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JERSEY
CITY – New Jersey hosted a national
conference on the topic of disproportionate
minority contact (DMC) to examine issues
related to the overrepresentation of minority
youth at various points in the juvenile
justice system. The Coalition for Juvenile
Justice (CJJ), in conjunction the New Jersey
Association of County Youth Services Commissions
and the Governor’s Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Committee,
held its 2010 National Disproportionate
Minority Contact Conference: Fundamental
Fairness: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic
Disparities in Juvenile Justice, from October
23-25, at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City.
More than 400 attendees from across the
country participated in the conference.
The
three-day conference began on Saturday,
October 23, with committee and regional
meetings of juvenile justice specialists
and disproportionate minority contact coordinators.
The day concluded with a “Conversation
with Dr. Cornell West”. The morning
session on Sunday, October 24 consisted
of a meeting of the chairs of the State
Advisory Groups from across the country.
The afternoon agenda included the opening
session of the conference and a keynote
address, by Gladys Carrión, Commissioner,
New York State Office of Children and Family
Services, as well as various workshops pertaining
for DMC. Monday, October 25 highlighted
several sessions featuring New Jersey’s
experiences with DMC, including a plenary
panel discussion entitled, “New Jersey
DMC Success and Challenges,” and “Prevention
of Juvenile Delinquency through Station
House Adjustments and School Based Youth
Services in New Jersey.”
According
to the OJJDP National Disproportionate Minority
Contact Databook, the arrest rate for white
youth was 50.1 for every 1,000 white juveniles
between the ages of 10-17 in the U.S. population
in 2007. Contrastingly, the arrest rate
for black youth was more than twice the
rate of white youth or 107.5 for every 1,000
black juveniles between the ages of 10-27
in the U.S. population in 2007.
“CJJ
was thrilled to co-convene a national conference
with our New Jersey partners and to share
news of New Jersey’s excellent progress
with attendees from 47 other U.S. states
and territories,” stated Nancy Gannon
Hornberger, CJJ executive director. “This
conference has been a wonderful forum to
bring forward examples of optimal efforts
to resolve racial disparities in juvenile
justice from across the United States.”
For
more that 25 years, CJJ has served our nation’s
youth, communities and its members as the
nationwide association of state juvenile
justice advisory groups chartered under
the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act (JJDPA). More than 1,800
state advisory group members and allies
participate in CJJ, representing the public
and private sectors, including juvenile
court and youth-serving professionals, concerned
citizens, youth, and advocates for children
and families.
“As
hosts of this ground-breaking conference
on the disproportionate number of minority
young people who have contact with the juvenile
justice system, the state of New Jersey
had the opportunity to share its advances
in this area with other states, while learning
from our colleagues from across the country,”
stated Veleria N. Lawson, executive director
of the NJ Juvenile Justice Commission. “New
Jersey is making great strides in reducing
racial and ethnic disparities – and
we will continue to do so. We understand
that in order to be successful all children
must have the opportunity to succeed.”
New
Jersey has taken various measures to reduce
DMC throughout the juvenile justice system.
Steps have including a directive by the
Attorney General to provide uniform access
to station house adjustments, the implementation
of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
(JDAI), and funding programs and services
in communities to address the needs of minority
youth.
New
Jersey has been able to significantly reduce
the number of young people being sent to
secure detention centers in the counties
currently implementing JDAI. In the eleven
sites participating in the initiative as
of 2009, the average daily population has
decreased by -42.9%. On any given day, there
were 288 fewer youth in secure detention,
with youth of color accounted for 88.7%
of this drop.
Judge
Glenn A. Grant, Acting Administrative Director
of the Courts, stressed the need for collaboration
and partnerships to address the continuing
problem of DMC in the juvenile justice system.
He said in his address, “Our success
in New Jersey has been a result of us breaking
down the silos and the individual attempts
to remedy this significant societal issue.
Our approach has shifted the focus from
an exclusionary model of reform, to a more
collaborative model of success.”
In
2003, Supreme Court Justice Deborah Poritz
established an initiative to examine DMC
in New Jersey in which the family court
vicinages were directed to work with the
County Youth Services Commissions to examine
the issue and develop plans to address DMC.
Plans were submitted to the Administrative
Office of the Courts. In 2010, the New Jersey
Supreme Court Committee on Minority Concerns
released a biennial report providing an
update to issues related to this initiative.
"The
New Jersey Governor's Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Committee was proud
to co-host the 2010 National Disproportionate
Minority Contact (DMC) Conference in partnership
with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice
and the New Jersey Association of County
Youth Services Commissions,” stated
Jean Krauss, Chair of the JJDP Committee.
“New Jersey's JJDP Committee will
continue to make DMC projects a funding
priority and will support the expansion
of services to youth of color across the
state. “
DMC
became a core requirement of the federal
JJDP Act in 1992. As New Jersey’s
State Advisory Group, NJ’s JJDP Committee
has made a significant effort to reduce
racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile
justice system.
The
JJDP Committee, through the JJC as its designated
state agency, has awarded funding to many
local station house adjustment programs
over the past four years, totaling almost
$600,000. In addition, the JJDP Committee,
in conjunction with the JJC, recently announced
the availability of $750,000 to fund local
disproportionate minority contact reduction
programs. Three awards of $250,000 will
be made representing northern, central and
southern regions of the state. The JJDP
Committee is currently accepting applications
and will host a mandatory applicants’
meeting on Thursday, October 28.
“Hosting
a national conference of this stature has
allowed juvenile justice professionals from
New Jersey to be able to see what is happening
around the nation, while we show-case the
great efforts being made here in New Jersey,”
said Christine Henderson Rose, NJACYSC co-chair.
“It was a wonderful learning opportunity
for everyone who attended.”
“Since
1997, the Juvenile Justice Commission and
County Youth Service Commissions have combined
efforts to reduce juvenile delinquency,
combat DMC, and provide local services to
youth. That partnership has seen a reduction
in juvenile arrests of 38% from 1996 to
2008," added Richard Seitz, NJACYSC
co-chair. "On behalf of all the local
County Youth Services Commission administrators
who make up the New Jersey Association of
Youth Services Commission Administrators,
we are please that the rest of the United
States traveled to New Jersey to see the
future promise of juvenile justice reform."
New
Jersey is currently preparing to conduct
a statewide DMC assessment, which will analyze
racial and ethnic disparities at various
decision-making points in the juvenile justice
system.
Realizing
Potential – Changing Futures
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