Patterns of Early Risk Factors for Juvenile Justice Outcomes in Youth with High-Incidence Disabilities

This study aimed to identify early risk factors experienced by youth with high-incidence disabilities (HID) and investigate their juvenile justice outcomes. Using statewide administrative data in a Midwestern U.S. state, this study identified that 9% of students ( n = 5,377) were diagnosed with an HID condition in the special education system. Latent class analysis revealed three meaningful subgroups of youth with HID, based on underlying patterns of early risks they experienced: low risk (47.6%), academic risk (37.5%), and child welfare risk (14.9%). These within-group differences accounted for the varying developmental outcomes among these youth. The odds were 4 times and 19 times higher for youth with HID in the Academic Risks and Child Welfare Risks class, respectively.