Juvenile Court Statistics 1999 Report
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The National Juvenile Court Data Archive online The annual Juvenile Court Statistics report series is one of many products supported by the National Juvenile Court Data Archive. To learn more, visit the Archive web site. ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/njcda/ ◆ The Archive web site was developed to inform researchers about available data sets and the procedures for use and access. Visitors can view and download user guides to data sets housed in the Archive and search for data sets that meet specific research interests. In addition, the site includes links to publications based on analyses of Archive data. ◆ Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics is an interactive web-based application that allows users to analyze the actual databases that are used to produce the Juvenile Court Statistics report. Users can explore in detail trends of and relationships among a youth's demographics and referral offenses, and the court's detention, adjudication, and disposition decisions. Results of analyses can be saved and imported into spreadsheet and word processing software. This application is available from the "Links" section on the Archive web site. ◆ Easy Access to State and County Juvenile Court Case Counts gives users quick access to multiple years of state and county juvenile court case counts for delinquency, status offense, and dependency cases. This application is available from the "Links" section on the Archive web site. Cover photo from the Rare Book Collection (RB neg. 52), The University Library, University of Illinois at Chicago. Juvenile Court Statistics 1999 Report Charles Puzzanchera Anne L. Stahl Terrence A. Finnegan Nancy Tierney Howard N. Snyder National Center for Juvenile Justice July 2003 Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Court Statistics 1998 i U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 810 Seventh Street NW. Washington, DC 20531 John Ashcroft Attorney General Deborah J. Daniels Assistant Attorney General J. Robert Flores Administrator, OJJDP This report was prepared by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the research division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and was supported by grant number 1999–MU–MU–0020 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice. Copyright 2003, National Center for Juvenile Justice, 710 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219–3000 412–227–6950. ISSN 0091–3278. Suggested citation: Puzzanchera, Charles, Anne L. Stahl, Terrence A. Finnegan, Nancy Tierney, and Howard N. Snyder. 2003. Juvenile Court Statistics 1999. Pittsburgh, PA: National Center for Juvenile Justice. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Pro- grams, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Foreword For more than a century, the juvenile court has played a leading role in our na- tion's fight against juvenile crime and violence, protecting society and reform- ing young offenders by holding them accountable for their delinquent acts. Its influence on a child's development can last a lifetime. To ensure an informed exercise of authority, the juvenile court must stay abreast of evolving social changes. The court must understand the offenders who come before it and must be fully informed about the types, availability, and effects of the resources that it may require to help troubled youth. As is the case with its predecessors in this 73-year-old publication series, Juve- nile Court Statistics 1999 addresses these and other significant issues, profiling the nearly 1.7 million delinquency cases handled by courts with juvenile juris- diction in 1999 and reviewing judicial trends since 1990. By tracking key trends in juvenile court caseloads and providing a broad array of data about the court's work, this Report provides a detailed portrait of the juvenile court in 1999—its 100th birthday—and offers a reference guide to pol- icymakers, practitioners, researchers, and others concerned with the court's critical contributions to securing the future of our youth and our nation. J. Robert Flores Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Court Statistics 1999 iii Acknowledgments This Report is a product of the Na- Juvenile Court Statistics would not be tional Juvenile Court Data Archive, possible were it not for the State and which is funded by grants to the Na- local agencies that take the time each tional Center for Juvenile Justice from year to honor our requests for data the Office of Juvenile Justice and and documentation. The following Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), agencies contributed case-level data U.S. Department of Justice. Janet or court-level aggregate statistics for Chiancone is the OJJDP Program this Report: Manager for the project. Alabama—State of Alabama, Adminis- The entire staff of the National Juve- trative Office of the Courts. nile Court Data Archive contributes to the collection and processing of Alaska—Alaska Division of Juvenile the data presented in this Report: Justice and the Alaska Court System. Terrence A. Finnegan, Senior Arizona—Supreme Court, State of Computer Programmer Arizona, Administrative Office of the Courts; and the Maricopa County Paul Harms, Research Associate Juvenile Court Center. Tricia Mastrangelo, Data Librarian Arkansas—Administrative Office of Rowen Poole, Computer Programmer the Courts, State of Arkansas. Charles Puzzanchera, Manager of Data California—Judicial Council of Cali- Analysis and Report Production fornia Administrative Office of the Courts, the California Department of Katie Richardson, Research Assistant Justice Criminal Justice Statistics Howard N. Snyder, Ph.D., Project Center, and the following county pro- Director bation departments: Alameda, Kings, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, San Anne L. Stahl, Manager of Data Bernardino, San Francisco, San Collection Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and Ventura. Nancy Tierney, Administrative Assistant Colorado—Colorado Judicial Department. Yichun Wan, Computer Programmer Juvenile Court Statistics 1999 v Acknowledgments Connecticut—Judicial Branch Admin- Michigan— State Court Administra- Oregon—Judicial Department. istration, Court Support Services tive Office, Michigan Supreme Court. Division. Pennsylvania—Juvenile Court Minnesota—Minnesota Supreme Judges’ Commission. Delaware—State of Delaware Admin- Court Information System. istrative Office of the Courts. Rhode Island—Administrative Mississippi—Mississippi Department Office of State Courts and Rhode District of Columbia—Superior Court of Human Services, Division of Youth Island Family Court. of the District of Columbia. Services. South Carolina—Department of Florida—State of Florida Department Missouri—Department of Social Juvenile Justice. of Juvenile Justice. Services, Division of Youth Services. South Dakota—Unified Judicial Georgia—Judicial Council of Georgia System. Administrative Office of the Courts. Montana—Board of Crime Control. Tennessee—Tennessee Council of Hawaii— Family Court of the First Nebraska—Nebraska Crime Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Circuit, The Judiciary, State of Commission. Hawaii. Texas—Texas Juvenile Probation Nevada—Division of Child and Family Commission. Idaho—Idaho Supreme Court. Services, Juvenile Justice Programs Office. Utah—Utah Administrative Office of Illinois—Administrative Office of the the Courts. Illinois Courts, Probation Services New Hampshire—New Hampshire Division; and the Juvenile Court of Supreme Court, Administrative Vermont—Supreme Court of Cook County. Office of the Courts. Vermont, Office of Court Administration. Indiana—Supreme Court of Indiana, New Jersey—Administrative Division of State Court Administration. Office of the Courts. Virginia—Department of Juvenile Justice and the Virginia Supreme Iowa—State Court Administrator. New York—New York Office of Court Court. Administration; and the State of New Kansas— Supreme Court of Kansas, York, Division of Probation and Cor- Washington—Office of the Office of Judicial Administration. rectional Alternatives. Administrator for the Courts. Kentucky—Kentucky Administrative North Carolina—Administrative Of- West Virginia—Criminal Justice Office of the Courts. fice of the Courts. Statistical Analysis Center. Louisiana—Judicial Council of the Ohio—Supreme Court of Ohio, Ohio Wyoming—Supreme Court of Supreme Court of Louisiana. Department of Youth Services; and Wyoming Court Services. the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Maryland—Department of Juvenile Division. Justice. Oklahoma—Oklahoma Office of Massachusetts—Administrative Juvenile Affairs. Office of the Courts. vi Juvenile Court Statistics 1999 Table of Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................... v Preface ........................................................................................................................ix Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................