Bridging Disciplinary Boundaries (January 11 - 14, 2007)

Introduction: There is a broad literature documenting the increased risk of delinquency associated with victims of child abuse and neglect. Although the magnitude of this relationship is not fully understood, research indicates that anywhere from 9% to 29% of dependent children engage in delinquency. Unfortunately the empirical literature ends once dependent youth enter the juvenile justice system. To date, there are no rigorous studies that focus on the experiences and outcomes associated with dependent youth in the juvenile justice system. The current study addresses this critical gap in the literature by answering (1) how do dependent – delinquent youth compare with delinquent only youth, (2) is there an association between dependency status and judicial outcomes and (3) is there an association between dependency status and recidivism?

Methods/Results: The data used in the current study result from a comprehensive data sharing agreement between the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Families Services and Probation. The current study focuses on 82,377 adolescents with at least one arrest between 2002 and 2005 in Los Angeles County. Approximately 3,400 of these youth were officially involved with the child welfare system prior to their first arrest. Demographic characteristics include 76% male, 24% African American, 57% Hispanic and 15.2 years old at the time of first arrest. Regarding initial differences at time of entry into juvenile justice, adolescents with a history of child maltreatment are more likely to be African American, female and younger as compared to delinquent youth with no history of maltreatment. Dependent youth were less likely to be associated with a weapons or drug related offense. Regarding judicial outcomes, dependent – delinquency youth were significantly less likely to receive probation as compared with their delinquent only counterparts. Regarding recidivism, dependent youth were more likely to be associated with subsequent offenses (after first entering the juvenile justice system). These differences remain even after controlling for a wide variety of important covariates.

Conclusion: This much is known – victims of physical abuse and neglect are at an increased risk of engaging in delinquent behavior. Yet, to date there are no studies that compare the characteristics and outcomes of dependent – delinquent and delinquent only youth. The findings from the current study indicate that dependent youth are significantly different from their non-maltreated counterparts in the juvenile justice system. These demographic differences may in part help explain whether or not the child welfare system contributes to minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. The findings also indicate that the outcomes differ between these two subgroups within the juvenile justice system. It's possible that the unique living circumstances associated with the dependent youth impact important decisions regarding an appropriate or at least equitable response to youth offending. For example, dependent youth are more likely to enter secure placement settings – perhaps because in-home services are not possible because their cases have been closed in child welfare and there remain significant safety concerns within the biological home. The paper concludes with a discussion of the policy and practice implications.