Tracing the Pipeline: Research on the Pathways of Youth with Disabilities into the Juvenile Justice System

• In Event: Lightning Talk: 2026 Division of Health and Disability Criminology (DHDC) Lightning Talks Panel

Abstract

Youth with disabilities—particularly those with learning and behavioral disabilities—are markedly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system (JJS). Yet despite decades of concern about a “school to prison pipeline,” we still lack empirical clarity on how youth with disabilities move from schools into JJS involvement, what risk and protective factors shape these trajectories, and where intervention points may exist. This Lightning Talk will outline the severity of the issue, synthesize what is currently known across education, disability, and juvenile justice research, and identify critical knowledge gaps that hinder our ability to map pathways into the system. The session will create opportunities for audience to share thoughts about the conceptual/theoretical models, methods/designs, and available resources—including funding mechanisms—that can be potentially leveraged to advance a research agenda of the pathways from school to JJS among youth with disabilities.

Author

• Lin Liu, Temple University