Petitioned Status Offense Cases
What are status offenses?Traditionally, status offenses were those behaviors that were law violations only if committed by a person of juvenile status. Such behaviors included running away from home, ungovernability (being beyond the control of parents or guardians), truancy, status liquor law violations (e.g., underage drinking, which also applies to young adults up to age 20), and other miscellaneous offenses that apply only to minors (e.g., curfew violations and tobacco offenses). In some States, these behaviors are no longer law violations. Instead, juveniles who engage in the behaviors may be classified as dependent children, which gives child protective service agencies, rather than juvenile courts, the primary responsibility for responding to this population. States vary in how they respond to status-offending behavior
The official processing of status offenders varies from State to State. For example, in some States, a runaway’s entry into the official system may be through juvenile court intake and, in other States, the matter may enter through the child welfare agency. This mixture of approaches to case processing has made it difficult to monitor the volume and characteristics of status offense cases nationally. In all States, however, if informal efforts to resolve the status-offending behavior fail or if formal intervention is needed, the matter is referred to juvenile court. In 1997, roughly one in five status offense cases that came to the attention of juvenile court intake or child welfare agencies was formally processed by the courts. Compared with caseloads for delinquency, status offense caseloads were small
United States juvenile courts formally processed an estimated 158,500 status offense cases in 1997. These cases accounted for about 14% of the courts’ formal delinquency and status offense caseload. Status liquor law and truancy offenses accounted for the greatest proportion of status offense cases. In 1997, juvenile courts formally processed approximately:
- 24,000 runaway cases.
- 40,500 truancy cases.
- 21,300 ungovernability cases.
- 40,700 status liquor law violation cases.
- 32,100 other miscellaneous status offense cases. (Due to the heterogeneity of these offenses, these cases are not discussed independently. They are, however, included in all totals.)
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About the National Juvenile Court Data Archive
This Bulletin presents analyses of data that are the bases for the latest Report in OJJDP’s Juvenile Court Statistics series. The Juvenile Court Statistics Report series was first published in 1929 and continues to be the Nation’s primary source of information on the activities of juvenile
courts. The data for the Reports are collected, analyzed, and stored by the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, which is operated by the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) in Pittsburgh, PA. The Archive collects demographic, legal, and dispositional data on more than 1 million delinquency and status offense cases annually. In addition to producing Juvenile Court Statistics and other topical publications, the Archive can provide data files and special analyses for research and policy purposes. Additional presentations of Juvenile Court Statistics data can be found in the Statistical Briefing Book on OJJDP’s Web site, www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org.
The Archive’s national delinquency estimates are also available in an easy-to-use software package, Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics: 1988–1997. With the support of OJJDP, NCJJ distributes the software to facilitate independent analysis of Archive data while eliminating the need for statistical analysis software. All necessary data files and the NCJJ software can be downloaded from OJJDP’s Web site, www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org, or a complimentary copy of Easy Access to
Juvenile Court Statistics: 1988–1997 on CD–ROM can be ordered from NCJJ.
For further information about the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, contact:
National Center for Juvenile Justice 710 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219–3000 412–227–6950 njcda@ncjj.org |
Juvenile courts were less likely to detain youth in status offense cases than in delinquency cases
In 1997, courts ordered the juvenile held in secure detention at some point between referral to court and case disposition in 6% of formally processed status offense cases. In comparison, youth were detained in 25% of formally processed delinquency cases. The proportion of cases involving detention varied by offense category. Juvenile courts detained youth in 11% of runaway cases, 7% of status liquor law violation cases, 7% of ungovernability cases, and 2% of truancy cases. Of the 9,400 formally processed status offense cases that involved detention in 1997, liquor law violation cases (30%) and runaway cases (28%) accounted for greater proportions than ungovernability cases (16%) and truancy cases (7%). Females were involved in approximately 4 in 10 status offense cases formally processed in 1997
Another major difference between delinquency and status offense cases is the proportion of cases that involve females. Although females were charged in only 20% of the delinquency cases formally processed in 1997, they were involved in 41% of status offense cases. The proportion of cases involving females varied substantially by offense. In fact, the majority of juveniles brought to court for running away from home in 1997 were female (60%).
Juveniles age 15 or younger accounted for 55% of formal status offense cases processed in 1997. These younger juveniles were involved in a greater proportion of truancy cases (74%) and ungovernability cases (71%) than runaway cases (62%) or status liquor law violation cases (27%). The difference between the offense profiles of younger and older juveniles reflects age-related differences in behavior.
Youth were adjudicated as status offenders in 52% of formally processed status offense cases in 1997. Of these cases, 14% resulted in out-of-home placement and 61% in formal probation. Another 23%, largely liquor law violation cases, resulted in other sanctions, such as fines, community service, restitution, or referrals to other agencies for services. The remaining 3% were released with no additional sanction. Among status offense cases not adjudicated, 67% were dismissed, 23% resulted in informal sanctions other than probation or out-of-home placement, 10% resulted in informal probation, and less than 1% resulted in out-of-home placement.
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