This Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Fact Sheet reports on the juvenile delinquency probation caseload between 1990 and 1999.
National estimates from almost 2,000 jurisdictions containing approximately 70 percent of the United States juvenile population were compiled for this report. During 1999, 4 out of ever 10 delinquency cases resulted in an outcome of probation. This represents 40 percent of the 1.7 million delinquency cases in 1999. Between 1990 and 1999, the overall delinquency cases load grew 27 percent while the number of cases resulting in probation increased 44 percent. A case outcome of probation may either be court-ordered or voluntary. In 1999, 59 percent of all delinquency cases placed on probation were court-ordered to probation. The remaining 41 percent of the cases agreed to some form of voluntary probation. Between 1990 and 1999, the number of court-ordered probation outcomes increased 80 percent. During the same period, the number of voluntary probation outcomes increased 12 percent. The delineation of disposition outcome by race indicates little change from 1990 to 1999. During 1999, 69 percent of juvenile case outcomes of probation involved white youth, 28 percent involved Black youth, and 3 percent involved youth of other races. Between 1990 and 1999, probation outcomes increased 38 percent for Black youth and 47 percent for white youth. In terms of gender, the number of females adjudicated to probation increased from 19 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 1999. The delineation of disposition outcome by offense indicates that property offenses account for the majority of cases placed on probation. Resources for more information are listed. Tables