Influence of Race in the Deep End of the Juvenile Justice System

• Author: Ashlin Oglesby-Neal,Bryce Peterson
• Published date: 01 April 2021
• Date: 01 April 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1541204020958465
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Influence of Race in the

Deep End of the Juvenile

Justice System

Ashlin Oglesby-Neal

1

and Bryce Peterson

1

Abstract

Racial inequalities pervade U.S. justice systems and are the focus of a growing body of research.

However, there are fewer studies on racial disparities in juvenile justice settings, particularly on

decisions points at the “deep end” of the system after youth have been adjudicated delinquent. The

current study examines racial disparities in length of stay, institutional misconduct, and community

program placement for youth admitted to the Virginia juvenile justice system from 2012–2017. We

find that black youth have significantly longer lengths of stay and more serious institutional mis-

conduct than white youth. Controlling for legal and extralegal factors eliminates the disparity for

length of stay, but it remains significant for serious institutional misconduct. In recent years, youth of

all races are placed into community programs rather than traditional correctional centers at similar

rates. Disparities for Hispanic youth and other races are difficult to distinguish because few are

admitted to the system.

Keywords

juvenile justice, racial disparity

Racial disparities are nearly ubiquitous in U.S. criminal justice systems and are the focus of a large

and growing body of research. However, studies are still emerging on the extent and scope of racial

disparities in the extant juvenile justice literature. What research does exist suggests that these

disparities are found at most juvenile justice decision points, including referral, adjudication, dis-

position, and waivers to adult court (Puzzanchera & Hockenberry, 2016). This is particularly

problematic given longstanding research findings that people who become involved in justice

systems as children and adolescents are more likely to continue their involvement into adulthood

(Nagin & Paternoster, 1991; Sampson & Laub, 1993). In other words, because youth of color are

more likely to have contact with juvenile justice systems, they are at a greater risk of becoming

involved in criminal justice systems and experiencing diminished life outcomes as adults. It is thus

critical to examine racial disparities in juvenile justice settings.

1

Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute, Washington, DC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Ashlin Oglesby-Neal, Justice Policy Center, Urban Institute, 500 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20024, USA.

Email: aoglesby@urban.org

Youth Violence and JuvenileJustice

2021, Vol. 19(2) 186-205

ªThe Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/1541204020958465

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Racial Disparities in Juvenile Justice Settings

National research has found that racial disparities exist at all levels of the juvenile justice system,

including arrest, diversion, detention, and waivers to adult court (Puzzanchera & Hockenberry,

2016). In this review of prior research, we discuss disparities at particular decision points in the

deep end of the juvenile justice system that are the focus of the current study—placement in secure

confinement, length of stay, and institutional misconduct—and then describe potential sources of

those disparities that can be examined in this study—differences in offending behavior, legal factors,

sociodemographic and risk factors, and treatment by the justice system.

Racial Disparities by Decision Point

The National Disproportionate Minority Contact Databook contains the counts, rates, and relative

rates of case processing outcomes for delinquency offenses by race from 1990 to 2013. According to

their most recent data, which come from over 1,200 counties from 26 states and the District of

Columbia, Hispanic youth and Am erican Indian or Alaskan Nat ive youth have higher rates of

adjudication and residential placement than white youth. Also compared to white youth, black youth

have slightly lower rates of adjudication and higher rates of residential placement, while Asian,

Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander youth have slightly higher adjudication rates and similar placement

rates. In short, racial disparities exist at nearly all decision points of juvenile justice case processing

and these disparities are especially pronounced for black and Hispanic youth.

While some of these decisions (e.g., referrals and adjudication) occur near the beginning of

juvenile justice case processing, many come later, or at the “deep e nd” of the system. For example,

studies on placement in secure confinement are mixed on whether black youth have disproportio-

nately high rates of placement after controlling for legal and extralegal factors (Davis & Sorensen,

2013; Leiber, 2013; Leiber & Peck, 2015; Peck & Jennings, 2016). Specifically, minority youth

are significantly more likely to receive placement in facilities that emphasize physical regimens,

such as boot camps or wilderness programs, and less likely to receive therapeutic placements than

white youth (Fader et al., 2014). Davis and Sorensen (2013) found that after controlling for arrest

rates, black youth were placed in confinement at rates nearly 70 percent higher than those of white

youth. In a sample of adjudicated youth in Florida, both black and Hispanic youth were signifi-

cantly more likely to receive a residential placement than white youth after controlling for adverse

childhood experiences, demographics, offense type, and many other extralegal factors (Zettler

et al., 2018). In contrast, some studies have found that black youth were less likely to receive out-

of-home placement in a correctional facility (Bishop et al., 2010; Cochran & Mears, 2015), and

Leiber (2013) suggests this may be an attempt to correct the overrepresentation caused by deci-

sions earlier in the juvenile justice system. Still other research suggests that ra ce has no influence

on commitment decisions (Holleran & Stout, 2017).

Once youth are placed out of home, further research on disparities in their length of stay has found

minimal impact of race. Nationally in 2010, committed white and minority youth had spent the same

amount of time in placement (Sickmund & Puzzanchera, 2014). A study of referred youth confined

in Texas found that race and ethnicity had no significant influence on length of stay after controlling

for many legal and extralegal factors (Espinosa & Sorensen, 2016). Winokur et al. (2008) also found

very little difference in the mean length of stay in residential placement by race and security level for

youth in Florida, while Heggeness and Davis (2010) found that black and other minority youth

actually had shorter stays in placements. In 2015, Maggard examined variations in length of stay

before and after the implementation of Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and found

that prior to its implementation, youth of color served significantly longer time in pre-dispositional

secure detention facilities, but the significance was lost post-JDAI implementation. Some current

Oglesby-Neal and Peterson 187