Youth with Disabilities in the Corrections System: Prevalence Rates and Identification Issues. Monograph Series on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice.

This monograph, one of a series on youth with disabilities and the juvenile justice system, reviews current data on disabilities requiring special education and related supports. Statistics on the prevalence of juvenile crime are followed by statistics on the prevalence of special education disabilities in the system, specifically specific learning disability, emotional disturbance, mental retardation, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders. For each disability, prevalence figures in the general population are followed by prevalence figures in the correctional system. The monograph finds that youth with cognitive, behavioral, or emotional disabilities are entering the correctional system at rates four to five times greater than their representation in the general population. The paper also notes inconsistencies in identifying and defining disabilities across agencies and differing definitions of disability in research on prevalence rates. A section on identification and service issues notes the need for better prevalence figures to plan administratively for special education needs in the juvenile justice system, research on instruction and service delivery for this population, and improved intake and assessment in the correctional system. (Contains approximately 150 references.) (DB)