Female and Male Juvenile Offenders with Disabilities: Differences in the Barriers to Their Transition to the Community:

Juvenile arrests for individuals under the age of 18 numbered approximately 2.3 million in 2001, accounting for about 17% of all arrests. Involvement in the juvenile justice system is highly correlated with additional problem behaviors, including problem drinking and drug use, school failure, and frequent or early sexual activity (Donovan & Jessor, 1985; Donovan, Jessor, & Costa, 1988; Dryfoos, 1990). Often these problem behaviors continue to be displayed past adolescence into adulthood (Moffitt, 1993; Patterson, 1982). Much of the research in the juvenile justice system focuses generically on the total juvenile justice population-primarily male-with minimal literature examining important subpopulations (Chesney-Lind, 2001; Hartwig & Myers, 2003; Lipsey, 1992). For example, approximately 645,000-28%-of all juvenile arrests in 2001 were females under the age of 18 (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs, 2003). Moreover, between 40%-70% of all youth who are incarcerated possess some type of disabling condition, either a special education diagnosis or a mental health disorder (Leone, Rutherford, & Nelson, 1991; Wolford, 2000). The goal of this article is to examine key differences or similarities in terms of demographic or background variables of female youth offenders with disabilities compared with their male counterparts that may pose barriers to successful facility-to-community transition.Juvenile crime has decreased consistently over the last decade, although adjudication rates for females have increased. Delinquency cases for young women increased at a rate of 59% from 1990 to 1999 compared with only a 19% increase for males (Stahl, 2003). The increased crime rate for females is distributed across all offense categories (e.g., assault, robbery, motor vehicle theft). Even with this increased prosecution for crime types for females, specific types remain disparate when compared with males. Historically, females have been prosecuted disproportionately for status offenses (i.e., those crimes that would not be defined as criminal if the youth were an adult) (Chesney-Lind, 1997). For example, females represented 28% of all juvenile arrests in 2001 and accounted for only 23% of all juvenile arrests for aggravated assault-a violent crime-as well as 59% of all arrests for running away from home and 31% of juvenile arrests for curfew and loitering law violations-all status offenses (Snyder, 2003).Prior research that examines characteristics of young women prior to delinquency indicates key differences between males and females. During typical adolescent development, females experience more episodes of depression than males; additionally, self-esteem during this period is diminished for females while male self-esteem increases (Rutter, 1989). Juvenile female offenders are reported to experience more sexual abuse-and at higher frequencies-than do males, resulting in a higher percentage of females either running away from home or being placed in protective custody in foster care or residential living placement (Chesney-Lind, 1997). These combined characteristics suggest a separate set of risk factors for juvenile offending young women compared to their male counterparts.Barriers to a successful transition from a youth correctional facility for juvenile offenders may be influenced by factors prior to incarceration. In general, adolescents involved in the criminal justice system demonstrate lack of success in school or community endeavors, which often leads to poor adjustments to adult life. Adjudicated youth are cited for problems in school-both academic and behavioral-and the community prior to incarceration (Pollard, Pollard, & Meers, 1995; Zabel & Nigro, 1999) and are more likely to drop out of school prior to receiving an education completion document (Brier, 1995).The bulk of the research on transition outcomes for juvenile offenders traditionally has not been disaggregated for males and females. …