In the 1988 amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93–415, 42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.), Congress required that States address disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) in their State plans. The JJDP Act requires States to "address efforts to reduce the proportion of juveniles detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails, and lockups who are members of minority groups if such proportion exceeds the proportion such groups represent in the general population" (see Section 223(a)(23)). For purposes of this requirement, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has defined minority populations as African Americans, American Indians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics (OJJDP Formula Grants Regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 31), although, in practice, "American Indians" has been interpreted to include American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and others. In the 1992 amendments to the JJDP Act, DMC was elevated to a core requirement, with future funding eligibility tied to State compliance.

States participating in the Formula Grants Program address DMC on an ongoing basis by moving through the following phases:

Identification. To determine the extent to which DMC exists.

Assessment. To assess the reasons for DMC, if it exists.

Intervention. To develop and implement intervention strategies to address these identified reasons.

Evaluation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen intervention strategies.

Monitoring. To note changes in DMC trends and to adjust intervention strategies as needed.

Each State must report on its progress in its comprehensive JJDP 3-year plan and subsequent plan updates (in compliance with Section 223(a)(23)). OJJDP reviews the plan updates annually. Any State that fails to address the overrepresentation of minority youth in confinement stands to forfeit 25 percent of its Formula Grants allocation for the year.

Source: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dmc/index.html (OJJDP/ DMC website)

Ohio is considered to be in compliance with the DMC mandate. It has gone through the steps of identification and assessment and has implemented interventions that have reduced the proportion of minorities held in secure confinement.

A strategic approach to reducing DMC includes planning and intervention activities. The following planning and intervention activities are based on an assessment of what has been implemented in states around the country.

All states should use the identification and assessment data to guide the development of intervention plans and activities.

In setting priorities for use of Federal funds, attention should be given to decision points that affect a large number of juveniles.

Planning for new programs or policy changes should be directed to neighborhoods or counties with the greatest needs or that will have the greatest impact and the likelihood of success.

The bulk of the planning, design and implementation must occur at the local level

Involve all the significant actors - early in the planning process

Local justice policies must be acknowledged. Random sample of counties is not the way to go. Those counties where the greatest impact on DMC should be identified through the identification and assessment processes and targeted. Multiplier effects and cost efficiency should be considered

Multiple systems are involved in DMC and multiple systems should be involved in the planning

Intervention activities should be developed from a set of goals and objectives.

Monitoring/evaluation processes should be developed prior to implementation of activities. These processes should address the impact on DMC specifically.

Increasing programs for minority juveniles is not necessarily the solution to DMC. Policies and procedures should be reviewed to ascertain their effect on DMC.

If services seem to be the priority, new services may not be necessary. Reoriented existing services to increase effectiveness may be the desired approach.

Have a designated person responsible for DMC

Address the underlying factors that contribute to DMC

Don’t only consider new interventions, but consider the enhancement/modification of existing interventions

Determine organizational responsibility

Allocate a specified percentage of the block grant to DMC

The DMC mandate provides that when disproportionate confinement has been demonstrated, the State Formula Grants Plan must include, but not be limited to, the following DMC activities:

Staffing and training

Prevention

Diversion

Reintegration

Policies and procedures

State Intervention Plans could include the following activities:

Increase cultural diversity of program staff

Support training and education in cultural competency

Develop and support prevention services

Increase the availability and improve the quality of diversion programs

Develop community based alternatives to secure detention and corrections

Develop alternatives to secure detention

Develop a continuum of Dispositional Alternatives

Review and change policies and procedures

Provide for continuing data collection and monitoring on the DMC issue.

Develop multiple intervention strategies. There is no single answer for reducing DMC. Given that multiple factors contribute to minority overrepresentation, multiple strategies are needed to address it. Advocacy strategies to assist families to navigate the system need to be considered.

Donna Hamparian, President, Juvenile Justice Coalition

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