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Juvenile Court Officials

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Title: Juvenile Court Officials


1
Juvenile Court Officials Perceptions of Family
Dysfunction and Community Characteristics in
Juvenile Court Decision-Making Processes
  • Nancy Rodriguez
  • School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
  • Arizona State University
  • Youth Violence Prevention Conference
  • University of Missouri-St. Louis
  • April 8, 2010

2
Overview
  • Characteristics of Children in the U.S.
  • Family Status, Disadvantage, and Juvenile Court
    Outcomes
  • Study Findings
  • Implications for Research and Practice

3
Population of Children in U.S.
  • 73.9 million Children in the United States
  • 25 of the population
  • Racial/Ethnic Diversity of Children
  • Language Spoken at Home
  • Source U.S. Census Bureau

4
Children in Poverty
  • Child Poverty Rate on the Rise
  • In 2007, 18 percentage of children (13.3 million)
    were living in poverty up from 16.2 percent
    (11.6 million) in 2000.
  • Rate higher for younger children
  • Rate higher for Black and Hispanic children
  • Source U.S. Census Bureau

5
Family Structure in the U.S.
  • The Decline of the Two-parent Household
  • The percentage of children under age 18 living
    with two married parents fell from 77 percent in
    1980 to 68 percent in 2007.
  • Source U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population
    Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement

6
Percentage of Children in Poverty, by Family
Structure, Race and Hispanic Origin

Source U.S. Census Bureau
7
One Parent Families

Source U.S. Census Bureau
8
No Parent Families

Source U.S. Census Bureau
9
Family Status, Disadvantage, and Juvenile
Justice
  • How do family situational factors and living in
    economically disadvantaged areas affect juvenile
    court outcomes?
  • Parents/guardians as sponsors of youth
  • Capacity (emotional and financial) to assist
    court with youth intervention

10
Family Status, Disadvantage, and Juvenile
Justice
  • Family risk factors
  • Low SES, antisocial behavior, broken homes, poor
    parent-child relationship, family conflict, abuse
    and neglect
  • Limited resources in community
  • Availability of services (community-based
    agencies, treatment providers)
  • Role models

11
Economic Disadvantage and Juvenile Justice
  • Court officials perceptions of a bad
    neighborhood (Emerson, 1969)
  • Focus on cross-jurisdictional differences
  • Armstrong Rodriguez, 2005 Sampson Laub,
    1993 Rodriguez, 2007)

12
Economic Disadvantage and Juvenile Justice
  • Families who suffer from economic stain are
    perceived as unstable or inadequate (Bortner,
    1982181).
  • Economic disadvantage and race
  • Black lower-class youth (Bishop Frazier, 1988
    Leonard Sontheimer, 1995 Miller, 1996)

13
Family Structure and Juvenile Court Outcomes
  • Impact of family status (e.g., family structure,
    quality of care) (Bridges Steen, 1998 DeJong
    Jackson, 1998)
  • Support and the cooperation exhibited by parents
    are heavily guiding factors in juvenile court
    decision-making processes (Bortner, 1982).

14
Family Structure and Juvenile Court Outcomes
  • Perceptions of support and cooperation serve to
    disadvantage racial/ethnic youth (Bishop
    Frazier, 1996)
  • Language and cultural barriers (Portillos, 2006)
  • Single mother families play a more significant
    role in court outcomes for Whites than Black
    youth (DeJong Jackson, 1998 Leiber Mack,
    2003)
  • Expectations versus Reality

15
Areas of Inquiry
  • Living in economically disadvantaged areas
  • micro-neighborhood context
  • Limited understanding of family dynamics
  • Reliance on single-parent homes versus
    two-parent homes measures
  • Role of family stability
  • Family transitions
  • Residential mobility

16
Study AConcentrated Disadvantage and Juvenile
Court Outcomes
  • Objective
  • Examine relationship between concentrated
    disadvantage and five juvenile court outcomes
    (informal processing, detention, petition filed,
    judicial dismissal, out-of-home placement)
  • Source
  • Rodriguez , N. (in press). The cumulative effect
    of race and ethnicity in juvenile court outcomes
    and why preadjudication detention matters.
    Journal of Research in Crime Delinquency.

17
Findings from HGLM of Juvenile Court Outcomes
  • Concentrated disadvantage index ()
  • Detention
  • Correctional confinement
  • Black and Latino/a minority youth ()
  • Concentrated disadvantage did not mediate the
    race and ethnicity effects

18
Case File Narratives
  • He lives in a very poor, high-risk neighborhood
    and most of his associates use alcohol and other
    drugs. He understands that he must work an active
    program recovery and avoid places that would
    cause him to relapse. (Latino Youth)
  • The juvenile resides in the town homes complex
    right off location and these complexes are in a
    poor area, filled with drugs, and gangs, and with
    the juvenile just roaming around there, he is
    more apt to get into some type of trouble.
    (Black Youth)

19
Narrative from Case File
  • (youths mother) reports she will be moving out
    of her current neighborhood soon, and she hopes
    this will improve the juveniles behavior. The
    mother appears to work several hours leaving the
    juvenile unattended with the opportunity to
    commit more crime. I believe that placing the
    juvenile on JIPS intensive probation would
    allow (youth) to obtain more victims in the
    community since he is unsupervised by the
    mother. (Latino Youth)

20
Case File Narratives
  • When I met with (youth) on 06-09-02, he stated
    that his mother had not been able to visit him in
    detention, due to not having transportation.
    Mother reportedly has transportation problems and
    doesnt always come to see him when expected.
    This officer is concerned about the mothers
    inconsistency . (Latino Youth)
  • Mother will not be at court. She does not have
    transportation. There are seven other children
    in the home, six which are female. The mother
    works outside the home and has very little time
    or energy to deal with her sons behavior. At his
    scheduled disposition hearing, commitment will be
    recommended. (Black Youth)

21
Study BFamily Status and Juvenile Court Outcomes
  • Objectives
  • Examine relationship between family status and
    juvenile court outcomes (out-of-home placement)
  • Identify the extent of family and residential
    instability among juvenile justice involved youth

22
Family Structure ofDelinquent Youth (N 2,300)

23
Case Files Narratives
  • The mother seems to be struggling raising
    several kids in the home. This officer has had
    limited contact with the family. The home phone
    has been disconnected. (youth) states that he
    wants to go back home so that he can get a job
    and help his mother pay the bills. (Black Youth)
  • The fact that the father is no longer residing
    in the home has caused a lot of stress on the
    family. The parents used to argue a lot and that
    hurt the family but not as much as the father
    leaving. (Latino Youth)

24
Estimated Probabilities of Out-of-home Placement

25
Narrative from Case File
  • The actual parental figure in this case is the
    grandmother. Grandmother has her hands full
    caring for the younger of this daughters
    children, especially a child with significant
    emotional health problems. Grandmother has
    significant physical health problems of her own
    Of those dispositional options available to the
    Court, recommended will be secure treatment with
    the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections
    for a period of six months. (Black Youth)

26
Narrative from Case File
  • Youth is living with foster parents, where she
    has been for the last two years. She has not
    lived with her real family since 2000, because
    her mother was arrested and the court found her
    mother to be using drugs and an unfit environment
    for youth. She is currently in a foster home
    that appears to be somewhat dysfunctional.
    (White Youth)

27
Number of Family Transitions (N 2,300)

28
Number of Residential Moves(N2,300)

29
Intersection Family Transitions and Residential
Mobility

Zero Family Transitions and Zero Residential Moves 19.3 One or More Family Transitions and Zero Residential Moves 6.4
Zero Family Transitions and One or More Residential Moves 21.5 One or More Family Transitions and One or More Residential Moves 52.8
30
Narrative from Case File
  • The family shuffled from friend's house to
    friend's house until they moved into their
    current apartment at the beginning of August.
    Because of the constant shuffling, the juvenile
    didn't complete his work hours or the NCTI class.
    Because the circumstances were out of the
    juvenile's control, I would request he be granted
    an extension.
  • Subsequent court record VIOLATION The
    juvenile failed to notify the probation officer
    that the family moved. This officer went to the
    apartment on 10-18-02 and it is unoccupied.
    (Latino Youth)

31
Narrative from Case File
  • After the juveniles parents were divorced, the
    children lived with their father. Later, the
    children moved back with their mother. The family
    has been homeless in the past. They lived on the
    streets and in various shelters. They have also
    lived in motels. The juvenile was placed into
    state custody in the past. It is noted that the
    juvenile states she would prefer to live with
    another relative or even go back to CPS custody
    as her and her mother do not get along. (Black
    Youth)

32
Family Instability and Parental Incarceration
  • The juvenile has been residing with his aunt
    since before his mothers murder by his father.
    Isaac was placed with his aunt, because of the
    domestic violence issues occurring at the time.
    Currently, there is also a dependency petition in
    progress. He was pushing the limits at his aunts
    home, leaving and not coming home for days at a
    time. He typically would go to a friends house
    and not return. (Latino Youth)

33
Family Instability and Parental Incarceration
  • Mom has been in and out of prison the majority
    of the juveniles life. Juvenile has spent time
    in state custody as a result. He has been placed
    in numerous shelters. He did reside for a short
    time in New Mexico with grandparents. Mother gave
    guardianship of the juvenile to a boyfriend while
    she was in prison, so the juvenile resided with
    his mothers boyfriend for some time. The
    juvenile has since moved back into state
    custody. (American Indian Youth)

34
Estimated Probabilities of Out-of-home Placement
by Paternal Incarceration - Latinos
35
Estimated Probabilities of Out-of-home Placement
by Paternal Incarceration - Blacks
36
Economic Strain Associated with Parental
Incarceration
  • The father who had a restraining order issued
    against him for being violent with the family,
    came back to the homes and is now in jail. The
    mother and children, at the present time have no
    money. Mom stated to this officer that she may
    have to sell her car to provide money to pay her
    electricity bill. (White Youth)
  • Father provides no support to the family, and
    recently was released from prison. (Latino
    Youth)

37
Parental Incarceration and Potential for
Rehabilitation
  • Her prognosis is guarded due to the severity of
    family dysfunction and the very limited
    availability of services. (Black Youth)

38
Study C. The Dysfunctional Family
  • Objectives
  • Identify context of family dysfunction among
    delinquent youth
  • Examine relationship between dysfunction and
    juvenile court outcomes (out-of-home placement)
  • Source
  • Rodriguez, N., Smith, H. Zatz, M.S. (2009).
    Youth is enmeshed in a highly dysfunctional
    family system Exploring the relationship among
    dysfunctional families, parental incarceration,
    and juvenile court decision making.
    Criminology,47(1),177-208.

39
The Dysfunctional Family
  • Family dysfunction as a risk factor in juvenile
    court processes and outcomes (Emerson, 1969)
  • Financial strain, instability within the family,
    poor parenting skills, abuse, or criminal
    involvement by family members

40
The Dysfunctional Family
  • Family dysfunction scales
  • FAD-GF (McMaster Family Assessment Device General
    Functioning Subscale) (Epstein, Baldwin, and
    Bishop, 1983)
  • Family Functioning Scale (FES) (Moos and Moos,
    2002)
  • Variation in definition

41
Interview Excerpts
  • What I see is you have boys and girls from very
    dysfunctional families. Eighty-five percent of
    them are no-parent families or one-parent
    families. (Probation Officer)
  • The families are just so dysfunctional. The
    parents are using themselves. Low class, no
    money. Twenty kids living in the home. On
    welfare. Just very dysfunctional. (Detention
    Officer)

42
Estimated Probabilities of Out of Home Placement
by Dysfunction - Latinos

43
Estimated Probabilities of Out of Home Placement
by Dysfunction - Blacks

44
Case File Narratives
  • Youth comes from a very dysfunctional home.
    There are several children in the family. Several
    of these children are living in CPS shelters.
    (White Youth).
  • Youth comes from a dysfunctional family. Her
    mother has been a drug user, her father is
    currently deported to Mexico (and there are
    allegations that he has sexually molested his
    daughters). (Latina Youth)

45
Narrative from Case File
  • It certainly does appear that the home
    situation, especially as it relates to the
    extended family, is quite unstable and
    dysfunctional and has contributed to youths
    serious emotional disturbance. At this time,
    placement of the juvenile at Black Canyon would
    protect this juvenile, as well as consequence for
    her actions. (Latina Youth).

46
Implications for Theory and Practice
  • Disadvantage as an Important External Attribute
  • Community Awareness
  • Community-based strategies (e.g., Weed and Seed)

47
Implications for Theory and Practice
  • Family Structure and Family Processes
  • Complex Family Systems and Treatment by the
    Juvenile Justice System
  • Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems (e.g.,
    wraparound services)
  • Blueprint Programs (e.g., FFT, MST)

48
Implications for Theory and Practice
  • Residential Instability
  • Children's Well-being
  • School
  • Health
  • Circulation of Information
  • Challenges Associated with Monitoring and
    Supervision of Youth

49
Implications for Theory and Practice
  • Reentry Programs
  • Maintaining Family Ties
  • Team Approach
  • Community and Family Involvement
  • Strong Family Support System

50
Thank You
  • Nancy Rodriguez, Ph.D.
  • nancy.rodriguez_at_asu.edu
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