 | On the 1997 census day, minority offenders had been in residential placement longer than other juveniles |
 | |
|
| On the 1997 census day, minority offenders had been in residential placement longer than other juveniles |
| |
|
Juveniles in residential placement Information on length of stay is key to understanding the justice system's handling of juveniles in residential placement. The Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP), first conducted in October 1997, captures information on the number of days since admission for each juvenile in residential placement up until the date of the census. The CJRP looks both at juveniles detained while awaiting adjudication or disposition and committed juveniles (those adjudicated, disposed, and placed in the facility). While the data cannot determine complete length of stay, the CJRP does provide an overall profile of the time juveniles had been in the facility at the time of the census—a 1-day snapshot of time in the facility. The CJRP also collects individual-level data regarding juveniles in facilities, providing juvenile justice policymakers with a more complete look at who is in the facilities and how long they have been detained or committed. Minorities had been in facilities longer than nonminority whites Among committed juveniles, minorities had been in the facility an average of 193 days. In comparison, committed nonminority whites had been in the facility an average of 174 days—2 weeks less. A similar pattern was found among detained juveniles. Detained minority juveniles had been in the facility an average of 1 week longer than nonminority whites (43 days vs. 36 days). Demographic differences in time in the facility reflect differences in offense profiles Juveniles held for violent offenses had been in placement longer on average than other juveniles. Overall, committed delinquents had been in the facility an average of just over 6 months (186 days). Juveniles committed for Violent Crime Index offenses, in comparison, had been in the facility an average of nearly 9 months (266 days). Findings were similar for detained juveniles. A closer look at the 1997 CJRP finding that minority youth had been in placement longer than their nonminority white counterparts indicates this finding is attributable to differences in offense profiles: minorities had larger proportions of person offenders, particularly violent person offenders, in their population. Within individual offense categories, demographic differences in time in the facility were negligible.
| ||||