Youth Trauma Experiences and the Path from Child Welfare to Juvenile Justice, Chicago, Illinois, 2007-2017 (ICPSR 39104)

Version Date: Oct 15, 2024

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Principal Investigator(s):
Leah Gjertson, University of Chicago. Chapin Hall

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39104.v1

Version V1

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Summary

This study examines how child characteristics, measures of trauma, risks, strengths, type and duration of child welfare involvement, and community factors affect the likelihood of child welfare system-involved youth encountering the juvenile justice system in Chicago, IL.

This study draws on four sources of administrative data. Data were obtained from the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (IDCFS) and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ); from one county juvenile court and probation services division (Juvenile Probation and Court Services [JPCS] of the Cook County Circuit Court); and from one municipal police department (the Chicago Police Department [CPD]). The researchers used these data to match youth across systems and to provide detailed knowledge about child welfare system involvement, trauma experiences, child strengths and risks, and particular juvenile justice outcomes. Arrest data is available through September 2017. Child welfare and juvenile court data are available through December 2017. Data for juvenile corrections from the IDJJ is only available through June 2016; however, the researchers used a corresponding indicator in the juvenile court data to capture this outcome through December 2017.

Citation

Gjertson, Leah. Youth Trauma Experiences and the Path from Child Welfare to Juvenile Justice, Chicago, Illinois, 2007-2017. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-10-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39104.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2016-MU-MU-0069)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2007 -- 2017

Data Collection Notes

  1. No data are included in this collection. Researchers interested in inquiring about the data used in this project should refer to data source section of the project's final report. Data provider agency names along with the specific study data that were requested are listed in the report.

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Study Purpose

The researchers sought to answer the research question: "How do child characteristics, measures of trauma, risks and strengths, type and duration of child welfare involvement, and ecological factors affect the likelihood of child welfare system-involved youth entering the juvenile justice system?" To operationalize the research question, the researchers examined the following hypotheses:

  • Hypothesis 1: Controlling for youth characteristics, age of entry into the child welfare system, type/duration of child welfare system involvement, and community factors, the probability of youth entering the juvenile justice system will increase as the severity of trauma exposure (as measured by the CANS) increases.
  • Hypothesis 2: Controlling for youth characteristics, age of entry into the child welfare system, and type/duration of child welfare system involvement, the probability of youth entering the juvenile justice system will increase as the severity of community distress as measured by the Urban Hardship Index increases.
  • Hypothesis 3: Controlling for youth characteristics, age of entry into the child welfare system, type/duration of child welfare system involvement, and community factors, the probability of youth entering the juvenile justice system will increase as the severity of youth risks (as measured by the CANS risks, trauma stress symptoms, and behavioral/emotional needs domains) increases.
  • Hypothesis 4: Controlling for youth characteristics, age of entry into the child welfare system, type/duration of child welfare system involvement, and community factors; the probability of youth entering the juvenile justice system will increase as the number of youth strengths (as measured by the CANS strengths and life domain functioning domains) in a youth's life decreases.
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    The researchers tested each of the four hypotheses using survival models to analyze how trauma exposure, community distress, youth risk, and youth strengths affect the probability of juvenile justice involvement.

    Study Design

    This study uses an observational, longitudinal cohort study design. The researchers identified a cohort of youth that had been involved in the child welfare system at some point in their lives and captured all child welfare system events (e.g., investigations, substantiated allegations of maltreatment, out-of-home placements, etc.) along with demographic characteristics of the youth. The researchers then observed these youth over time to identify if and when they experience a juvenile justice system contact--specifically an instance of arrest, detention, court involvement, probation sentence, or juvenile corrections--before age 18.

    This study uses a survival analysis approach (Cox proportional-hazard regression) to assess the characteristics and timing associated with youth crossing over into the juvenile justice system and having particular types of juvenile justice system involvement (arrest, detention, court involvement, probation sentence, or juvenile corrections).

    Sample

    The study cohort was drawn from all youth residing in Chicago who had a first child welfare case opened after January 1, 2007. The researchers used this cutoff date for case opening because that is when the CANS (trauma) data first became available in Illinois, due to the IDCFS statewide implementation of the CANS Assessment during all Integrated Assessments (IA). The CANS is a tool administered to young people who are placed in foster care and has not been used consistently across time. It helps clarify (among other things) the extent to which young people have experienced trauma.

    The sample was further restricted to youth born between 1996 and 2002 to allow enough time to follow youth through the age the researchers expected to see them in the juvenile justice system. This resulted in a sample of 22,885 youth. Because the researchers were interested in trauma experiences among children and youth who crossed over from child welfare to juvenile justice, they included in the study only those young people for whom they had CANS information. To do this, the sample was then linked to the CANS assessment through the IDCFS CYCIS system identifier. The researchers restricted the sample to youth with at least one completed CANS assessment (n = 2,072) who do not have pre-existing juvenile justice involvement at the time of the CANS. The resulting study cohort contained 1,633 youth.

    Time Method

    Longitudinal: Cohort / Event-based

    Universe

    Youth, born 1996-2002, residing in Chicago who had a child welfare case opened after January 1, 2007.

    Data Source

    Juvenile Tracking System - Admissions 1993 - June 2016, Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ)

    Child and Youth Centered Information System (CYCIS) 1992-December 2017, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (IDCFS)

    Juvenile Enterprise Management System (JEMS) 2010 - December 2017, Juvenile Probation and Court Services (JPCS) Circuit Court of Cook County

    Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) 2007-December 2017, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (IDCFS)

    Child Abuse & Neglect Tracking System (CANTS/SACWIS) 1992-December 2017, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (IDCFS)

    Chicago Police Department - Arrest and disposition data 1991-September 2017, Chicago Police Department (CPD)

    Data Type(s)

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    Original Release Date

    2024-10-15

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    Notes

    • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.

    • ICPSR usually offers files in multiple formats for researchers to be able to access data and documentation in formats that work well within their needs. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR’s Accessibility Center.

    NACJD logo

    This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.