JUVENILE JUSTICE IN MISSOURI

Juvenile Justice in Missouri

Juvenile Justice in Missouri

In 1996, Missouri's youth population under age 18 was approximately 1,394,200 (Casey Foundation 1998). Of the State's children, approximately 8 percent were living in families with incomes below 50 percent of the poverty level in 1995. Further, it is estimated that in 1995, approximately 25 percent of Missouri's children were living in working-poor families or families where at least one parent was working 50 or more hours a week but the family's income was still below the poverty level (Casey Foundation 1998).

Missouri ranked 29th in the country in terms of teen birth rate for 1995. This same year, the birth rate in the State was 33 births per 1,000 young women ages 15-17. This was up from 32 births per 1,000 young women in 1985 (Casey Foundation 1998).

Overview of the Juvenile Justice System

Missouri has 45 Judicial Circuit Juvenile Divisions encompassing 115 counties. Each of these circuits has a juvenile court judge who is appointed by the circuit court and a juvenile officer who is appointed by the juvenile court (Missouri Department of Public Safety 1998).

The Division of Youth Services is responsible for providing treatment options for juvenile offenders within the State's juvenile justice system. This includes prevention, community-based programs, and residential options. Further, as of April 1999, the Division will be operating seven highly structured, secure care programs (Missouri Department of Public Safety 1998).

The following statistics give an overview of the information available on female offending and processing patterns in Missouri:

* In 1995, young women represented 31 percent (25,176) of all referrals to juvenile court. Anglo young women represented 22 percent of these referrals while African-American young women represented 9 percent. However, African-American females account for only 6.7 percent of the State's youth population and are represented in referrals ...