Contemporary Issues in Youth Justice: A Selection of Unique and Impactful Contributions

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel features works from a recent special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (May 2025; https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj). The issue is focused on contemporary research and analysis of youth delinquency and juvenile justice. The panel will include four papers that touch on different contemporary questions or challenges in youth justice. The papers span empirical, theoretical, and policy-oriented topics. The panel’s scholars draw on varied data sources, analytic approaches, and perspectives to deeply examine and promote greater understanding of delinquency and common responses to it. Authors will present their individual works during the session. A co-editor of the special issue will facilitate a discussion among panelists and audience members following those presentations.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 51. The Juvenile Justice System

Individual Presentations

• Juvenile Justice in Schools: A Litany of Impediments - Daniel Mears, Florida State University; Andrea Montes, Arizona State University; George Pesta, Florida State University

• Administering Services for Dual System Youth: A Comparison of Processes Across Three Midwestern Jurisdictions - Lauren Morgan, Dartmouth College - REACH Lab

• Conceptualizing Police Violence for Research on Youth Exposure to Community Violence - Franklin Steven Moreno, Temple University

• Does the Detention Decision Influence Juvenile Court Processing? An Examination of Cumulative Disadvantage - Steven N. Zane, Florida State University

Chairs

• Christopher Sullivan, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Nicole McKenna, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

• Insun Park, University of Akron