A new study conducted by Nationwide Children's Hospital found early mortality rates were much higher among young individuals who have served time in the juvenile justice system.

The research focused on 3,645 young individuals, ages 11-21 years old, who were incarcerated in an Ohio juvenile detention center between 2010 and 2017. Researchers compared the mortality rates and causes of death throughout the study to those of nonincarcerated, Medicaid-enrolled youth of the same age range.

Of the 3,645 formerly incarcerated individuals surveyed, 113 passed away during the analysis. The leading cause of death was homicide, which accounted for 55.8% of the deaths.

“Youths who have been previously incarcerated are dying at a rate significantly higher than youths who are not involved with the juvenile legal system," noted Dr. Donna Ruch, one of the researchers who conducted the study.

"We need more information on the re-entry process itself; not one solution fits all," Dr. Ruch continued. "We’d like to prevent delinquency in the first place, but we also need to do a better job supporting youths in this re-entry process by assessing their needs, connecting them to appropriate resources, and establishing a target for intervention."

This cohort study found that youth with a history of incarceration were significantly more likely to experience early mortality compared to the general population of Medicaid-enrolled youth. https://t.co/67fKUywnfQ

— JAMA Network Open (@JAMANetworkOpen) December 23, 2021

Further analysis of the data also indicated that Black youth with histories of incarceration were more likely to be murdered than their white peers. However, Black participants' rates of overdose and suicide deaths were lower by comparison.

Among all the different causes of death that were considered, one trend remained consistent: nonincarcerated people were much less likely — 5.9 times less, to be precise — to die at a young age compared to those who were once in the juvenile justice system.

In the wake of these findings, the researchers also recorded that fewer people are entering the system due to a general increase in youth prevention programs. More initiatives geared explicitly towards serving minoritized populations—such as Black youths—are needed to bring about more meaningful changes to the issue.

"We must take the time to understand and spread awareness that youths exiting incarceration in the juvenile legal system are at risk, and [we must] continue to engage families and community members in the re-entry process," added Dr. Ruch.

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