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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:16 pm
Time: 8:16 pm
Results for minority youths
1 results foundAuthor: Spinney, Elizabeth Title: Case Studies of Nine Jurisdictions that Reduced Disproportionate Minority Contact in their Juvenile Justice Systems Summary: ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, youths of color are more likely than their white peers to be arrested and referred to juvenile court. After becoming involved in the juvenile justice system, they are also more likely to go deeper into the system, resulting in a higher likelihood of secure detainment, confinement, and transfer to adult court. Minority youths are also less likely to be diverted from court. This phenomenon, known as disproportionate minority contact (DMC), has been recognized for decades as a deep-rooted problem in the juvenile justice system. All states are required to address DMC to stay in compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) tracks compliance with this JJDPA requirement. In 2005, OJJDP began requiring states to input data on the flow of youths at nine points in their juvenile justice systems into a Web-based data entry system. Until now, there has been no methodical national analysis of these data. This study is the first to systematically review the data in OJJDP’s database, to identify sites that have been able to reduce DMC over an extended period of time, and to gather information on the strategies used in those successful sites. At the start of this study, OJJDP’s Web-based data entry system had reports from nearly 1,500 jurisdictions across the United States. The top 20 jurisdictions with reductions in racial disparities for five of OJJDP’s nine juvenile justice stages (referral, diversion, detention, confinement, and transfer) were selected for further study. After analyzing data trends, gathering information from state Juvenile Justice Specialists and DMC Coordinators, interviewing stakeholders and decision-makers in jurisdictions of interest, presenting findings during meetings and conferences, receiving input from OJJDP, and meeting with our Advisory Committee, nine jurisdictions were selected for case studies. Five of the nine jurisdictions reduced DMC at arrest or referral to court, three jurisdictions reduced DMC at diversion, four jurisdictions reduced DMC at detention, and two jurisdictions reduced DMC at secure confinement. Eight of the jurisdictions reduced DMC for African American youth, eight jurisdictions reduced DMC for Hispanic youth, and two jurisdictions reduced DMC for Native American youth. The nine jurisdictions selected as case study sites were 1) Bernalillo County, N.M., 2) Clark County, Nev., 3) the state of Connecticut, 4) Essex County, N.J., 5) Hillsborough County, N.H., 6) Montgomery County, Ala., 7) Philadelphia, Pa., 8) Tulsa County, Okla., and 9) Utah County, Utah. These nine case study sites represent a diverse group of jurisdictions both geographically and demographically. The smallest jurisdiction by population was Montgomery County, Ala., which had fewer than 250,000 residents, and the largest jurisdiction was the state of Connecticut, which had more than 3.5 million residents. Some of the sites, such as Utah County, Utah, and Bernalillo County, N.M., were gaining youth population while others, such as Philadelphia, Pa., were losing youth population. The portion of youth population ages 10–17 that was minority ranged from 15 percent in Hillsborough County, N.H., to 78 percent in Philadelphia. The poverty rates for children and youth also varied significantly among the nine sites. Although the selected sites had numerous differences, interviewees often pointed to similar strategies that they felt were responsible for reducing racial disparities in their systems. The eight most-noted strategies were 1. Focusing on data collection and utilization 2. Increasing collaboration with other state and local agencies, police, judges, and the community 3. Changing the institutional culture away from a punitive or procedural focus toward a focus on what was best for the youth and the community 4. Affiliating with national juvenile justice reform initiatives 5. Creating alternatives to secure detention, secure confinement, and formal system involvement 6. Focusing intentionally on DMC reduction (and not just on general system improvement) while using a non-accusatory tone 7. Leadership at the local level, the state level, or both 8. Making DMC reduction a long-term priority While these eight strategies were the most common, each site approached its unique DMC problems in its own way. Following is a brief summary of strategies utilized and achievements gained in each of the nine Details: Bethesda, MD: Development Services Group, Inc., 2014. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 19, 2016 at: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250301.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/250301.pdf Shelf Number: 147746 Keywords: Disproportionate Minority ContactJuvenile Justice SystemsMinority YouthsRacial Disparities |