Youth with disabilities are disproportionately represented in juvenile justice populations and their education-related outcomes and rates of high school graduation are poor. This study examined academic characteristics of youth with and without disabilities (N = 4,066) and reports on the education-related outcomes of these youth 3 years after release from juvenile justice facilities in Florida. During commitment, youth with disabilities earned high school credits and grade point averages on par with their peers without disabilities. The number of credits earned during commitment improved the likelihood that youth returned to school after release. However, only 44% of the school-age cohort returned to school after release. Students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) and learning disabilities (LD) returned to school at higher rates but did not maintain gains made during commitment as they earned significantly fewer high school diplomas after return to school. Implications for transition practice are discussed.
AbramsL.ShannonS.SangalangC. (2008). Transition services for incarcerated youth: A mixed methods evaluation study. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 522–535.
2.
AlmqvistL.GranlundM. (2005). Participation in school environment of children and youth with disabilities: A person-oriented approach. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 46, 305–314.
3.
AtkinsT.BullisM.TodisB. (2005). Converging and diverging service delivery systems in alternative education programs for disabled and non-disabled youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Correctional Education, 56, 253–285.
4.
BaltodanoH.HarrisP.RutherfordR. (2005). Academic achievement in juvenile corrections: Examining the impact of age, ethnicity, and disability. Education & Treatment of Children, 28, 361–379.
5.
BenzM.LindstromL.YovanoffP. (2000). Improving graduation and employment outcomes of students with disabilities: Predictive factors and student perspectives. Exceptional Children, 66, 509–529.
6.
BullisM.YovanoffM. (2002). Those who do not return: Correlates of the work and school engagement of formerly incarcerated youth who remain in the community. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 66–78.
7.
BullisM.YovanoffM. (2006). Idle hands: Community employment experiences of formerly incarcerated youth. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 71–85.
8.
BullisM.YovanoffP.MuellerG.HavelE. (2002). Life on the “outs”-Examination of the facility-to-community transition of incarcerated youth. Exceptional Children, 69, 7–22.
9.
BurkeL.VivianJ. (2002). The effect of college programming on recidivism rates at the Hampden County House of Correction: A 5-year study. Journal of Correctional Education, 52, 160–162.
10.
BurrellS.WarboysL. (2000). Special education and the juvenile justice system. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
11.
BurtonS. E.FinnM.LivingstonD.ScullyK.BalesW.PadgettK. (2004). Applying a crime seriousness scale to measure changes in the severity of offenses by individuals arrested in Florida. Justice Research and Policy, 6, 1–18.
12.
CarterE.LaneK.PiersonM.StangK. (2008). Promoting self-determination for transition-age youth: Views of high school general and special educators. Exceptional Children, 75, 55–70.
13.
CernkovichS.GiardanoP. (1992). School bonding, race, and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 261–292.
14.
DorenB.BullisM.BenzM. (1996). Predicting the arrest status of adolescents with disabilities in transition. Journal of Special Education, 29, 363–380.
15.
FoleyR. (2001). Academic characteristics of incarcerated youth and correctional educational programs: A literature review. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9, 248–259.
16.
GagnonJ.RichardsC. (2008). Making the right turn: A guide about improving transition outcomes of youth involved in the juvenile corrections system. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth, Institute for Educational Leadership.
17.
HagnerD.MalloyJ.MazzoneM.CormierG. (2008). Youth with disabilities in the criminal justice system. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 16, 240–247.
18.
HerzD.RyanJ.BilchikS. (2010). Challenges facing crossover youth: An examination of juvenile-justice decision making and recidivism. Family Court Review, 48, 305–321.
19.
HosmerD.LemeshowS. (2000). Applied logistic regression (2nd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley.
20.
JenkinsP. (1997). School delinquency and the school social bond. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 34, 337–367.
21.
JimersonS.AndersonG.WhippleA. (2002). Winning the battle and losing the war: Examining the relation between grade retention and dropping out of high school. Psychology in the Schools, 39, 441–457.
22.
Just Children. (2003). A summary of best practices in school reentry for incarcerated youth returning home. Charlottesville, VA: Legal Aid Justice Center.
23.
Juvenile Justice Education Enhancement Project. (2006). Annual report, 2005. Tallahassee: Florida Department of Education and Florida State University.
24.
Juvenile Justice Education Enhancement Project. (2007). Annual report, 2006. Tallahassee: Florida Department of Education and Florida State University.
25.
KeeleyJ. H. (2006). Will adjudicated youth return to school after residential placement? The results of a predictive variable study. Journal of Correctional Education, 57, 65–85.
26.
KrezmienM.MulcahyC.LeoneP. (2008). Detained and committed youth: Examining differences in achievement, mental health needs, and special education status. Education & Treatment of Children, 31, 445–464.
27.
KvarfordtC.PurcellP.ShannonP. (2005). Youth with learning disabilities in the juvenile justice system: A training needs assessment of detention and court services personnel. Child & Youth Care Forum, 34, 27–42.
28.
LaneK.CarterE. (2006). Supporting transition-age youth with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders at the secondary level: A need for further inquiry. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 66–70.
29.
LeoneP.HymanE.MeiselS.RaleyN. (2003, May17). Race, disability, and impact of school practices on court-involved youth. Presented at the School to Jail Pipeline Conference, Harvard Civil Rights Project, Cambridge, MA.
30.
LivseyS.SickmundM.SladkyA. (2009). Juvenile residential facility census, 2004: Selected findings. Juvenile Offenders and Victims National Report Series. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
31.
MazzottiV.HigginsK. (2006). Public schools and the juvenile justice system. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41, 295–301.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2009). The nation’s report card. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
34.
Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention. (2009). Juvenile justice bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
35.
QuinnM.RutherfordR.LeoneP.OsherD.PoirerJ. (2005). Youth with disabilities in juvenile corrections: A national survey. Exceptional Children, 71, 339–345.
36.
RobinsonT. R.RapportM. J. (1999). Providing special education in the juvenile justice system. Remedial and Special Education, 20, 19–26.
37.
SickmundM. (2002). Juvenile offenders in residential placement: 1997–1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, OJJDP.
38.
UnruhD.GauJ.WaintrupM. (2009). An exploration of factors reducing recidivism rates of formerly incarcerated youth with disabilities participating in an re-entry intervention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18, 284–293.
39.
WagnerM.DavisM. (2006). How are we preparing students with emotional disturbance for transition to young adulthood? Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study–2. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 86–98.
40.
WhiteN.LoeberR. (2008). Bullying and special education as predictors of serious delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 45, 380–397.
41.
WolfordB. (2000). Youth education in the juvenile justice system. Corrections Today, 128–130.
42.
ZabelR.NigroF. (2001). The influence of special education experience and gender of juvenile offenders on academic achievement scores in reading, language, and mathematics. Behavioral Disorders, 26, 164–172.
