Youth Appraisals by Geography? Examining Racial Disparities and County-Level Differences in Risk and Needs Assessments and Juvenile Court Outcomes

• In Event: Contemporary Questions in Juvenile Risk and Needs Assessment: Results from a Multi-Site Study

Abstract

Research on Disproportionate Minority Contact has identified racial disparity in juvenile court processing. There is evidence to suggest that differences in the handling of cases by juvenile courts is in part due to organizational and geographical differences that conceivably could affect youth risk and needs assessment. Relatively few studies have attempted to examine cross-court and geographical variation in juvenile court assessments and related youth outcomes. This study utilizes 3,559 juvenile case records from 40 juvenile courts in two Midwestern states. We use multi-level modeling to examine whether 1) there are differences in juvenile court outcomes (e.g., treatment, sanctions, and recidivism) across race subgroups when controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, case-level variables, and standardized risk and needs assessment scores, 2) whether there is variation in levels and effects of risk and needs assessment information across race groups in different courts and 3) whether there are differences in the handling of cases across various juvenile court jurisdictions when accounting for court-level variables (e.g., caseload and urban/rural context). Several implications for juvenile justice policy are considered. In particular, we assess the factors that account for any observed variation across courts and consider how those shape juvenile court decisions and youth outcomes.

Authors

• Derek John Mueller, University of Cincinnati

• Bryan Holmes, University of Cincinnati

• Jamie Newsome, University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute

• Lindsey M. Mueller, University of Cincinnati

• Christopher Sullivan, University of Cincinnati