Source: (2004) In Peter C. Kratcoski, ed., Correctional Counseling and Treatment, 5th ed. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. Pp. 156-184.
Since the mid 1970s in the United States, deinstitutionalization and diversion of youth offenders have been major goals of the juvenile justice system at federal, state, and community levels. At the same time, questions have arisen about overrepresentation of minority youth – with respect to their percentage of the overall youth population in the United States – in all phases of the juvenile justice system. This includes the fact that minority youth offenders are more likely to be detained by police and confined than white youth offenders. In this framework, Kratcoski, Ammar, and Dahlgren present a study of issues relating to police decision-making and diversion of delinquent youths. Through research on twenty-four Ohio police departments and five juvenile courts, they examine the structures and administration of police diversion, the representation of minority youths in police diversion programs, and the effectiveness of police diversion programs.
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