Disproportionate Minority Confinement: 1997 Update

• NCJ Number: 170606
• Author(s): H M Hsia; D Hamparian
• Date Published: September 1998
• Length: 12 pages
• Agencies: OJJDP

Annotation

This paper provides an overview of the status of the Federal initiative to address disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) in juvenile justice facilities and describes Pennsylvania's efforts to meet the needs of minority youth served by its juvenile justice system.

Abstract

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) administers the Formula Grants Program under Title II, part B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act. Under the Formula Grants Program, each State must address efforts to reduce the proportion of youth detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails, and lockups who are members of minority groups when such proportion exceeds that of such groups in the general population. DMC training and technical assistance are available from the OJJDP. The 1992 reauthorization of the JJDP Act substantially strengthened the national effort to address DMC by elevating it to a "core requirement" of the Formula Grants Program. This paper provides the updated status, as of December 1997, of compliance with the DMC core requirement among the jurisdictions participating in the JJDP Formula Grants Program. This includes an in-depth description of how Pennsylvania moved from one DMC phase to the next in a systematic, data- driven, and targeted effort to comprehensively address DMC. 18 references and 6 resources for additional information