Disproportionate Minority Confinement: 2002 Update

• NCJ Number: 201240
• Author(s): Heidi M. Hsia Ph.D.; George S. Bridges Ph.D.; Rosalie McHale
• Date Published: September 2004
• Length: 42 pages
• Grant Number(s): OJP-2000-298-BF/01
• Agencies: OJJDP
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)

Annotation

This summary report provides an overview of recent disproportionate minority confinement (DMC)-related developments within the United States juvenile justice system with a brief overview of the data, an outline compliance and assessment.

Abstract

Although minority youth account for about one-third of the United States juvenile population, they comprise two-thirds of the juvenile detention/corrections population. For both these youthful offenders and society, the problem with disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) has far-reaching consequences. The present levels of minority overrepresentation within the juvenile justice system indicate that efforts to reduce DMC must identify and address all contributing factors. This summary report outlines the efforts that have been made at the national level during the past 5 years to address DMC; it provides an update on DMC efforts at the State level, including a summary of the status of State compliance with the DMC core protection requirements; and it describes Washington State's efforts to reduce DMC over the past 10 years as an example of a comprehensive systems change approach to the problem. The report concludes with a look at the modifications to the DMC requirement contained in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Act of 2002 and OJJDP's action steps in support of continuing efforts to reduce DMC. Effectively addressing DMC will require long-term coordinated efforts at the Federal, State, and local levels. In summation, DMC is the result of a large number of complex decisions and events. Tables and references