NCJ Number
67375
Date Published
1979
Length
105 pages
Annotation
DATA ON WYOMING'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND JUVENILES' PROBLEMS INVOLVING THE SYSTEM ARE PRESENTED, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE PERIOD FROM 1975 THROUGH 1978.
Abstract
AREAS INVESTIGATED INCLUDED ARRESTS, COURT DATA, PROBATION AND PAROLE DATA, INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENTS AND CONTACTS WITH COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS, ABUSE AND NEGLECT CASES, AND OTHER DATA. DATA WERE COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS AND FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS BY PROFESSIONALS PRIVY TO THE INTERNAL WORKINGS OF MANY AGENCIES. RESULTS SHOWED THAT DUE TO THE JUVENILE SYSTEM'S COMPLEXITY, A JUVENILE MIGHT TAKE MANY PATHS AFTER ENTRY INTO THE SYSTEM. JUVENILES ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT 25 PERCENT OF ALL THE STATE'S ARRESTS AND ABOUT 38 PERCENT OF ALL SERIOUS FELONY ARRESTS. IN 1978, THERE WERE ABOUT 35 JUVENILE ARRESTS PER 1,000 JUVENILES. ALMOST THREE-FIFTHS OF THE KNOWN STATUS OFFENSES WERE COMMITTED BY FEMALES. COMMITMENTS TO STATE JUVENILE INSTITUTIONS HAVE RISEN OVER TIME. REPORTS OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT HAVE INCREASED BY 1,594 PERCENT FROM 1971 TO 1978. IN APRIL 1979, 383 CHILDREN WERE IN FOSTER CARE. ALTHOUGH THE PERCENTAGE OF JUVENILES OBTAINING DRIVERS' LICENSES DECLINED BY 9.5 PERCENT BETWEEN 1974 AND 1978, THE RATE OF SERIOUS JUVENILE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS INCREASED BY 50 PERCENT IN THE SAME PERIOD. THE DATA COLLECTION PROCESS INDICATED THE INADEQUACIES OF JUVENILE JUSTICE INFORMATION IN WYOMING. SPECIFIC INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE RECORDED INCLUDES LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, CUSTODY STATUS, OCCUPATION, REASON FOR REFERRAL OR CONTACT, SOURCE OF REFERRAL, INTAKE DECISION, REASON FOR DETENTION, TYPE OF HEARING, DISPOSITION, AND PLACEMENT. EXTENSIVE TABLES, A MAP, AND A FLOW CHART ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)