Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2021, $597,283)
The Justice Information Resource Network (JIRN; formerly the Justice Research and Statistics Association or JRSA) began this research project with the goal of understanding juvenile justice responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health crisis and the impact of these responses on juvenile and public safety outcomes. The literature on COVID-19 policy impacts on juvenile delinquency is in its infancy, partly because of a lack of ‘real-time’ data, and has thus far been based more in theory than empirical evidence. Furthermore, no single research study to date has examined jurisdictional variations in juvenile justice responses to the pandemic and their impact on youths’ trajectories.
JIRN attempted to collaborate with two state organizations to conduct an in-depth research examination of a state-wide juvenile system with a focus on policy as well as interviews with staff, leadership, and incarcerated youth. Unfortunately, neither state organization was ultimately able to provide the necessary information or access to complete such an in-depth analysis. Through these attempts, the reasons for a lack of information, particularly the lack of strong research articles, was illuminated as well as a deeper understanding of how published research in the area relies on inconsistent or inaccurate data and leads to contradicting conclusions.
We have transitioned this project to focus on the obstacles and roadblocks experienced by the JIRN research team while attempting to research COVID-19 responses by juvenile justice departments as well as a detailed review of the literature and how data was differentially gained and interpreted during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic period. We believe these lessons will inform future research attempts and shed light on potential issues both for completing research on sensitive topics, and in interpreting published research articles that rely on incomplete or vague sources of data.