Status Offense Pathways (Truancy, Runaway, Ungovernable)

Pipeline 02E

Transparency note: definitions and eligibility rules for status offenses vary by statute and policy and may change over time. We annotate series breaks when statutes, attendance rules, or court thresholds are revised. Small-n counts (e.g., runaway cases) may be pooled quarterly to protect confidentiality.

Overview

Status offenses are non-criminal behaviors that apply only to minors—commonly truancy, running away, and “ungovernable”/incorrigible conduct. Most jurisdictions emphasize diversion and services over formal court processing. This page documents how referrals enter the pipeline (often from schools or caregivers), how eligibility and thresholds are determined, and what service pathways and outcomes are measurable across sites.

What We Track

Referral Sources & Definitions

Source recorded: school attendance referral, caregiver petition, child welfare cross-referral
Statute-aligned definitions; local policy memos affecting thresholds
- Truancy (e.g., days absent thresholds)
- Runaway episodes
- Ungovernable/incorrigible behaviors

Eligibility & Thresholds

Diversion-first rules applied; petition as last resort
Restrictions on secure detention/confinement for status-only behavior

Service Pathways

Attendance interventions (tiered supports; home-school liaison)
Family mediation / wraparound teams (case conferencing)
Behavioral health linkage (screening → assessment → first appointment)
Provider capacity & wait times tracked

Engagement & Timeliness

Days from referral → first contact (SLA target)
Session attendance; completion within 30/60/90-day windows
Reasons for non-completion coded (access, refusal, conflict, moved)

Equity & Variation

Disparities by race/ethnicity, language, disability, geography (rate ratios)
School-level referral rates normalized by enrollment (outlier and pattern checks)

Typical Flow

Referral received (school, caregiver, agency) with documented status behavior
- Attach definition reference (statute/policy memo); note prior supports tried
Screen & triage for diversion eligibility
- Identify education, family, and BH needs; set initial goals
Service assignment to attendance support, mediation, or counseling
- Define timelines; schedule first session; address transport/translation needs
Review engagement & progress; apply graduated supports for barriers
- Petition considered only if required by statute and after services attempted
Closure / step-down on completion or stabilization
- Record outcomes; monitor re-referral within 6–12 months

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Codeset	Description
pipeline_place_id	uuid	✅	—	Unique identifier for this pipeline place row.
pipeline_stage_id	enum	✅	stages.yml#stage_key(8) intake detention adjudication disposition supervision commitment_and_placement reentry closure	One of the 8 canonical stages.
pipeline_place_key	enum	✅	pipeline_places.yml#place_key(45) intake pre_petition_diversion_and_deflection diversion youth_assessment_tools prosecutorial_screening status_offenses adjudication case_planning family_engagement case_timeliness language_access restorative_justice detention_screening community_atds electronic_monitoring court_appearance_and_fta initial_hearing pretrial_supervision probation intensive_supervision …and 25 more	Canonical key for this place (maps to route/slug).
youth_id	string	✅	—	Salted/hashed or state UID. No plaintext PII.
staff_id	string		—	Staff primary actor for this place, if applicable.
occurred_datetime	datetime	✅	—	Timestamp when the status-offense referral/pathway was opened/recorded.
jurisdiction_code	string	✅	—	County/parish/circuit or standardized local code.
location_site_id	string		—	Site/facility/office identifier.
actor_role_code	enum		roles.yml#actor_role(7) Intake_Officer Prosecutor Defender Probation_Officer Case_Manager Facility_Staff Coach_Reentry	Role primarily responsible for this place.
legal_case_id	string		—	Docket/case identifier if petition filed or case already opened.
source_system	string	✅	—	Origin system name.
source_file	string		—	Source batch/file id if flatfile.
extract_run_id	string		—	ETL run id for lineage.
series_break_flag	boolean		—	Comparability break applies to this row.
series_break_reason	enum		series_breaks.yml#reason(4) definition_change vendor_change coverage_change policy_change	Reason for break when flagged.
status_offense_type_code	enum	✅	status_offense_types.yml#type(3) truancy runaway ungovernable	Truancy, Runaway, or Ungovernable/Incorrigible.
referral_source_code	enum	✅	referral_sources.yml#source(10) law_enforcement school prosecutor caregiver other_agency community_org school_attendance caregiver_petition child_welfare_cross_referral law_enforcement_other	Source of referral (school_attendance, caregiver_petition, child_welfare_cross_referral, law_enforcement_other).
school_id	string		—	School identifier when the source is a school; enables enrollment-normalized rates upstream.
lea_code	string		—	District/LEA identifier for school-level analytics (no metrics here).
statute_reference	string		—	Statute or ordinance cited (free text or statute code).
policy_memo_id	string		—	Local policy memo/order identifier affecting thresholds or routing.
diversion_first_policy_flag	boolean		—	Jurisdiction applies diversion-first rule for status-only.
detention_restriction_basis_code	enum		detention_restrictions.yml#basis(3) state_statute policy_order judicial_administrative_rule	Basis restricting secure detention for status-only (e.g., state_statute, policy_order).
truancy_days_absent_threshold	integer		—	Local threshold days for truancy eligibility at time of referral.
truancy_days_absent_at_referral	integer		—	Days absent recorded at referral.
runaway_episode_count_prior_12m	integer		—	Count of documented runaway episodes in prior 12 months (if known).
ungovernable_incidents_prior_12m	integer		—	Count of documented ungovernable/incorrigible incidents in prior 12 months (if known).
service_pathway_code	enum	✅	status_service_pathways.yml#pathway(3) attendance_intervention family_mediation bh_linkage	Primary pathway selected (attendance_intervention, family_mediation, bh_linkage).
provider_id	string		—	Provider/organization identifier for the selected pathway.
first_available_appt_datetime	datetime		—	First appointment offered by provider (capacity signal).
appointment_scheduled_datetime	datetime		—	First scheduled appointment timestamp.
first_contact_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp of first youth/caregiver contact by assigned team.
bh_screen_name	enum		instruments.yml#bh_screen_name⚠️ using instruments.yml#risk_tool_name(2) YLS_CMI SAVRY	Behavioral health screen used (e.g., MAYSI_2, CRAFFT, GAIN_SS).
bh_screen_result_code	enum		bh_screen_results.yml#result(3) negative positive_flag immediate_concern	Result bucket for screen (negative, positive_flag, immediate_concern).
bh_assessment_completed_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp full assessment completed when referred.
bh_first_treatment_appt_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp of first treatment appointment (if referred).
window_target_code	enum		engagement_windows.yml#window(3) days_30 days_60 days_90	Target window for completion/engagement (days_30, days_60, days_90).
sessions_scheduled_count	integer		—	Number of sessions scheduled in the episode.
sessions_attended_count	integer		—	Number of sessions the youth attended.
completion_status_code	enum		completion_statuses.yml#status(3) successful neutral_exit failure	successful, neutral_exit, or failure.
completion_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp when the status-offense episode closed.
non_completion_reason_code	enum		non_completion_reasons.yml#reason(4) access_barrier refusal scheduling_conflict moved	Reason for non-completion (access_barrier, refusal, scheduling_conflict, moved).
override_flag	boolean		—	True if youth was petitioned despite diversion-first eligibility.
override_reason_code	enum		overrides.yml#reason(4) safety_exception capacity_constraint policy_exception supervisor_override	Documented reason for override.
routed_to_next_node_code	enum		next_routes.yml#route(3) prosecutorial_screening petition other	If not retained in pathway, where routed next (prosecutorial_screening, petition, other).
Download CSVwhat_we_track.csv

Data & Methods

Indicators use referral-based denominators with clear statutory definitions recorded in metadata. Timeliness metrics measure referral→first-contact and referral→program-start; engagement is sessions attended ÷ scheduled. Completion is a binary within fixed windows (30/60/90 days). We flag series breaks when attendance rules, petition thresholds, or detention limitations change. Small-n suppression follows Suppression & Small-n. School-linked analyses rely on cross-system exchange described in Data Linkage & Integration and governance in Data Governance & Ethical Integration. For context on attendance and education transitions, see Education Re-engagement and Court Appearance & FTA Prevention.

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