Juvenile Court Placement of Adjudicated Youth, 1989-1998

• NCJ Number: 193437
• Author(s): Charles M. Puzzanchera
• Date Published: February 2002
• Length: 2 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This report provides data on trends in the court placement of adjudicated youth from 1989 through 1998.

Abstract

In 1998 more than one in four adjudicated delinquency cases resulted in out-of-home placement. Juveniles adjudicated for drug offenses were less likely to be placed outside the home than were those adjudicated for other types of offenses. Placement was ordered in 23 percent of drug offense cases, 24 percent of property offense cases, 27 percent of person offense cases, and 28 percent of cases that involved public-order offenses. The number of adjudicated cases that resulted in out-of-home placement increased from 119,700 in 1989 to 163,800 in 1998. The largest percentage of increase was in the number of person offense cases that resulted in placement, which increased 73 percent from 1989 to 1998. Placement increased 59 percent for drug offenses, 52 percent for public-order offenses, and 12 percent for property offenses. Of the estimated 163,800 adjudicated cases in 1998 that resulted in out-of-home placement, 99,800 (61 percent) involved white youth, 58,400 (36 percent) involved Black youth, and 5,600 (3 percent) involved youth of other races. That same year, 24 percent of adjudicated cases that involved white youth resulted in out-of-home placement, compared with 30 percent of cases that involved Black youth and 25 percent that involved other minority youth. Between 1989 and 1998, the number of adjudicated cases that resulted in out-of-home placement increased more for white youth than for Black youth or for youth of other races. 3 tables and 1 figure