Welcome to the online module for crossover youth.
This module will discuss the implications for research and practice regarding crossover youth
based on previous empirical research.
Our project team at the University of Minnesota, School of Social Work includes Minhae Cho,
and Wendy Haight, Professor and Gamble-Skogmo Chair.
We are grateful for the financial support of the Gamble-Skogmo endowment and Federal
Title IV-E funding through the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Center for Advanced
Studies in Child Welfare.
In this module, We are going to introduce a longitudinal study
of crossover youth: its purpose and results.
Based on the study findings, we will discuss implications for interventions, with a focus
on prevention.
We will also talk about directions for future research.
Crossover youth.
Crossover youth are broadly defined as youth who have experienced some forms of maltreatment
including abuse, neglect and have engaged in delinquency.
They can become first involved either in the child welfare system or in the juvenile justice system.
But in 90 percent of the crossover youth cases, youth first show up in the child welfare system
and then cross over into the juvenile justice system.
Empirical studies consistently support that maltreatment places youth at greater risk
of involvement in the juvenile justice system.
Such involvement further compound risks of already vulnerable youth.
Early involvement in the juvenile justice system.
In addition, maltreated youth become involved in the juvenile justice system at younger
ages than their counterparts who have no maltreatment histories, that is, delinquency-only youth.
For example, in ten California counties, 29 percent of maltreated youth but only 19 percent
of delinquency-only youth entered the juvenile justice system before age 14.
In Arizona, crossover youth experienced probation, first delinquency petition, and first time
detention at younger ages than their delinquency-only counterparts
Early involvement in juvenile justice system.
A considerable body of research in criminology and psychology has identified two distinct
trajectories of antisocial behavior.
First, the relatively early onset of delinquency before age 14 is predictive of serious and
continuing offending by age 18.
In other words, youth who commit delinquency behaviors at younger ages tend to commit more
and more serious subsequent offenses over a longer period of time than do those youth
who first engage in delinquency at later ages.
Second, later onset of delinquency is associated with distance from adult crime.
Delinquent careers in this group are relatively brief.
Youth who commit delinquent behaviors at later ages mostly desist from subsequent delinquency
by adulthood.
Thus, maltreated youth, who tend to become involved in delinquency at earlier ages than
their delinquency-only counterpart, may be more likely as a group to show continuing
offending.
Indeed, crossover youth have higher recidivism rates than delinquent youth who are not maltreated.
For example, the rate of subsequent arrest was 72 percent for crossover youth and 61
percent for delinquent-only youth.
Among first-time violent juvenile offenders, youth with open child welfare cases were 1.36
times more likely to recidivate than those who were not under the supervision of the
child welfare system at the time of arrest.
The purpose of this research.
Existing research consistently indicates that the early onset of delinquency results in
more negative developmental outcomes than the later onset of delinquency.
Understanding risk factors associated with the early onset of delinquency is foundational
for designing effective preventive interventions targeted to risk factors for
continuing delinquent and/or adult criminal behaviors.
This study explores risk factors associated with the early onset of delinquency for maltreated
youth in Minnesota.
Research methods.
This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods design in which a quantitative
data analysis is followed by qualitative data collection and analysis.
The quantitative data is used to examine delinquency rates and risk factors of early involvement
in the juvenile justice system for maltreated youth.
The qualitative data is used to explore the perspectives and experiences of professionals
who are currently working with crossover youth.
The goal was to increase our understanding of the results from the quantitative study
by providing a more contextualized description of crossover youth.
For the quantitative study, we obtained administrative data from Minnesota Department of Education,
Human services and Judicial Branch.
We identified 5,002 maltreated youth in 3rd grade in the 2008-2009 academic year.
Using a prospective, longitudinal design, we tracked maltreated youth over 6 years from
3rd grade to 8th grade to examine their first involvement in the juvenile justice system.
The main analysis of this study examined risk factors associated with early-onset of delinquency
for maltreated youth using the Cox proportional hazard regression model.
For the qualitative study, we interviewed 21 professionals with a variety of roles in
child welfare and juvenile justice including child protection investigators, case management
workers, probation officers, county attorneys and judges.
The interviews explored professional's experiences with crossover youth and interpretations of
risk factors for crossing over among maltreated youth that we identified in the quantitative
study.
All individual interviews were transcribed verbatim.
Using analytic induction techniques, the interview data was analyzed to understand professionals'
interpretations and meanings through multiple readings of the transcriptions.
In this module, we will present a part of the qualitative results.
We will provide detailed quotes from the interviews related to risk factors for crossing over
so as to contextualize the quantitative study results.
This table shows study sample characteristics.
I am going to highlight some of the unique characteristics of this study sample.
Approximately half of the youth were male.
They were primarily White, but youth of color are disproportionately represented.
For example, the proportion of Native American crossover youth was approximately 7 percent
compared to 2 percent of all Minnesota public school students.
The proportion of Black crossover youth was approximately 23 percent in contrast to only
11 percent of all Minnesota public school students.
Youth with disabilities also were disproportionately represented: 20 percent of crossover youth
had Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) compared to 15 percent of all Minnesota public
school students.
Compared to 38 percent of all Minnesota public school students, the large majority of youth
(71 percent) were from low-income families.
60 percent of the maltreated youth were attending school at rates similar to others in the state
public schools, which means the state average attendance rate.
The state average attendance rate was 94.8 percent of school days.
As a group, maltreated youth met or partially met state competency standards in reading
and math.
Despite only being in elementary or middle school, some maltreated youth had already
experienced out-of-school suspensions before they crossed over.
The mean age at the first incident of maltreatment was 3.5 with a standard deviation of 2.4.
However, the actual mean age at the first incident of maltreatment likely is lower.
The administrative record for maltreatment only went back to calendar year 2000.
So we were not able to identify any maltreatment and out-of-home placements that occurred during
the first or second year of life.
Approximately a fifth of youth had more than three child maltreatment reports and approximately
10 percent of the youth had experienced out-of-home placements by 3rd grade.
This is a visual representation of the timing of youth's first adjudications.
Over the 6-year study period, approximately 7 percent of the youth (332) crossed over
to the juvenile justice system for the first time.
Not surprisingly, the pattern is relatively flat until 6th grade when there is a steady
increase through the remaining study period.
The mean age of the first adjudication for those youth was 12.5 (standard deviation 1.16).
This table shows the results from the Cox regression analyses.
A value greater than 1 in the hazard ratio indicates a greater likelihood of involvement
in the juvenile justice system by the end of the observation date.
First, male gender was associated with a higher hazard.
Boys were more likely than girls to cross over with a 54 percent increase in the hazard
ratio for maltreated youth.
Out-of-school suspension also was related to a higher hazard.
Youth who experienced out-of-school suspensions were more likely to engage in delinquency
with a 53 percent increase in the hazard for maltreated youth.
The effects of race, emotional or behavioral disorders, and more than three maltreatment
incidents were found to be associated with the risk of early involvement in delinquency
among maltreated youth.
Compared to White youth, Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth were more likely
to cross over with an 81 percent, 73 percent and 134 percent increase in the hazard, respectively.
Youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities were nearly two times more likely to cross
over than those who did not have those disabilities.
Youth with more than three maltreatment incidents were two times more like to cross over than
those who had less than three maltreatment incidents.
This study found that maltreated boys were significantly more likely than maltreated
girls to engage in delinquency.
This finding is consistent with existing research that indicates an increased risk for males'
involvement in the juvenile justice system.
The higher male crime rate is often attributed to both genetic and gender role socialization
vulnerabilities.
Boys are taught to be tough and physical while girls are more self-controlled and submissive.
Gender role socialization may be reinforced in the school environment and the child welfare
and juvenile justice systems.
Such socialization may be conductive to externalizing behaviors and confirm adult expectations of
delinquents.
On the other hand, girls are more likely to receive attention from professionals, which
may operate as a protective factor for early delinquency.
For example, mandatory reports show higher responsiveness of reporting for girls because
they perceive them to be more vulnerable than boys.
Overall, girls are more likely to receive attention from professionals in the systems.
In a qualitative interview of this study, a juvenile court judge described the role of gender
socialization and school expectations in increasing the risk of delinquency for males. Quote,
"We think boys are more aggressive and loud, and they probably are for cultural reasons.
And so when we see boys engaging in things, our mind assumes and goes to the law breaking
explanation in a way that maybe we don't do with girls, right?
And then I think socialization, societal messages about what it is to be a boy and how it is
to act like a man.
And then that gets reinforced by societal expectation on how boys act." End of quote.
In this study, compared to White youth, Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth were more
likely to cross over with an 80 percent, 73 percent and 134 percent increase in the hazard,
respectively.
A child protection investigator who identified himself as an ethnic minority demonstrated
some challenges to work with families from different cultural backgrounds. Quote, "It's
a challenge to explain to my coworker what it's like.
When I get a case where the family is from a culturally different background, or mostly
Asian culture, I understand where they're coming from.
When I go back to explain to my supervisor, why they did this or that, it's very hard.
My supervisor is Caucasian.
Then if we involve the court, I have to explain it to the county attorney, and then I have
to explain to different parties, but when I go to court, I don't get to say.
I cannot give a voice."
End of quote.
Out-of-school suspension also was related to a higher hazard of first-time adjudication.
Youth who experienced out-of-school suspensions experienced a 53 percent increase in hazard
for first-time adjudication.
A child protection services case manager in a qualitative interview
described the negative effect of
out of school suspension for maltreated children.
Quote, "The kids are so sweet.
Overall, I think they were good.
The oldest one, a 14 year old, they said that overall he was good, but one time he was pushed
to the point where he got in a really bad argument at school and was suspended for a
few days.
But you see in the kids who are suspended, they're always angry.
I think that they act out.
When you're talking about how they are kicked out, suspended, and they're boys - that's
what we see."
End of quote.
Results from the quantitative study indicate that emotional or behavioral disorders also increased
the risk for first-time adjudication by 96 percent.
A qualitative interview with child protection supervisor supports such findings.
Quote, "From the cases that I have seen, it's really understanding the individual's
needs versus labeling and I think that there is a lot of labeling whether it's ADD, ADHD,
conduct disorder, those kinds of things.
You are quick to do that instead of looking at whatever trauma that a child may
have experienced and with this age, especially this early age, they're still learning to
put words to their emotions from what they may have observed or seen.
In the families we work with, they may have seen domestic violence or chemical dependency.
It's the environment that they have grown up with so they are kind of reacting in a
way that is normal, what appears to be normal, not necessarily healthy.
I think that in this society we're quick to label to say that they have emotional or behavioral
issues, but in fact they're just dealing with particular trauma.
We need to be more proactive and apply resources to address that trauma because this could
possibly be temporary."
End of quote.
More than three previous official records of maltreatment were associated with a 102
percent increase in risk of first-time adjudication.
There are a variety of reasons why this may be the case.
Children who are neglected may not understand or be motivated to engage in positive relationships
with adults.
Children who are abused may learn that aggressive or disrespectful behavior is an appropriate
social response including to conflict.
Difficulties in forming relationships with adults can result in problematic behaviors
and increased risk for delinquency. For example, aggressive or disrespectful behaviors at school
that result in out-of-school suspensions.
Implications.
The findings of the current study also demand further investigation.
This study found that maltreated youth who crossed over by early adolescence were involved
with the juvenile justice system for the first time at an average age of 12.5.
In other words, some become involved in the juvenile justice system at an even younger
age than the age of 14 which is used as an indicator of early-onset delinquency in the literature.
Future research needs to consider the trajectories of these very young offenders.
For example, do maltreated youth who engage in delinquency before age 12.5 are at a heightened
risk for more serious, continuous offending behaviors?
Future research also needs to compare the criminal trajectories in maltreated youth
who engage in delinquency at different periods of development, as well as protective factors
that interrupt the trajectories for the design of preventive interventions for maltreated
youth.
Implications for practice.
Crossover youth are of particular concern to child welfare, juvenile justice and other
professions because of their risk of problematic developmental
outcomes.
Interventions should be preventive to alter the negative developmental trajectories of
maltreated youth.
A growing body of research has identified potential risk and protective factors for
maltreated youth crossing over into delinquency.
The integration of research results into the interventions can lead to effective strategies
and strengthen positive outcomes of the interventions.
It also clearly requires interventions that simultaneously address risk and protective
processes across multiple ecological levels and development.
Such interventions also should be individualized and non-stigmatizing.
Maltreated youth are a diverse group of individuals with varying strengths, challenges,
interests and preventive interventions should be appropriately tailored.
A mentoring program may be one of the individualized, non-stigmatizing approaches to preventive
interventions with maltreated youth at risk of delinquency.
There is a considerable body of research describing the characteristics of effective and ineffective
mentoring relationships and programs.
Such information can provide guidance for designing effective mentoring programs for
maltreated youth.
Mentors from youth's existing social networks, including extended family members or neighbors,
are more likely to remain connected with them longer than formal mentorship programs.
Also, having autonomy in the process of choosing a mentor can lead to positive youth's attitude
towards the mentoring relationship.
A large scale mixed-methods evaluation research compared youth's outcomes for
722 youth in a natural mentoring program and 451 youth in a control group
In a large scale mixed-methods evaluation study of a natural mentoring program, dropout
or expelled youth aged between 16 and 18 showed significantly improved youth outcomes at the
21 month follow up compared to the control group on all outcomes,
including high school diploma, college credit, employment and convictions.
In this study, youth who identified mentors on their own were more likely to be in enduring
relationships than those who received help choosing their mentors from parents or staff.
74 percent of youth in natural mentorship reported contact with their
mentor at the 21 month follow up compared to less than half of
relationships for youth in traditional mentorship.
Results also indicated that when mentors and mentees were of the same race, they tended
to be in longer-lasting relationships.
Previous research indicated that difficulty bridging cultural differences can be a cause
for early termination of relationship.
Youth participants described how mentors supported their positive development in general.
Among youth in long-lasting mentoring relationships, three major themes emerged related to the
types of support they received.
Mentors provided valuable social-emotional support, guidance, and instrumental support.
Those supports contributed to improvement in youth's educational and occupation success,
relationships and self-concept.
Consistent with the previous studies, most professionals in the qualitative study described
the mentorship program as one of the most important services to prevent maltreated youth
from becoming delinquents.
A child protection worker in ICWA described the mechanisms through which the mentoring
relationship fostered positive youth outcomes.
Quote, "I think another protective factor, specifically for the Native kids and teenagers
is other tribal members as a mentor.
Just reconnecting to their culture and spiritually. Tribal members are huge because they understand and
they are one huge umbrella of family.
Currently, I am working with a Native teenager.
I've been trying to connect him with the tribe where he's enrolled.
When he was there and placed there, he loved it.
He thrived.
He was involved with the cultural, spiritual piece.
He had mentors because there was older male figures who can talk how should a young man
grow to be a good man, and he thrived."
Conclusion.
Maltreated youth are usually involved in multiple systems including child welfare, juvenile
justice, special education, and mental health.
Some promising interventions may reduce the extent of their involvement into the juvenile
system.
However, there are few interventions that prevent maltreated youth's initial involvement
in the juvenile justice system.
Solutions to crossing over require cross-system collaboration and individualized and non-stigmatizing
interventions.
Thank you.
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