In What Time Period Were Kids Committing Most Violent Crime?

Mid-70’s to Early 80’s Mid-90’s Mid-2000’s

Objectives

1. Define what “At-risk” means.

2. Determine behaviors youth are “At-risk” for.

3. Identify how school policies can create “At-risk” youth.

4. Identify current trends in youth behaviors and how it impacts youth “At-risk”.

5. Identify linkage between youth “At-risk” and trauma.

What Does “At-Risk” Mean

Howell, J. C. (2003). Preventing & Reducing Juvenile Delinquency. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Predictors of Delinquency

• For ages 6-11, the strongest predictors for serious or violent offenses are early involvement in delinquency (general offenses) and drug use. The weakest predictor is antisocial peer association.

• For ages 12-14, the strongest predictors for serious of violent offenses are a lack of social ties and having antisocial peers. The weakest predictors are substance abuse and ethnicity.

Key Protective Factors

Protective Factors

Personal and Social Skills1,2

Positive peer modeling

Positive bonding with family, teachers

and other adults1

Healthy beliefs that criminal behavior is

not acceptable1

Opportunities for prosocial

involvement in family, school and

community1

Self-efficacy2

High quality schools/connection

to school2

Youth At-Risk in Schools

Graduation Rates Decline

Every school day, more than 7,200 students fall through the cracks of America's public high schools. Three out of every 10 members of this year’s graduating class, 1.3 million students in all, will fail to graduate with a diploma. A majority of non-graduates are members of historically disadvantaged minorities and other educationally underserved groups.

Swanson, C. B. (2010, June 2). U.S. Graduation Rate Continues Decline. Education Week , pp. 22-23. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/10/34swanson.h29.html

K-12 Suspension Rate Increases

Losen, D.J., Skiba, R. Suspended Education: Urban Middle Schools in Crisis. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/publications/suspended-education

School to Prison Pipeline

In Richardson, Texas, a 14-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome was given a $364 police citation in May 2009 for using an expletive in his classroom.

In October 2009, a six-year-old student in Newark, Delaware was so excited about joining the Cub Scouts that he brought his camping utensil to school to use at lunch. Because the tool had a small knife, he was suspended and referred to an alternative school for 45 days.

In May 2007, an 8th-grader in Norfolk, Virginia,was suspended and ordered into a program forsubstance abusers after she got some Tylenol froma classmate to deal with a headache.

A 12-year old student in Stuart, Florida, wasarrested in November 2008 for “disrupting aschool function.” The “disruption” was that the student had “passed gas.”

In Florida, there were over 21,000 arrests and referrals of students to the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice in 2007-2008, and 69% of them were for misdemeanor offenses.

In Pennsylvania, the number of school-based arrests has almost tripled in just seven years.

Youth At-Risk at Home

Living Arrangement for Youth

•The proportion of children living in single-parent homes more than doubled between 1970 and 2009 from 12% to 26%.

***The Current Population Survey methodology changed to more accurately reflect children’s co-residence with their parents. This change is reflected in the estimates beginning in 2007, where two parent homes include all homes in which a child lives with both parents, married or unmarried (biological, step or adoptive).

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey - Families and Living Arrangements, Historical Tables. Table CH-1: "Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present." [Internet release date: January 2010].

Youth Living in Poverty

Youth At-Risk in the Community

Gang Involvement

National Youth Gang Center (2009). National Youth Gang Survey Analysis. Retrieved [date] from http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/Survey-Analysis

Teen Pregnancy

Youth At-Risk and Substance Abuse

Marijuana

Source: Monitoring the Future study, University of Michigan, 2010. Retrieved from: http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/10data/fig10_4.pdf

Other Drug Usage Trends

Ecstasy

Cocaine

Prescription

LSD *

Over the Counter Cough and ColdJohnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (December 14, 2010). "Marijuana use is rising; ecstasy use is beginning to rise; and alcohol use is declining among U.S. teens." University of Michigan News Service: Ann Arbor, MI. Retrieved MM/DD/YYYY from http://www.monitoringthefuture.org

Alcohol Usage

Source: Monitoring the Future study, University of Michigan, 2010. Retrieved from: http://monitoringthefuture.org/data/10data.html#2010data-drugs

New Drug Trends

Crime and At-Risk Youth

Decrease in Juvenile Crime Across Most Categories

Youth Violence• In 2007, 5,764 young people ages 10 to 24 were murdered—an

average of 16 each day (CDC 2010a). • Homicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for young people ages

10 to 24 years old (CDC 2010a).• Among 10 to 24 year-olds, 86% (4,973) of homicide victims were

male and 14% (791) were female (CDC 2010a). • Among homicide victims ages 10 to 24 years-old, 84% were killed

with a firearm (CDC 2010a).• Among 10 to 24 year-olds, homicide is the leading cause of death

for African Americans; the second leading cause of death for Hispanics; and the third leading cause of death for Asian/Pacific Islanders and American Indians and Alaska Natives (CDC 2010a).

Some Female “At-Risk” Behaviors Increasing Criminal Behavior in Girls

Between 1999 and 2008, the number of larceny-theft arrests of juvenile females grew 4% while juvenile male arrests declined 29%, and adult female arrests grew more than adult male arrests (29% and 4%, respectively).

Juvenile Justice Bulletin: Juvenile Arrests 2008 (December 2009).Washington: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. U.S. Department of Justice.

The Link Between Abuse and Crime

•36% of all women in prison were abused as children •Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime.

Trauma and At-Risk Youth

Link Between Trauma and Being At-RiskBeing abused or neglected as a child increases the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 59% (Widom, 1995).

One study found that over 90% of juvenile detainees reported having experienced at least one traumatic incident (Arroyo, 2001).

Rates of PTSD among youth in juvenile justice settings range from 3 percent in some to over 50 percent in others .(Arroyo, 2001).These rates are up to eight times as high as in community samples of similar-age peers (Saignet al., 1999).

Among a sample of female juvenile offenders, 74 percent reported being hurt or in danger of being hurt, 60 percent reported being raped or in danger of being raped, and 76 percent reported witnessing someone being severely injured or killed (Cauffman, 1998).

(Anda and Feletti, 2003)

Behavioral Responses to Trauma

Any questions or suggestions contact: Bryce Barnhart

Director of Professional Developmentbab@amikids.org