Juvenile Justice System and Law Enforcement

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STATUS OFFENSES - I have included the site from where this information was taken so you have sources.

Status offenses include crimes such as: running away from home, being so uncontrollable that parents are guardians are scared and cannot deal with them, truancy (not attending school), underage drinking and any other offense that pertains only to minors breaking the law.

Each state deals with status offenses differently.
For example, in some States, a runaway's entry into the official system may be through juvenile court intake and, in other States, the matter may enter through the child welfare agency. This mixture of approaches to case processing has made it difficult to monitor the volume and characteristics of status offense cases nationally.

The one thing that is constant in all states that if measures fail, the juveniles are referred to juvenile court. Some of the offenses are then referred to social services.
Here is some statistical information that can help you:
In 1997, courts ordered the juvenile held in secure detention at some point between referral to court and case disposition in 6% of formally processed status offense cases. In comparison, youth were detained in 25% of formally processed delinquency cases. The proportion of cases involving detention varied by offense category. Juvenile courts detained youth in 11% of runaway cases, 7% of status liquor law violation cases, 7% of ungovernability cases, and 2% of truancy cases.

Of the 9,400 formally processed status offense cases that involved detention in 1997, liquor law violation cases (30%) and runaway cases (28%) accounted for greater proportions than ungovernability cases (16%) and truancy cases (7%).

Females were involved in approximately 4 in 10 status offense cases formally processed in 1997
Another major difference between delinquency and status offense cases is the proportion of cases that involve females. Although females were charged in only 20% of the delinquency cases formally processed in 1997, they were involved in 41% of status offense cases. The proportion of cases involving females varied substantially by offense. In fact, the majority of juveniles brought to court for running away from home in 1997 were female (60%).

Most serious offense, by sex

Juveniles age 15 and younger accounted for more than half of formal status offense cases
Juveniles age 15 or younger accounted for 55% of formal status offense cases processed in 1997. These younger juveniles were involved in a greater proportion of truancy cases (74%) and ungovernability cases (71%) than runaway cases (62%) or status liquor law violation cases (27%). The difference between the offense profiles of younger and older juveniles reflects age-related differences in behavior.

Most serious offense, by age

In 1997, youth were placed out of the home in 14% of all status offense cases adjudicated
Youth were adjudicated as status offenders in 52% of formally processed status offense cases in 1997. Of these cases, 14% resulted in out-of-home placement and 61% in formal probation. Another 23%, largely liquor law violation cases, resulted in other sanctions, such as fines, ...