This report summarizes research that examined data for youth involved with the Maine Juvenile Justice System who were diverted, supervised, or released from commitment for the first time from 2010 to 2014. The report describes the cohorts of youth demographically, reviews trends, explores risk levels and length of stay, and examines recidivism and returns to a facility. This research shows that fewer youth are entering the system and that more of those who do are quickly and successfully diverted. It shows that youth supervised in the community are decreasing in risk level and offense severity and that the majority do not recidivate. It shows that committed youth are decreasing in risk level as well; the majority are assessed at low to moderate risk at time of commitment and are adjudicated with misdemeanor charges
