Offender Ethnicity and Juvenile Court Referrals to Substance Abuse Services

• Published date: 08 August 2005
• Date: 08 August 2005
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0196-1152(05)12005-5
• Pages: 91-109
• Author: Carolyn S. Breda

OFFENDER ETHNICITY AND

JUVENILE COURT REFERRALS TO

SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES

Carolyn S. Breda

ABSTRACT

Courts play a critical role in facilitating access to alcohol, drug, and

mental health services for juvenile offenders. This research examines the

court’s decision to refer offenders to A&D services and whether offender

ethnicity affects this rehabilitative response. Results suggest ethnicity has

no effect on treatment recommendations independent of its relationship to

other variables. Rather, ethnicity modifies the effect offense type has on

the treatment referral decision. Specifically, Blacks arrested for A&D

offenses are significantly less likely than their White counterparts to be

referred to care. Distinctions in drug laws seem to limit access to A&D

services for Blacks.

Among the various decisions juvenile courts make is whether to refer a

young offender to therapeutic services. This research examines the decision

of juvenile courts to facilitate access to treatment for young offenders and

whether offenders’ ethnicity plays a part in the service referral decision. The

significance of the research is multifold. First, it sheds light on the degree to

The Organizational Response to Persons with Mental Illness Involved with the Criminal Justice

System

Research in Social Problems and Public Policy, Volume 12, 91–109

Copyright r2005 by Elsevier Ltd.

All rights of reproduction in any form reserved

ISSN: 0196-1152/doi:10.1016/S0196-1152(05)12005-5

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which juvenile courts, historically rooted in therapeutic approaches to de-

linquency, make clinical interventions available to a particularly at-risk so-

cial group. Second, by examining treatment referrals, it examines a court

response seldom assessed in prior research, which has largely focused on

detention or custody decisions. Third, the research assesses the effect of

ethnicity in relation to other characteristics of the offender as well as other

decisions courts make on behalf of the offender prior to the final disposition

to refer youth to care.

SUBSTANCE USE PROBLEMS AMONG JUVENILE

OFFENDERS

In 1997, courts with juvenile jurisdiction disposed of nearly 1.8 million cases

nationwide for delinquency alone (U.S. Department of Justice, 2000), rep-

resenting over one million individual juveniles who came into contact with

the court that year. Many of these youth have alcohol, drug, or mental

health (ADM) problems. Estimates of co-occurring ADM disorder and de-

linquency within juvenile justice populations have ranged from 10 to 22%

(Harstone & Cocozza, 1984;Otto, Greenstein, Johnson, & Friedman, 1992),

to virtually 100% (e.g., McManus, Alessi, Grapentine, & Brickman, 1984;

Rogers, Powell, & Strock, 1998), depending on what definitions of offender

and disorder are used (Fagan, 1991;Otto et al., 1992). Clinical diagnosis of

substance abuse/dependence disorders as defined by the Diagnostic Statis-

tical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association ranges from 25–50%

(Edens & Otto, 1997), although higher rates have been reported. Teplin,

Abram, McClelland, Dulcan, & Mericle (2002) report that two-thirds of

juvenile detainees have at least one ADM disorder and nearly half have one

or more substance abuse disorder.

Arrest data also show that the rate of drug-related offenses by juveniles

has increased dramatically – by 169% between 1990 and 1999 (U.S. De-

partment of Justice, 2003). The proportion of total cases (caseloads) that

involve drug-related offenses has also risen, 108% between 1993 and 1998

(U.S. Department of Justice, 2001). Moreover, Black juveniles have been

involved in drug law violations at nearly twice the rate (29%) than would be

expected given their proportion (15%) in the U.S. juvenile population (U.S.

Department of Justice, 2001). In short, data suggest a substantial need for

ADM services for juveniles.

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