a test of fairness
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A Test of Fairness. The mission of the Connecticut juvenile justice system is to collaboratively promote and administer prevention, justice, and effective treatment in a fair, timely, and appropriate manner with dignity and respect for the individual needs of children, youth, and families. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
A Test of FairnessThe mission of the Connecticut juvenile justice system is to collaboratively promote and administer prevention, justice, and effective treatment in a fair, timely, and appropriate manner with dignity and respect for the individual needs of children, youth, and families.
Connecticut Juvenile Justice Strategic Plan: Building Toward a Better Future, 2006
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
• Minority kids overrepresented in the juvenile justice system
• Treated more harshly at certain points there
Test question oneWhich CT kids are more likely to be:
Referred to court?Placed in secure holding?Taken to detention?Not released from detention
prior to case disposition?Transferred to adult court?Spend more time in CJTS?
Black Black Black
Black Black Black
WhiteWhiteWhite
WhiteWhiteWhite
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic
Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic
Source: A Second Reassessment of Disproportionate Minority Contact in Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System, OPM and Spectrum Associates 2009
Which states have DMC?
All of them
Why do we have DMC?
Because minority kidscommit more crime.
FALSEIn national surveys where youth reporton their own behavior, we find that kids
engage in very similar behaviorsat very similar rates.
Minority kids do the same things white kids do. But we treat kids of color more harshly.
2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
Why do we have DMC?
Because of poverty.
FALSEConnecticut studies weighed how
coming from a low-income neighborhood affects treatment. Poverty is a
disadvantage, but it does not accountfor the difference in treatment.
Source: A Second Reassessment of Disproportionate Minority Contact in Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System, OPM and Spectrum Associates 2009
Why do we have DMC?
Because there’s more crime where these kids live – in cities.
FALSEThe rates of disproportion in how kids of different races enter the system are even worse in Connecticut’s suburban and rural
communities than they are in the cities.
Source: A Second Reassessment of Disproportionate Minority Contact in Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System, OPM and Spectrum Associates 2009
DMC is real. Race alone is a factor
in how children are treated.
So we have to solve the whole,national problem of racism
to help our kids now?
FALSETargeted policy changes
make a difference.
History Lesson• In 1995, the state found minority kids were
being placed in detention at higher rates than their white peers for all offenses.
• Connecticut then changed practice. Police now get a court order before taking a child to detention, unless he or she is charged with a SJO.
• In the 2001 (and 2009) study the disparity for non-SJO detention admissions disappeared.
Learning from History
Now minority kids accused of SJOs are getting detained more than their white peers.
More than 50 charges are deemed SJOs.
What can we do about it?
Require a court orderto detain a juvenile for an SJO.
• Going to detention can be traumatic• Triggers more serious consequences as
the child moves through the system• Detention costs $377/day/kid. We can’t
afford to put kids in detention because of the color of their skin.
• Requiring the court order is a zero cost solution.
Will this solve DMC?
It is a good first step, but we need to do more, including:
•Using data to boost accountability•Supporting LISTS who wish to focus on DMC locally•Bringing kids back from out-of-state placements•Reducing in-school arrests
Extra Credit
• Betrays our own values• Harms kids, families, communities• Wastes money by sending kids to
the system inappropriately• Wastes money by sending kids too
deep into the system
How does DMC hurt Connecticut?
Concrete costsAvg. daily cost
Detention $377Secure residential $562CJTS $774
Who is hurt by DMC?
Every taxpayer in Connecticut