Advancing the Juvenile Recidivism Measurement and Data Use

• In Event: NIJ-Supported Research on Understanding and Measuring Juvenile Reoffending

Abstract

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is supporting a number of research projects designed to improve the measurement of juvenile reoffending. This work supports the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in its efforts to respond to the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, Public Law No. 115-385, which requires the agency to establish a common national juvenile recidivism measurement system. State and local agencies and external researchers routinely use measures of reoffending to gauge the performance of juvenile justice systems, and their policies and programs. However, there is wide variability in how juvenile reoffending is defined and measured, and in how the data are collected, analyzed, reported, and used to inform decision-making. This presentation will review available information on the data collection and reporting practices of juvenile corrections and probation agencies and highlight the complexities of measuring juvenile reoffending and the differences that exist in measurement practices depending on, among other factors, the organization, administration, and data capacity of states’ juvenile justice system. Best practices and lessons learned from prior research on juvenile reoffending and other youth outcomes will be summarized.

Author

• Benjamin Adams, National Institute of Justice