The Impact of Secure Detention for Truancy on Educational and Juvenile Justice Outcomes: A Cross System Analyses in Colorado

Authors

  • Diane R. Fox Center for Research Strategies Author
  • Tara Wass Center for Research Strategies Author
  • Sarah McGuire Center for Research Strategies Author
  • Carli Friss Center for Research Strategies Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52935/

Keywords:

Truancy, Status offense, Secure detention, Academic outcomes, Juvenile justice

Abstract

While there is substantial literature to suggest that low level offenders should not be securely detained, there is little literature specific to the truancy population. There is considerable debate on the utility of secure detention for youth found truant but very little data to inform that debate. This study investigated the relation between the utilization of secure detention as a sanction for truancy and juvenile justice and educational outcomes. Youth with court oversight for truancy were matched to data from education, juvenile justice, and child welfare to examine events and services that preceded and followed truancy
court involvement. Logistic regression models were created to predict detention for truancy, subsequent criminal filings, and high school graduation. Results indicate that local practices impact the likelihood of truancy detention to a greater extent than individual youth factors. Furthermore, truancy detention is a significant contributor to the likelihood of committing subsequent criminal offenses and makes graduating from high school 14.5 times less likely to occur for detained youth than for youth found truant but not detained. Results of this study could be used to educate policy and other decision makers about the lack of successful outcomes associated with securely detaining youth found truant.

Author Biographies

  • Diane R. Fox, Center for Research Strategies

    Diane Fox, Ph.D. is the Director of Human Services Research at the Center for Research Strategies in Denver, CO. Diane received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Developmental Psychology from the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and a B.S. in Biology and Psychology from the University of Denver. She currently works as a professional evaluator in human services and juvenile justice related fields. Diane has worked for both the Colorado Division of Mental Health and the Division of Youth Corrections. Much of her career has been dedicated to evaluating programs and policies the impact the lives of young people and other vulnerable populations. She has worked with very large data sets from multiple government agencies to
    conduct cross-system analyses on the costs and impacts of services on individuals with complex needs.

  • Tara Wass, Center for Research Strategies

    Tara Wass, Ph.D. is the Director of Research Design and Statistics at the Center for Research Strategies in Denver, CO. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Denver and B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. Tara currently evaluates programs in a variety of content areas including juvenile justice, HIV prevention, truancy, and specialty courts. She has worked with multiple clients to enhance data systems and refine data collection efforts to enable them to collect the necessary data to describe and evaluate the impact of their practices. Before embarking on a career in program evaluation, Tara completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State University and was an Assistant Professor of Child & Family Studies at the University of Tennessee.

  • Sarah McGuire, Center for Research Strategies

    Sarah McGuire, M.S. is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Research Strategies in Denver, CO. She received her M.S from Northeastern University and B.A. from Colgate University in Hamilton, NY. She currently works as a research analyst in the areas of juvenile justice, HIV prevention, truancy, and specialty courts. In previous positions, she has worked on the evaluation of multiple SAMSHA funded projects in the areas of rural mental health and school safety.

  • Carli Friss, Center for Research Strategies

    Carli Friss, B.A., is a Research Assistant at the Center for Research Strategies in Denver, CO. Carli received her dual B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. She currently works as a research/evaluation assistant in the areas of HIV prevention, specialty courts, and juvenile justice. Prior to that, she worked as a research assistant for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) at Fort Carson, CO assisting in studies involving neuro-feedback training as a treatment for soldiers suffering from cognitive and emotional problems that can persist after a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

References

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Henry, K. L., & Huizinga, D. H. (2006). Truancy’s effect on the onset of drug use among urban adolescents placed at risk. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40, e9-e17.

Henry, K. L., & Thornberry, T. P. (2010). Truancy and escalation of substance use during adolescence. Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs, 7, 115-124.

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State of Colorado General Assembly. HB 13-1021. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/billcontainers/C171B2194B8967C287257A8E0073C1C9/$FILE/1021_01.pdf

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Published

01/01/2016

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2016): JAJJS 2016 Issue

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2016 Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

The Impact of Secure Detention for Truancy on Educational and Juvenile Justice Outcomes: A Cross System Analyses in Colorado. (2016). Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, 30(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.52935/

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