All OJJDP publications may be viewed and downloaded on the publications section of the OJJDP website.

Coming Soon—

Juvenile Residential Facility Census 2020: Selected Findings (Bulletin)
National Report Series

This bulletin reports selected findings from OJJDP’s biennial survey of the nation’s public and private juvenile residential facilities, characterizing facilities by ownership and operation, type, size, security features, screening practices, capacity and crowding, and services provided. The 1,323 facilities covered by the 2020 census housed 25,014 youth younger than 21 who were charged with or adjudicated for an offense, the lowest population recorded since 1975 and a continuation of a downward trend that began two decades ago. The bulletin notes that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all stages of the juvenile justice system may have impacted multiple aspects of the 2020 survey data.

Delinquency Cases Waived to Criminal Court, 2020 (Fact Sheet)
National Report Series

This fact sheet provides an overview of delinquency cases judicially waived to criminal court, characterizing them by gender, race, age, and type of offense. In 2020, 77 percent fewer delinquency cases were waived to criminal court than were waived in 1994, the peak year (an estimated 13,000 cases versus an estimated 3,000 cases). That number has dropped steadily since 1994, due in part to the decline in crimes by youth but also to the expansion of laws that allow more cases to bypass the juvenile court system and be filed directly in criminal court. The fact sheet notes that the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 may have impacted policies, procedures, and data collection activities regarding referrals to and processing of youth by juvenile courts.

Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2020 (Fact Sheet)
National Report Series

The findings in this fact sheet are based on data from nearly 2,400 courts with jurisdiction over 84 percent of the nation’s juvenile population. Juvenile courts’ delinquency caseloads are characterized by gender, race, age, likelihood of detention, intake decision, and outcome of adjudication and disposition. In 2020, juvenile courts handled 508,400 delinquency cases that involved youth charged with criminal law violations, 28 percent fewer than the number handled in 2019. From 2005 through 2020, delinquency cases declined 69 percent with decreases in all four offense categories: property offense cases, public order offense cases, drug law violation cases, and person offense cases. The fact sheet refers to the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on policies, procedures, and data collection, and notes that stay-at-home orders and school closures likely impacted referrals to juvenile court in 2020.