Over the past 20 years, punitive approaches and policies similar to those of the criminal justice system have become prominent in our schools (Gonsoulin, Zablocki, Leone, 2012). These local, state, and federal education and public safety policies serve to remove students from the educational environment and channel them into the criminal justice…

Using an integrated administrative data set, out-of-home residential placements (i.e., child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health) were examined in a sample of early adolescents in a large urban school district. Out-of-home placements were tracked across Grades 7 to 9 in a population of 58,000 youth. This included 10,911 students identified…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the perceptions of school membership, risk factors, and behavioral and academic engagement among a sample of alternative school students. The study subjects were 48 7th-9th graders who were at high risk for school failure because of their serious and chronic behavioral and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the perceptions of school membership, risk factors, and school outcomes among a sample of alternative school students. The study subjects were 48 7th-9th graders who were at high risk for school failure because of their serious and chronic behavioral and academic problems. All…

In 2000, Cook, Murphy, and Hunt published a multilevel study of Chicago inner-city schools in order to evaluate James Comer's School Development Program (SDP). One main finding was that SDP reduced the rate of change and final posttest mean when delinquency was assessed annually between Grades 5 and 8 using a self-report measure of acting out. The…

This article examines the short-term impact of formal criminal labeling on involvement in deviant social networks and increased likelihood of subsequent delinquency. According to labeling theory, formal criminal intervention should affect the individual's immediate social networks. In many cases, the stigma of the criminal status may increase the…

Violence among American youth is a significant societal problem. The past decade witnessed juvenile arrests for violence, weapons, drugs, and curfew violations peak in the mid 90's. Analogous to the arrest trends for older juveniles, the arrest rate for young offenders rose 63% from 1987 until 1994 when it declined slightly. Since that time,…