The following data points highlight key facts and figures about the number of young people who come into contact with the juvenile justice system annually:

• A total of 549,500 delinquency cases were referred to juvenile courts in 2022, 85 percent of which were referred by law enforcement. A total of 286,400 cases were "petitioned" or addressed through a formal process that year, with cases below their pre-pandemic levels. Youth were adjudicated in approximately 245 of every 1000 cases referred to the courts in 2022. 
• In 2022, 134,900 delinquency cases involved detention while the young person was awaiting adjudication. This represented a 66 percent decline since 2005.
• Among adjudicated cases in 2022, roughly 28 percent resulted in out of home placement such as secure treatment facility or a therapeutic group home. Probation was ordered in 67 percent of all cases that involved an adjudication of delinquency.
• In 2022, a total of 3,000 cases were waived from juvenile to adult court. This figure does not include youth who were sent automatically to adult court by statute or direct filing from prosecutors. Laws related to when and how young people's cases are judicially waived to adult court vary by jurisdiction.
• Black, Hispanic and Native American youth remain overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. Once referred to the court, cases involving young people who were Black or Hispanic, were less likely than cases involving white youth to be sent to diversion and more likely to be detained or waived to adult court.
• Females accounted for 24 percent of the juvenile court cases that were processed in 2022. While girls in the juvenile justice system ^[1] are underrepresented compared to boys, girls account for a substantially larger proportion of petitioned cases for status offenses, such as truancy, running away from home and curfew violations. Overall, girls represent fifteen percent of the total juvenile residential population but represent between 30 to 50 percent of all youth in residential placement for status offenses.
• Studies indicate ^[2] that youth with disabilities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. A national survey of 38 states found that between 9 and 77 percent of detained youth have an intellectual or developmental disability, with a national average of 33 percent of detained youth having a disability.
• Youth under the age of 16 accounted for 54 percent of all cases processed in juvenile court in 2022.