NCJ Number
208968
Date Published
May 2003
Length
222 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes and assesses the current state of knowledge about children and youth with disabilities who are at risk of delinquency and involvement in the juvenile justice system, or who have already entered it.
Abstract
The report profiles current laws and policies that affect children and youth with disabilities who are at risk of delinquency and juvenile justice processing, as well as the relationship between disability, delinquency, and involvement in the juvenile justice system. Factors in juvenile disabilities that increase the risk for delinquency are identified. Also reviewed are current and anticipated delinquency-related and disability-related programs that target disabled children and youth who may enter or are in the juvenile justice system. In addition, the report assesses the effectiveness of prevention, intervention/treatment, and management strategies for reducing delinquency and addressing disability-related needs for this population. Further, barriers to and facilitators for implementing effective strategies that can help children and youth with disabilities are identified and discussed. Recommended "next steps" are designed to increase the scope and quality of knowledge and practice that can reduce delinquency for at-risk children and youth with disabilities. Among the recommendations are the identification of a range of strategies for enforcing and promoting compliance with Federal disability law as it relates to children and youth with disabilities who are at-risk of delinquency; increased funding and resources for schools and the juvenile justice system to ensure that juveniles with disabilities receive appropriate services; the designation of a single Federal agency with the sole responsibility of ensuring that the rights and needs of disabled youth in the juvenile justice system are addressed; and research that determines the prevalence of juveniles with various types of disabilities among at-risk populations in schools and across all stages of the juvenile justice system. 200 references and appended figures and tables, Internet resources, an interview protocol, illustrations and case studies, and the mission of the National Council on Disability