and adoption did not predict risk of JJ involvement. In addition, school poverty did not significantly predict JJ involvement. Our results suggest that CPS case outcome may impact the risk of JJ involvement, given that most co-involved youth (85.4% in our sample) followed a path from child welfare to JJ involvement. Implications for child welfare practices are discussed.

Authors

• Ashley Coleman, Mississippi State University

• Angela Robertson, Mississippi State University