Initial and Revised Classification of Juveniles by the Juvenile Justice System, Volume III: Results of a Seven State Case Decision Survey

• NCJ Number: 115265
• Author(s): C P Smith; T E Black; F Campbell; D Baker
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 40 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: US Securities and Exchange Cmssn
• Corporate Author: American Justice Institute
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

These preliminary draft tables and figures present the first results from a case-decision survey of juvenile justice personnel in seven sample States.

Abstract

The survey was designed to determine the factors that affect juvenile justice staff decisions in classifying juveniles as dependent/neglected, abused/victimized, incorrigible/status offenders, or delinquent/youthful offenders; a second objective of the survey was to help identify factors important to agency staff in making case dispositions. The seven sample States represented a broad range of possible juvenile justice systems. In each State classification and dispositional decision information was collected from agency staff in six major system components. These are law enforcement; court intake and protective services intake; prosecution; courts; probation, protective services, and parole supervision; and parole boards and juvenile institutions. The survey collected the following basic categories of information on factors that could influence classification and dispositional decisions about how juveniles are handled in the juvenile justice system: juvenile justice system component, case classification decisions, selected dispositional options, selected case-related variables, referral incident, decision point, respondents' personal characteristics, agencies' environment, and perceived offense seriousness. Extensive tables and figures.