Female Offenders in the Juvenile Justice System . -- Statistics Summary Series: OJJDP Published: June 1996 17 pages 34,924 bytes NOTE: Tables and figures are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view the file in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat version or order the hard copy from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse. Female Offenders in the Juvenile Justice System Statistics Summary Eileen Poe-Yamagata, M.S. Jeffrey A. Butts, Ph.D. Shay Bilchik, Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention June 1996 ------------------------------ This report was prepared by the National Center for Juvenile Justice, the research division of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and was supported by cooperative agreement number 95-JN-FX-0008 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of OJJDP or the U.S. Department of Justice. Copyright 1996. National Center for Juvenile Justice, 710 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219- 3000, 412-227-6950. ------------------------------ The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office for Victims of Crime. ------------------------------ Foreword The appropriate treatment of female offenders by the juvenile justice system is a matter of increasing interest to policymakers, practitioners, and the public. The issue merits our attention and our concern. Female Offenders in the Juvenile Justice System analyzes patterns in the arrest, judicial management, and correctional placement of female offenders. Citing data from diverse sources, the study notes that females are entering the juvenile justice system more frequently and at younger ages. Although male juvenile offenders still account for most delinquent acts, the relative growth in juvenile arrests involving females was more than double the growth for males between 1989 and 1993. While juvenile arrests for violent crimes increased 33 percent for males during that period, they increased 55 percent for females. In fact, the ratio of male juvenile arrests to female juvenile arrests declined from eight to one in 1989 to six to one in 1993. As the involvement of female offenders in delinquent behavior rises, we must enhance our efforts to meet this challenge. Consideration of the changing profile of female delinquency portrayed in this study is an excellent starting point. Shay Bilchik Administrator Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ------------------------------ Acknowledgments This Statistics Summary was written by Eileen Poe-Yamagata and Jeffrey A. Butts of the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ). Other individuals at NCJJ assisted with preparation and review of the study, including Nancy Tierney, Melissa Sickmund, and Howard Snyder. The analysis was supported by funds provided to the National Juvenile Court Data Archive by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Joseph Moone served as OJJDP Program Manager for the project. Both OJJDP and NCJJ gratefully acknowledge the efforts of the many State and local agencies that contributed data to the archive. Their cooperation in fulfilling requests for data and documentation made this work possible. ------------------------------ Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction Arrests of Female Juvenile Offenders Arrest Trends Juvenile Versus Adult Arrests Arrest Rates Arrest Rates by Age Female Offenders in the Juvenile Court Delinquency Case Trends Court Processing Offense Characteristics Probation Caseloads Criminal Court Transfers Female Juvenile Offenders in Custody Short-Term Custody (Detention) Long-Term Custody (Commitment) State Variations Conclusion Related Reading Methods Juvenile Arrests Juvenile Delinquency Cases Juvenile Correctional Populations ------------------------------ Introduction One of the few indisputable facts in the study of juvenile crime is that young females are far less likely than males to violate the law and become involved in the juvenile justice system. In recent years, however, many people have come to believe that the problem of female delinquency is growing faster than the problem of male delinquency. This belief in the disproportionate growth of female juvenile crime is often embraced by the public, the news media, elected officials, and juvenile justice practitioners. Has there, in fact, been a disparate increase in crime among juvenile females? In response to these concerns, this study explores several questions: How many females are arrested and processed by the juvenile justice system each year? How does this number compare with that for males? Has the rate and severity of female delinquency changed in recent years? What happens to female juvenile offenders once they are referred to the juvenile court? Are young females handled differently than males, and has the population of females in out-of-home placement changed? These questions are answered using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program; the National Juvenile Court Data Archive; and the biannual Census of Public Juvenile Detention, Correctional, and Shelter Facilities, more commonly known as the Children in Custody (CIC) census. Data from the study indicate the following: o In 1993, U.S. law enforcement agencies made an estimated 570,100 arrests involving females under the age of 18. o Between 1989 and 1993, the number of arrests involving female juveniles increased by 23% compared with an 11% increase in arrests of male juveniles. o The female proportion of all juvenile arrests grew from 21% to 24% between 1983 and 1993. o Females were responsible for 17% of the growth in juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses between 1989 and 1993. o Juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated 1,489,700 delinquency cases in 1993, 20% of which involved females. o Between 1989 and 1993, the number of juvenile court cases involving females charged with delinquency offenses increased by 31%, while the number of cases involving males increased by 21%. o Delinquency cases involving females were less likely than those involving males to be processed formally, more likely to receive probation as the most restrictive disposition, and less likely to result in detention or out-of-home placement. o Between 1989 and 1993, juveniles charged with person offenses increased as a proportion of the female custody population, growing from 16% to 29% of detained females and from 23% to 31% of committed female offenders. Arrests of Female Juvenile Offenders United States law enforcement agencies made an estimated 2.4 million arrests of persons under the age of 18 in 1993. Nearly one-fourth (24%) of those arrests involved females. The relative involvement of females varied by offense. Among Violent Crime Index offenses, females were responsible for 6% of juvenile arrests for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, 2% for forcible rape, 9% for robbery, and 18% for aggravated assault.[1] Among Property Crime Index offenses, females were involved in 10% of arrests for burglary, 31% for larceny-theft, 14% for motor vehicle theft, and 12% for arson. The female proportion of juvenile arrests for non-Index offenses varied substantially. Females accounted for 4% of juvenile arrests for gambling, 8% for weapons offenses, and 9% for sex offenses but were responsible for 57% of youth arrests for running away from home and 55% for prostitution. Other offenses with high proportions of female arrests included forgery and counterfeiting (35%), embezzlement (41%), and offenses against family and children (36%). Arrest Trends Between 1989 and 1993, the relative growth in juvenile arrests involving females was more than double the growth for males (23% versus 11%). Juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses increased by 55% for females versus 33% for males. As a result, the ratio of male arrests to female arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses declined from 8:1 in 1989 to 6:1 in 1993. Overall, females were responsible for 17% of the growth in the number of juvenile arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses between 1989 and 1993. Because relatively few juveniles are arrested for murder and rape, changes in arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses are controlled by changes in the number of arrests for aggravated assault and robbery. More specifically, the disparate growth in female arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses is the result of the large increase in the number of aggravated assault arrests for females. Growth in female arrests for aggravated assault was almost double the growth for males, while the growth in robbery arrests for females was only slightly greater than the growth for males. Arrests for Property Crime Index offenses involving females increased substantially between 1989 and 1993, while the number of male arrests for Property Crime Index offenses declined. Overall, female arrests for Property Crime Index offenses increased by 22% between 1989 and 1993, although male arrests declined by 3%. For juveniles, female arrests increased more than male arrests in most of the non-Index offense categories. For example, arrests for simple assault and weapons violations increased substantially more among females than males between 1989 and 1993. Similar patterns were found in arrests for disorderly conduct and vagrancy. However, increases in the number of male arrests outpaced the growth in female arrests in cases of fraud, gambling, drug abuse violations, and offenses against family and children. Juvenile Versus Adult Arrests Although females were responsible for a greater proportion of juvenile (24%) than adult (19%) arrests in 1993, the female proportion of arrests for most Index offenses was comparable between juveniles and adults. However, there were variations across offense categories. The female proportion of juvenile arrests was larger than the female proportion of adult arrests for aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft. By contrast, females were responsible for a smaller proportion of juvenile than adult arrests for murder and arson. Nonetheless, the female proportion of arrests among both juveniles and adults increased between 1983 and 1993. Although slight variations existed among offenses, changes in the female proportions of juvenile and adult arrests were similar for Violent Crime Index and Property Crime Index offenses. Variations also occurred across offense categories in the overall proportion of female and male arrests that involved juveniles. In 1993, 21% of all female arrests involved youth under the age of 18 compared with 16% of male arrests. Juveniles were responsible for 19% of female arrests and 18% of male arrests for Violent Crime Index offenses in 1993. The youth proportion of female arrests for Property Crime Index offenses was slightly lower than the corresponding proportion for males (31% versus 34%). Arrest Rates The juvenile population of the United States has changed substantially in recent decades. Analyzing per capita arrest rates removes the effect of this changing population and simplifies comparisons of arrest trends over time. During the 10-year period from 1983 through 1992, the Violent Crime Index arrest rate generally increased for juveniles.[2] However, this rate increased more than 80% for females versus slightly less than 50% for males. Nonetheless, female arrest rates for Violent Crime Index offenses remained far lower than male rates. For every 100,000 females age 10-17 in 1992, there were 121 female arrests for a Violent Crime Index offense. The male arrest rate was six times higher (786 per 100,000). Between 1983 and 1992 the Property Crime Index arrest rate increased 21% for females while remaining relatively stable for males (2%). Still, the magnitude of the female Property Crime Index arrest rate was less than one-third the rate for males during the entire 10-year period. In some offense categories, changes in female and male arrest rates were similar. For example, aggravated assault arrest rates for both females and males nearly doubled between 1983 and 1992. Robbery arrest rates for both females and males generally declined between 1983 and 1987, before increasing sharply between 1988 and 1991 and then declining slightly in 1992. For other offenses, the female arrest rate remained relatively flat while the male arrest rate grew. For example, the arrest rate for murder more than doubled among male juveniles between 1983 and 1992, while the female rate fluctuated within a limited range during the entire 10-year period. Between 1983 and 1992 the drug arrest rate for females generally declined, while the rate for males increased sharply between 1983 and 1989 and then declined to a level comparable to that of the early 1980s. For some offenses, changes in arrest rates were parallel for females and males during much of the past 10 years and diverged only recently. For example, burglary arrest rates generally declined from 1983 to 1988 for both females and males. Since 1988, however, the male arrest rate for burglary continued to drop while the arrest rate for females returned to the levels of the early 1980s. Arrest rates for motor vehicle theft jumped sharply between 1983 and 1989 for both females and males. Between 1989 and 1992, however, the male arrest rate began to decline but the female rate did not. Between 1983 and 1990 the increase in arrest rates for weapons offenses was comparable for females and males (59% and 63%). However, between 1990 and 1992 the weapons arrest rate increased more sharply among females than males. Arrest Rates by Age Between 1983 and 1992, the Violent Crime Index arrest rate increased substantially among individuals in nearly every age category. In relative terms, the increase in the Violent Crime Index arrest rate was almost always greater among females than among males. While very few changes occurred in the Property Crime Index arrest rate between 1983 and 1992 for males under the age of 30, the arrest rate for females increased more markedly. Female Offenders in the Juvenile Court Juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated 1,489,700 delinquency cases in 1993. Females were involved in 20% of these cases, which nearly equaled the female proportion of juvenile arrests that year (24%). Female juveniles were responsible for 22% of all person offense cases, 20% of property offense cases, 12% of drug law violation cases, and 20% of public order offense cases (e.g., disorderly conduct, weapons offenses, liquor law violations). Females were most involved in cases of simple assault (28%) and larceny-theft (29%). The female proportions of delinquency cases involving Violent and Property Crime Index offenses were almost equal to the female proportions of arrests for those offenses. In 1993, females were involved in 16% of juvenile court cases involving Violent Crime Index offenses compared with 14% of juvenile arrests for those charges. Females accounted for 22% of juvenile court cases involving Property Crime Index offenses versus 24% of juvenile arrests for those offenses. Delinquency Case Trends As found in the preceding analysis of arrest trends, the number of juvenile court cases involving females increased more in relative terms between 1989 and 1993 than did the number of cases involving males. The total number of delinquency cases involving females increased by 31% between 1989 and 1993, while cases involving males increased by 21%. Growth in the delinquency caseload was greater among females than among males in cases involving person offenses and property offenses. By contrast, the number of cases involving drug law violations and public order offenses increased more among males than among females. In general, the relative growth in female and male delinquency cases paralleled the juvenile arrest trends shown above. Court Processing At all stages of juvenile court processing, delinquency cases involving female youth received less severe outcomes than cases involving males. For example, females referred to juvenile court were less likely than males to be formally processed with the filing of a delinquency petition. Females were most likely to be petitioned for cases involving public order offenses, while cases involving males were petitioned most often for drug law violations. Between 1989 and 1993, the likelihood of formal handling increased slightly for both females (from 41% to 43%) and males (from 53% to 56%). When handled formally, delinquency cases involving female juveniles were also less likely to result in juvenile court adjudication. In 1993, 53% of petitioned cases involving female juveniles were adjudicated compared with 59% of cases involving males. For both females and males, the probability of adjudication was greatest in cases involving public order offenses. The probability of adjudication decreased slightly between 1989 and 1993 for formally handled cases involving females as well as for those involving males. Offense Characteristics Person offenses accounted for 24% of all female delinquency cases in 1993 compared with 21% of cases involving males. Both the female and male caseloads included a higher proportion of person offenses in 1993 than in 1989. Among all adjudicated cases between 1989 and 1993, person offense cases grew from 18% to 24% of the female caseload and from 17% to 21% of the male caseload. Probation Caseloads Adjudicated females were more likely than males to be placed on formal probation. Probation was the most restrictive disposition ordered by juvenile courts in 60% of adjudicated delinquency cases involving females in 1993 compared with 55% of cases involving males. This pattern occurred in all offense categories. The likelihood of probation was virtually unchanged between 1989 and 1993 for both females and males. In recent years, the female probation caseload increased more than that of male probationers. Between 1989 and 1993, the number of adjudicated delinquency cases in which probation was the most restrictive disposition increased by 26% for females and 16% for males. Increases in the number of cases resulting in probation occurred in three of the four general offense categories for females, with person offense cases showing the greatest increase. Criminal Court Transfers Delinquency cases involving females were far less likely to be transferred to the criminal (adult) courts than were cases involving males. In 1993, 0.3% of formally processed cases involving females were judicially transferred to criminal court compared with 1.7% of formal cases involving males. Between 1989 and 1993, relatively little change occurred in the likelihood of criminal court transfer for either males or females. Female Juvenile Offenders in Custody Females were less likely than males to be removed from their homes and taken into custody either before or after juvenile court adjudication. In other words, females were less likely than males to experience either short-term custody (detention) or long-term custody (commitment and out-of-home placement). Short-Term Custody (Detention) In 1993, secure detention was used at some point between referral and disposition in 16% of delinquency cases involving females compared with 22% of cases involving males. The likelihood of detention changed very little between 1989 and 1993 for either sex. The largest relative change was in the proportion of drug cases involving detention, which fell from 27% to 23% for females and from 38% to 32% for males. Females and males were least likely to be detained in cases involving property offenses. Males were most likely to be detained in drug offense cases (32%), while the greatest use of detention for females occurred in both drug offense and public order offense cases (23%). Despite the lower likelihood of detention for female juvenile offenders, the number of juvenile court cases involving detained females increased more in relative terms than the number of detention cases involving males. The number of female detention cases increased by 23% between 1989 and 1993, while the corresponding increase for males was 18%. Growth in female property offense cases involving detention was more than double the growth among male cases. However, the number of drug offense cases involving detention declined more among females than among males. Offense Profiles. The offense profile of the juvenile detention population changed slightly between 1989 and 1993. Person offenses increased both as a proportion of delinquency cases involving detention and as a proportion of juveniles held in public detention facilities. In 1993, person offenses accounted for 25% of female delinquency cases involving detention, up from 21% in 1989. Person offenses were also more common in the male detention caseload, accounting for 25% of delinquency cases involving detention in 1993 versus 20% of detention cases in 1989. The same pattern was found in 1-day counts of youth detained in public correctional facilities. Between 1989 and 1993, juveniles charged with person offenses increased from 16% to 29% of females held under detention status in public facilities. Person offenses also increased as a proportion of the detained male population. On the other hand, juveniles charged with property offenses declined as a proportion of detained females as well as males. One of the most striking gender differences in the offense profiles of detained juveniles was the percentage of cases in which the most serious alleged charge was a violation of probation or parole (aftercare). In 1993, 24% of females detained were charged with probation and parole violations compared with 12% of male juveniles. Long-Term Custody (Commitment) Female offenders were less likely than males to be ordered to an out-of-home placement following juvenile court adjudication and disposition. Placement was the most restrictive disposition in 23% of adjudicated delinquency cases involving females in 1993 compared with 29% of cases involving males. Placement was less common for females regardless of the seriousness of the offense charged against the youth. The likelihood of placement declined slightly between 1989 and 1993 for adjudicated females and males and across most offense categories. In 1993, the number of male delinquency cases that resulted in out-of-home placement greatly outnumbered placement cases involving females. Although the number of placement cases increased by 11% for both females and males between 1989 and 1993, increases varied across offense categories. The increase in the number of female person offense cases involving placement was nearly double the increase among males. However, the decline in the number of drug offense cases involving placement was substantially greater for females than males. Offense Profiles. The offense profiles of committed juveniles were similar to those of the detained population discussed above. Among youth involved in juvenile court placement cases, an increasing proportion was charged with person offenses. Between 1989 and 1993, juveniles charged with person offenses increased from 17% to 25% of all females involved in placement cases and from 19% to 23% of males. As reflected by 1-day counts of youth held in public and private facilities in 1989 and 1993, juveniles charged with person offenses also increased as a proportion of all committed youth. Person offenses grew from 23% to 31% of the committed female population and from 28% to 40% of committed males. Juveniles charged with property offenses declined as a proportion of committed juvenile offenders, both for females and males. State Variations In 1992, females represented 20% or more of juvenile detention admissions to public facilities in 27 States and the District of Columbia.[3] Overall, the number of detention admissions involving female juvenile offenders increased by 3% between 1988 and 1992. The largest relative increases in female detention admissions were seen in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Montana, and New York.[4] Substantial decreases (greater than 50%) were reported by several other jurisdictions, including Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. Females were less prevalent among juvenile commitment admissions to public facilities, accounting for 20% or more of the admissions in only nine jurisdictions.[5] Three States -- Delaware, Massachusetts, and Vermont -- reported no female commitment admissions to public facilities in 1992. The highest proportions of females among commitment admissions to public facilities were reported by the District of Columbia (39%), Oklahoma (33%), Wyoming (33%), and South Dakota (26%). The largest relative increases in female commitment admissions were seen in the District of Columbia, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Idaho, while the largest relative decreases occurred in Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and South Dakota. Conclusion The findings of this study support the popular contention that female delinquency has increased relatively more than male delinquency in recent years. Of course, juvenile crime is still predominantly a male problem. More than three-quarters of juvenile arrests and juvenile court delinquency cases involve males. If recent trends continue, however, female delinquents will occupy even more of the time and attention of policymakers, service providers, court officials, law enforcement agencies, and communities. Related Reading For more information about the National Center for Juvenile Justice, write to 710 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3000, or call 412-227-6950. To obtain Juvenile Court Statistics, other publications using data from the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, or any reports that focus on juvenile justice statistics, contact the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (related readings appear below). For more information about juvenile justice issues, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention offers many free (up to five) and fee titles that can be ordered by juvenile justice professionals. Write the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849- 6000, call 800-638-8736, or e-mail askncjrs@ncjrs.org. Delinquency Prevention Works (Program Summary), November 1995, NCJ 155006. How Juveniles Get to Criminal Court (Update on Statistics), October 1994, NCJ 150039. Juvenile Court Statistics 1992 (Statistics Report), June 1996, NCJ 154168. Juvenile Court's Response to Violent Offenders: 1985-1989 (Update on Statistics), April 1993, NCJ 139558. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: A National Report, August 1995, NCJ 153569. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1996 Update on Violence (Statistics Summary), February 1996, NCJ 159107. Juveniles Taken Into Custody: Fiscal Year 1993 (Statistics Report), September 1995, NCJ 154022. Matrix of Community-Based Initiatives (Program Summary), Updated September 1995, NCJ 154816. Offenders in Juvenile Court, 1993 (Update on Statistics), June 1996, NCJ 160945. What Works: Promising Interventions in Juvenile Justice (Program Report), October 1994, NCJ 150858. $19.00 (U.S.), $23.00 (Canada), $30.00 (other countries). A topical literature search of the NCJRS data base on female juvenile offenders is also available (TS 021529) for $5.00 (U.S./Canada) or $7.50 (other countries). ------------------------------ Methods Juvenile Arrests The FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program collects information on arrests made by local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States. The data can be separated into arrests involving persons under and over the age of 18 and arrests involving males versus those involving females. The arrest statistics generated by the UCR Program are based on the experience of a large number of law enforcement agencies. However, not all agencies are able to participate in the UCR. Furthermore, some agencies are unable to report data in enough detail to support analyses of arrests by age and sex. In 1993, arrest data by age and sex were reported by police agencies with jurisdiction over 83% of the U.S. population. This study presents national estimates of the number of arrests involving persons under the age of 18. The FBI does not calculate national estimates for arrests involving persons under the age of 18, but its annual publication Crime in the United States provides national estimates for the total number of arrests for various offenses. The arrest estimates for persons under the age of 18 presented in this study were developed by deriving the proportion of youth arrests in each offense category from data reported by UCR-participating jurisdictions and applying that proportion to the UCR national estimate of total arrests for that offense. Similarly, the FBI publishes arrest rates (see Age-Specific Arrest Rates and Race-Specific Arrest Rates for Selected Offenses 1965-1992) that are calculated as the number of juvenile arrests per 100,000 persons under the age of 18. The arrest rates used in this study are based on rates published by the FBI but are recalculated using a population base of persons ages 10-17. These rates are preferred because very few arrests involve persons under the age of 10. Juvenile Delinquency Cases National estimates of juvenile delinquency cases are generated by the National Juvenile Court Data Archive and published annually in a series of reports titled Juvenile Court Statistics.[6] Sponsored by OJJDP, the National Juvenile Court Data Archive collects data about juvenile court cases from State and local agencies throughout the Nation. Data are collected in two forms -- detailed case-level data and aggregate court-level data. In 1993, case-level data describing each case's demographic and processing characteristics were obtained from 1,375 jurisdictions in 26 States. Combined, these jurisdictions contained 49% of the Nation's juvenile population (i.e., youth age 10 through the upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction) and handled 689,505 delinquency cases in 1993. Aggregate court-level data (e.g., number of cases handled per year) were collected from an additional 443 jurisdictions in 6 States. In all, the 1993 national estimates of delinquency cases were based on data from 1,818 jurisdictions containing 67% of the Nation's juvenile population. National estimates of juvenile court cases are developed by weighting the archive's case-level and court-level data with weights that incorporate key characteristics known to affect juvenile court caseloads -- the upper age of the juvenile court's jurisdiction in each State and the age and race composition of the juvenile population in each U.S. county. The basic assumption underlying the estimation procedure is that the volume and characteristics of juvenile court caseloads are shaped by the same set of factors in reporting and nonreporting jurisdictions of similar size and demographic profile. A more complete description of the estimation procedure appears in each Juvenile Court Statistics report. Juvenile Correctional Populations Sponsored by OJJDP, the Census of Public and Private Juvenile Detention, Correctional, and Shelter Facilities is conducted biannually by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. More commonly known as Children in Custody (or CIC), the census is designed to provide facility-based admissions and 1-day counts of youth held in public and private residential centers, such as detention centers, reception and/or diagnostic facilities, shelters, training schools, camps, ranches, and group homes. Detention centers operated as part of adult jails, drug abuse treatment centers, and foster homes are not included in the census. Data are provided through questionnaires completed by facility administrators or other personnel. The data analyzed in this study represent 1988 and 1992 juvenile admissions to short-term and long-term public facilities and 1-day counts of all youth held in either public or private facilities on the 1989 and 1993 census reference dates (February 15 and 16, respectively). Only juveniles charged with delinquency offenses were included in the analyses. Status offenders and nonoffenders were excluded. 1. Although this section uses the term "juvenile" to mean all persons under the age of 18, States vary in their legal definitions of juvenile status. 2. At the time this analysis was prepared, the FBI had not released 1993 arrest rate statistics. 3. Information collected in the CIC census reflects the total number of admissions for the preceding year. Thus, data from the 1989 census are for 1988 admissions, and the 1993 census reflects 1992 admissions. 4. Very large percentage increases in female admissions reported by smaller States are often the result of the number of admissions being very low in 1989. 5. Admissions data reflect publicly operated facilities only. Because some jurisdictions employ private providers for residential placement of juvenile offenders, these data may represent neither the entire juvenile correctional population of a given State nor its overall placement practices. See the methods section of this Summary for further information. 6. The latest report in the series is: Jeffrey A. Butts, Howard N. Snyder, Terrence A. Finnegan, Anne L. Aughenbaugh, and Rowen S. Poole. Juvenile Court Statistics 1993. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. 1996.