Equity in the Juvenile Justice System
The analyses in this story focus on several metrics that can help us form an overall picture of youth detained within the Commonwealth’s juvenile justice system. When examined alongside demographic information, these metrics help the JDAI community identify and remedy potential system disparities:
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Admissions – How many youth are detained within the juvenile justice system and what are their demographics?
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Length of Stay – How long are youth held in detention and how does length of stay differ by demographics?
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Bail Status – What portion of youth are held without bail and how does that differ by demographics?
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Bail Amount – What is the typical bail for admitted youth and how does that differ by demographics?
Several of the visuals on this page include partial year data for the current year to provide stakeholders with the most up-to-date information. Trend data for the current year is likely to increase once the full year’s data becomes available.
Grid Level is a classification system that identifies the length of treatment time for each youth adjudicated delinquent of an offense and committed to DYS. Grid level is based on offense severity. The visuals in this data story are filterable by grid level because it is a key factor related to the metrics listed above. While DYS categorizes grid levels on a 1-7 numeric scale, the data on this page simplifies the scale to high (5-7), medium (3-4), and low (1-2).
Examples of common offense types for each grid level category include:
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Low – Disturbing the peace, Petty larceny, Possession of marijuana
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Medium – Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Armed robbery
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High – Carjacking with a firearm, Arson, Murder
This data story highlights trends in admissions, length of stay, and bail amount across grid level, demographics, geography, and DCF-involved status. The visuals are filterable by county to zoom in on JDAI jurisdictions and display data for all counties in the Commonwealth regardless of their membership in JDAI.
Unlike grid level, demographic factors should not affect metrics such as admission rates, lengths of stay, and bail status or amount. All youth should face a level playing field in the juvenile justice system regardless of demographics. Nevertheless, as the data demonstrate, differences in admissions rates and lengths of stay are associated with several demographic factors:
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Race and Ethnicity
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Sex at Birth
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LGBTQ+ Identity
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Age
Additionally, equity outcome metrics – particularly length of stay – might be associated with each youth’s involvement with the Department of Children and Families at the time of admission (DCF Status). DCF typically does not post bail for youth in its custody, even when bail amounts are relatively low.
State and County Context
Juvenile population data is sourced from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations (EZAPOP), a data analysis tool available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Statistical Briefing Book. The population estimates provided are derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and subsequently modified by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To learn more about the data visit EZAPOP's Data Source for Population Estimates page.
Since 2017, approximately 5,500 youth have been admitted to the Massachusetts juvenile justice system. Across years and counties, admissions totals should be considered in the context of relevant juvenile populations. The visuals above show normalized admissions and releases per 10,000 juvenile residents statewide and within each county. To normalize admissions and releases, detained youth are compared to their peers in the general population of Massachusetts. The primary age range when youth enter the juvenile justice system is 12-18, but a small number of youth are ages 18+. Therefore, the detained youth in these datasets have been normalized against a general population that includes youth ages 12 to 20. This approach was used consistently across all years in the visuals on this webpage in order to preserve the accuracy of the trends depicted. Use the menu above each chart to show the actual numbers for admissions or releases.
Additional Resources
Length of Stay
Juvenile population data is sourced from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations (EZAPOP), a data analysis tool available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Statistical Briefing Book. The population estimates provided are derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and subsequently modified by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To learn more about the data visit EZAPOP's Data Source for Population Estimates page.
One of the JDAI Massachusetts strategic goals is to reduce the length of time that all youth spend in detention. JDAI Massachusetts monitors this by tracking the number of days youth are detained, known as the Length of Stay. Length of Stay is the number of days a youth is in detention, from admission date through release.
An increase in length of stay is concerning because of the negative effects that long amounts of time spent in detention can have on youth. Beyond the commonly known dangers of detention, such as peer contagion, increased trauma, and the likelihood of future legal systems involvement, youth who experience lengthy stays in detention face additional negative impacts. Lengthy periods of detention can sever a youth’s connection to established mental or behavioral health services in the community, negate the impact of rehabilitative efforts, delay accountability, and can even result in a miscarriage of justice.
A youth’s length of stay depends on factors such as grid level. However, within a given grid level, data shows that length of stay also varies across race, ethnicity, and other demographic categories. With the decrease of Low Grid Level youth entering detention, more youth admitted have Moderate or High Grid Level charges, which may indicate more complex legal cases that can take longer to resolve in court. Another potential reason is the pandemic. At the height of COVID-19, many court processes were delayed or stalled. Juveniles are still experiencing residual effects from the pandemic that are causing case processing delays, including backlogs in forensic testing, attorney turnover, and virtual hearings.
As with annual admissions, this data story presents annual Length of Stay data by year. The visual above shows the median length of stay filterable by county and grid level and viewable by demographics. Calculations-based groups with relatively few admissions (less than 6) are identified with a red asterisk.
Additional Resources
Youth Admissions
Juvenile population data is sourced from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations (EZAPOP), a data analysis tool available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Statistical Briefing Book. The population estimates provided are derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and subsequently modified by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To learn more about the data visit EZAPOP's Data Source for Population Estimates page.
JDAI Massachusetts monitors detention admissions for all youth in Massachusetts. Once a youth is held by the Juvenile Court, DYS determines where to place them in the detention continuum of hardware secure detention, staff secure detention, and community-based options (supported foster care) based upon risk level. Risk level is determined by an evidence-based screening process conducted within DYS.
Admissions count the number of total admissions to DYS detention facilities, not unique youth. Therefore, a youth who is detained three times in a year would be counted three times in the table above, not once. The decriminalization of first offense misdemeanors for juveniles in 2018 led to a large decrease in the number of youth entering detention for Low Grid Level offenses. The launch of the Diversion Project Learning Lab in 2021 increased access to diversion across the Commonwealth for all youth, but mainly youth charged with low level offenses. JDAI is committed to finding additional ways to continue reduce the numbers of youth entering detention for Low Grid Level offenses.
This data story reports admissions at the county level. Use the filters in the visual above to view admissions by county or grid level. A separate dropdown menu allows you to view annual admissions totals by race/ethnicity, birth sex, age bucket, and LGBTQ+ identification. Selecting both the 10K toggle section and LGBTQ+ filters will result in no data being displayed. This is due to the unavailability of census data.
Because overall youth population differs by county, the visual allows users to view admissions totals per 10,000 youth residents within many demographic categories. Please note that this visual includes admissions for ages 12-20 and normalizes admissions by age bucket using county-level and statewide population statistics for that age range.
Additional Resources
Bail Status and Amount
The visualizations above illustrates annual trends in bail amounts and the proportion of youth held without bail. Use the dropdown filters and view menu to focus on populations of interest. Calculations based groups with relatively few admissions (less than 6) are identified with a red asterisk.
A youth may be placed in detention for several reasons, including but not limited to:
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a judge has set bail, but the youth is unable to pay the bail or meet the bail conditions for release.
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a judge has determined a youth is too dangerous to be released (following a 58A dangerousness hearing).
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Probation violation or violation of conditions of release resulting in bail revocation.
If a youth is charged with a specific offense listed in Massachusetts' law (Chapter 276, Sec. 58A) and the assistant district attorney (ADA) thinks the youth is dangerous, the ADA can ask the court to hold the youth without bail (no money or conditions set). If this happens, a hearing must be scheduled and the youth must be detained until the hearing.
The visualization below shows the reasons youth were held without bail since 2017. You can use the menus to view this data by demographic, filter it by county or grid level, and normalize it by population. Selecting both the 10K toggle section and LGBTQ+ filters will result in no data being displayed. This is due to the unavailability of census data.
Juvenile population data is sourced from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations (EZAPOP), a data analysis tool available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Statistical Briefing Book. The population estimates provided are derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and subsequently modified by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To learn more about the data visit EZAPOP's Data Source for Population Estimates page.
Additional Resources
Department of Children and Families (DCF) Status
Juvenile population data is sourced from Easy Access to Juvenile Populations (EZAPOP), a data analysis tool available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Statistical Briefing Book. The population estimates provided are derived from data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and subsequently modified by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To learn more about the data visit EZAPOP's Data Source for Population Estimates page.
A significant proportion of detained youth are involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF involvement means that, at the time of their admission to detention, a youth has an open case in the juvenile courts with DCF - either a Care and Protection order or a Child Requiring Assistance matter. The proportion of youth who are DCF involved changes from year to year. The visuals above show the number of annual admissions and the multi-year demographic profile for DCF and non-DCF involved youth. Use the dropdown menus to change the focus for each visual.
A detained youth’s involvement with DCF may significantly affect length of stay, independent of grid level. All detained youth arrive at DYS with a legal document called a mittimus, on which the judge may stipulate a cash bail, stipulate release only to DCF, or decide that there will be no bail — meaning the youth may not be released. Therefore, a percentage of youth have a bail amount set by the juvenile court with a stipulation that they may only be released into DCF custody. DCF often does not have appropriate placements for youth held on low bail for low-level offenses. Therefore, These youth may be detained for relatively long periods because there is no suitable placement to release them to, not because they are charged with offenses that would usually merit such lengthy detentions.
Additional Resources
Next Steps
The data visualizations in this dashboard highlight several key areas where continued focus is needed: race equity, length of stay, and Low Grid Level offenses. These areas of focus are not new. In fact, they are all specific areas listed within JDAI’s core strategies. While great progress has been made across the Commonwealth in each of these areas over the past 15 years, it is clear there is still work to be done. The hope is that having access to this up to date, accurate data will inspire commitment to this work and guide reform efforts in a direction that will be equitable, impactful, and long lasting.
Key Terms and Metadata
Metadata
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Update Frequency |
Quarterly |
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Last Update |
July 13, 2023 |
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Planned Next Update |
October 2023 |
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Data Product Description |
Interactive data story |
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High Level Data Description |
Sentencing, demographic, and geographic data for youth involved in the juvenile justice system |
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Data Steward |
Department of Youth Services |
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Data Collection Method |
Data reported to federal and state authorities by local police departments |
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Why Data Is Collected |
Track demographics and other equity factors for youth in the MA juvenile justice system |
Key Terms
All Other Races: Individuals in the following race categories are reported in "Other" in these visualizations: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Unknown race categories.
Bail: In order to reasonably assure that a person charged with an offense will appear at all court dates, the court can require that a sum of money be paid or that the person agree to abide by certain conditions of release in the community.
Bail Revocation: A judge can revoke a youth's right to bail at any time during the pendency of a case if the youth violates their terms or conditions of release or is arrested for a new offense and poses a danger to the community or is unlikely to follow additional conditions of release.
Bail Stipulation: A condition or set of conditions that must be met in order for a young person to be released on bail.
Dangerousness (58A) Hearing: If a youth is charged with a specific offense listed in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 276, Section 58A, and the District Attorney believes the youth would pose too great a danger to the public to release pretrial, the District Attorney can ask the court to hold the child without bail. The judge makes the final determination after a hearing.
DCF Involvement: DCF involvement means that, at the time of their admission to detention, a youth has an open case in the juvenile courts with DCF - either a Care and Protection order or a Child Requiring Assistance matter.
Detention: A youth is detained when a judge orders the youth into the care of the Department of Youth Services (DYS) while awaiting disposition of a pending delinquency or youthful offender charge. This occurs after a youth has been arrested and arraigned on a new offense or in connection with violation of probation or conditions of release.
Detention Admission: Admissions count the number of total number of admissions to DYS detention facilities for a given time period, not the number of individual youth admitted.
Grid Level: The Department of Youth Services categorizes the seriousness of an offense by “grid level.” This is a numeric representation ranging from 1 (least serious) to 7 (most serious), based on the adult sentencing guidelines.
Held for (68A) Evaluation: A youth may be referred to the department of youth services and held without bail for up to 30 days for the purposes of a mental health diagnostic study resulting in a report and recommendations to the court pursuant to in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 119, Section 68A.
Length of Stay: The number of days (for a particular detention stay) a youth is in detention prior to posting bail or release by the court.
Most Serious Offense: Youth entering detention may have multiple charges. DYS tracks the offense with the highest assigned grid level and offense type for which the youth is detained.
Personal Recognizance: The court's decision to release a youth charged with an offense without the requirement of posting bail based on the youth's good reputation and promise to return to court.
Violation of Probation: When a youth is placed on probation, conditions of their probation are set by the judge. If a youth fails to comply with any of these conditions, a probation officer may issue a probation violation notice and a youth may be detained for a limited period of time after appearing in court.
Contact
For all inquiries related to the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, please email jdai@massmail.state.ma.us.
| Date published: | July 13, 2023 |
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| Last updated: | July 13, 2023 |