Racial disparities at rural and urban juvenile detention centers: Unanticipated findings since COVID-19’s reduction in juvenile assessments

ABSTRACT Studies on racial disparity within the juvenile justice system have demonstrated continued disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and racial and ethnic disparity (RED) issues throughout each decision point, especially at earlier stages. Yet, most research has centered on urban areas, with minimal attention given to youth-of-color in rural jurisdictions. As such, the current study utilized juvenile intake and assessment data from a rural Midwestern state, focused on racial and ethnic disparities prior to and per-COVID-19. Using data from a rural state, we examine the monthly counts of juveniles assessed at juvenile intake centers with an interrupted time-series design to explore whether the pandemic’s impact differed by race or ethnicity. Our findings do not support the claim that the pandemic has exacerbated racial or ethnic disparity. Yet, trends suggest white and non-Hispanic youth, as well as youth in rural jurisdictions, are presenting at juvenile intake centers at less reduced rates than their youth-of-color and urban counterparts, per-COVID-19. The results show the pandemic has radically reduced assessments to the juvenile justice system, though this impact is not equally distributed. While intersectional comparisons are not possible at this time, policy implications and future directions are provided.