An Examination of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Truancy Court

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of race/ethnicity on recidivism outcomes with a sample of juveniles involved with a truancy court. Three regression models were conducted to examine the influence of race/ethnicity on receiving any new court petition ( N = 1,206), including petitions for delinquency offenses or any new status offense petition within 2 years of their initial contact with the court. Results suggest that racial/ethnic disparities exist for juveniles involved in truancy court, especially with regard to new delinquency petitions. These findings are important to take into consideration to understand how truancy courts may facilitate the school-to-prison pipeline for non-White youth.