Community Assessment Data
A Guide to Understanding the Well-Being of Children & Families in Erie County, Pennsylvania

Delinquency Placements

CHARTS

Delinquency Placements by County for 2002


MEASUREMENT

Figures for delinquency placements are from the juvenile Court Judges’ Commission.¹ The rate of delinquency placements is the number of juvenile delinquency placements divided by the number of youth ages 10-17 (from Census 2000) and multiplied by 1,000.

DESCRIPTION

The juvenile court uses out-of-home residential placement as a recourse for some juveniles involved in delinquent activity. The purpose of residential placement is to rehabilitate young people engaged in delinquent behavior and hold them accountable. It is generally used for chronic or serious juvenile offenders. Placement types include foster care, wilderness-based programs, as well as private and public secure and non-secure facilities.

DATA ANALYSIS

• Erie County’s juvenile delinquency placement rate rose from 44.8% above the Pennsylvania rate in 1997 to 77.4% higher than the state rate in 2001.
• Among Urban Third Class Counties, Dauphin County had consistently higher rates than Erie County from 1997 through 2001.
• The numbers of juvenile delinquency placements in Erie County held fairly steady from 1999 through 2001.

FOOTNOTE

¹ Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission. (2001). Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Dispositions 2001. Shippensburg, PA: Author, p. 21-22.