Measuring the Performance for Different Types of Juvenile Courts

The Type I court studied is comparable to the traditional juvenile court; the court has control over intake, social services, detention, and the adjudicative process. The Type IV court, the second type studied, administers social services through an executive agency, and a prosecutor is involved in the decision to file a petition. Data were gathered from samples of approximately 500 to 600 cases for each of four juvenile courts (two Type I and two Type IV) during the fall of 1982 and winter of 1983. Court performance was assessed in three categories: screening, dispositions, and due process procedures. The screening function is clearly performed differently in the two types of courts: the two Type IV courts had a much higher intake dismissal rate than the traditional juvenile courts. Additionally, traditional courts tended to favor judicial over nonjudicial handling. In terms of the criteria for the decision about whether to refer a case to court, offense characteristics were the significant determinants in the Type IV courts, and offender characteristics were more significant in Type I courts. In the relative use of court dispositions, Type I courts were far more likely to have cases dismissed before a judge. Finally, court differences were also found in several due process measures: legal representation, use of hearings, decisionmaking criteria, and the pace of case processing. Policy implications of the findings are considered. Thirty tables and one figure are included.