As we’ve highlighted before, youth who commit status offenses, behaviors prohibited only by age, have better long-term outcomes when they are kept in their communities and receive appropriate services and support. Youth who run away, skip school, or self-medicate with alcohol are often responding to larger issues at home or in their school. Juvenile justice systems across the country are exploring better ways to work with status offending youth that address that better address their needs. As reforms addressing the criminalization and detainment of youth status offenders have taken root, some concerning disparities have come to light.
Girls and LGBTQ-identifying youth are arrested for status offenses at higher rates and are subject to harsher punishment. Behaviors that lead to status offenses are often the best, adaptive coping skills that a youth has to deal with abuse, neglect, addiction, bullying, violence, or harassment. LGBTQ-identifying youth are twice as likely to be detained for status offenses and are subject to harsher discipline for dress code violations, truancy, or skipping class. They may also be running away from home if their family is not supportive of their identity.
The Crittenton Foundation has studied girls in their juvenile justice programs to better understand their unique stories and needs. They’ve found that up to 73% of girls in the juvenile justice system have past histories of physical and sexual violence. Other studies have found that 62% of girls in the juvenile justice system have had four or more adverse childhood experiences. Perceiving girls as “bad girls”, who are not conforming to our deeply embedded gender role expectations, contributes to a misunderstanding of the root causes of behavior.
When enacting reforms to better the meet the needs of status offending youth, we must also be aware of and sensitive to gender identity, sexual orientation, and trauma history. Creating universal assessments that are responsive to the variety of needs youth may have is critical to helping them move forward successfully.
by Emily Bergman