Racial inequalities pervade U.S. justice systems and are the focus of a growing body of research. However, there are fewer studies on racial disparities in juvenile justice settings, particularly on decisions points at the “deep end” of the system after youth have been adjudicated delinquent. The current study examines racial disparities in length of stay, institutional misconduct, and community program placement for youth admitted to the Virginia juvenile justice system from 2012–2017. We find that black youth have significantly longer lengths of stay and more serious institutional misconduct than white youth. Controlling for legal and extralegal factors eliminates the disparity for length of stay, but it remains significant for serious institutional misconduct. In recent years, youth of all races are placed into community programs rather than traditional correctional centers at similar rates. Disparities for Hispanic youth and other races are difficult to distinguish because few are admitted to the system.

种族不平等普遍存在于美国司法系统中，并且是越来越多的研究重点。但是，关于少年司法环境中种族差异的研究较少，尤其是在青少年被裁定为犯罪后，该系统“深端”的决策要点。本研究调查了2012-2017年被弗吉尼亚少年司法系统接纳的青年人的居住时间长短，体制不当行为和社区计划安置情况。我们发现，与白人青年相比，黑人青年的住院时间长得多，机构行为不当也更为严重。控制法律和法外因素消除了居留时间上的差距，但对于严重的机构不当行为而言仍然很重要。最近几年，所有种族的年轻人都以类似的比率被安置到社区计划中，而不是传统的教养中心。西班牙裔年轻人和其他种族之间的差异很难区分，因为很少有人接受该制度。