The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center released data tools and resources aimed at guiding state and local leaders on responding to rising concerns about youth mental health, crime, and violence.
As part of a week-long set of releases called “Improving Youth Justice and Outcomes Week,” the council said its resources would provide policymakers with data and evidence-based solutions to address the growing challenges faced youth.
Adolescents are increasingly experiencing challenges involving mental health, school attendance and community violence, with more than 42 percent of high school students, including 56 percent of girls, reporting that they “felt sad or hopeless” in 2021, compared to 26 percent in 2009.
Youth arrests for violent offenses remain historically low, although arrests for homicide and weapons offenses surged during the pandemic, the center said. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens.
The center says that Juvenile justice system involvement and sanctions-based approaches are not the most effective strategies for improving public safety and outcomes for most youth. Up to 70 percent of youths who are arrested, referred to court and detained and incarcerated committed offenses that don't involve physical harm to another person.
The CSG Justice Center’s data analysis, review of research, and conversations with national experts and state leaders urge refocusing the juvenile justice system on youth who commit serious and violent offenses and ensure that resources are invested in what works to improve public safety and reduce violence and victimization.
“It’s more important than ever that our juvenile justice system is grounded in data, research, and best practices instead of anecdotes, fear, or media sensationalism" said Joe O'Leary of the Oregon Youth Authority. "I applaud the CSG Justice Center for not only analyzing data on youth behavioral health, crime, violence, and the juvenile justice system, but helping state leaders understand what the data means and challenging us to recognize the connections between these important issues.”
Among the materials issued by the center:
This analysis provides a detailed examination of the most recent data available on youth behavioral health, arrests, court cases, incarceration, and racial disparities.
Two populations that are well positioned for a greater focus on diversion from the juvenile justice system and enhanced prevention services are youth who commit status offenses—noncriminal behaviors like truancy and running away—and children and pre-teens who break the law but lack the developmental capacity to understand their actions. This report shares takeaways from a 50-state scan about these two populations,
A study by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows that young people assigned to probation after their first offense are more likely to be rearrested in the future, particularly for technical violations, than their peers diverted away from probation. The study suggests that diverting more youth from probation could improve justice system efficiency and public safety outcomes.
Comments