The following data points highlight key facts and figures about the number of young people who come into contact with the juvenile justice system annually:

• A total of 437,300 delinquency cases were referred to juvenile courts in 2021, 85 percent of which were referred by law enforcement. A total of 244,100 cases were "petitioned" or addressed through a formal process that year, representing a 76 percent decline since 1997. Youth were adjudicated delinquent in only 27.6 percent of the cases that were formally petitioned in 2021.  
• In 2021, 113,200 delinquency cases involved detention while the young person was awaiting adjudication. This represented a 72 percent decline since 2005.
• Among adjudicated cases in 2021, roughly 28 percent resulted in out of home placement such as secure treatment facility or a therapeutic group home. Probation was ordered in 65 percent of all cases that involved an adjudication of delinquency.
• In 2021, a total of 2,800 cases were waived from juvenile to adult court. This figure does not include youth who were sent automatically to adult court by statute or direct filing from prosecutors. Laws related to when and how young people's cases are judicially waived to adult court vary by jurisdiction.
• Black, Hispanic and Native American youth remain overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. Once referred to the court, cases involving young people who were Black or Hispanic, were less likely than cases involving white youth to be sent to diversion and more likely to be detained or waived to adult court.
• Females accounted for 27 percent of the estimated 437,300 juvenile court cases that were processed in 2021. While girls in the juvenile justice system are underrepresented compared to boys, girls account for a substantially larger proportion of petitioned cases for status offenses, such as truancy, running away from home and curfew violations. Overall, girls represent fifteen percent of the total juvenile residential population but represent between 30 to 50 percent of all youth in residential placement for status offenses.
• Studies show that youth who identify as LGBTQI are estimated to comprise 5 to 7 percent of the general population but up to 15 percent of the youth who come in contact with the juvenile justice system. LGBTQI youth are nearly twice as likely to be removed or run away from their homes as their heterosexual and cisgender peers and are 1.7 times more likely to report being threatened or assaulted in school as compared to other students. Faced with isolation from home and school environments, LGBTQI youth experience human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking, which can bring them into contact with law enforcement and the justice system.
• Studies indicate that youth with disabilities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. A national survey of 38 states found that between 9 and 77 percent of detained youth have an intellectual or developmental disability, with a national average of 33 percent of detained youth having a disability.
• Of the estimated 437,300 juvenile cases disposed of in the U.S. in 2021, youth under the age of 16 accounted for 53 percent of all cases.