Reducing disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system: Promising practices

Since 1988, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act required states receiving funding under the act to determine whether the proportion of juvenile minorities in confinement exceeds their proportion in the general population (Public Law 93-415, 42 USC 5601 et seq.). The 1992 Congressional amendments made it a “core requirement” that states demonstrate their efforts to reduce DMC. Despite mandates, little systematic attention has been given to how DMC reductions should be achieved. States and local communities face ongoing challenges to reduce DMC rates in ways that are strategic, effective, and enduring. This article reviews and synthesizes national best practices for successfully reducing DMC in the juvenile justice system. Common practices and emerging strategies for effectively lowering DMC rates include: (a) data review and decision-point mapping; (b) cultural competency training; (c) increasing community-based detention alternatives; (d) removing decision-making subjectivity; (e) reducing barriers to family involvement; and (f) cultivating state leadership to legislate system-level change.