Autism Screening in the Juvenile Justice System

Currently, there is no standardized process for identifying autism in children in the Juvenile Justice System. Despite this deficiency, there is research that indicates that children with autism are more likely to be imprisoned in comparison to children without autism. Our PLP seeks to better understand this disparity. use stakeholder research to explore and understand the disproportionately high rates of children with autism in the Juvenile Justice System. Such research will require identifying an appropriate sample (autism experts, key opinion leaders in the Juvenile Justice System, employees of juvenile detention centers, etc.), sending out surveys to the sample, and synthesizing the findings.These findings will aid the broader project in developing a more equitable autism screening tool.