The Role of Research and Practice Partnerships

Although child abuse/neglect and juvenile delinquency were officially recognized as related social problems when the juvenile court was established in 1899, the court’s ability to simultaneously respond to both problems remains tenuous. Youth who penetrate both the depen-dency and delinquency systems are traditionally handled by one or the other and eventually fall into the cracks between the two. The absence of coordinated responses for youth who cross into both systems is particularly concerning because many youth in the dependency system are at risk for delinquency, and many youth in the delinquency system are victims of abuse or neglect. Restrictive laws, an absence of data, and system frag-mentation hold substantial consequences for the overall success and well-being of crossover youth. Although limited, research on crossover youth, shows they are more likely to be detained, remain longer in the delin-quency system, and recidivate at higher rates than are delinquent youth without a dependency history (Morris &amp