Ohio’s Strategies to Reduce Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice System

Ohio Department of Youth Services Parole and Community Services

David Schroot, Deputy DirectorJune 20, 2008

AgendaDMC and the Federal RequirementsFederal DMC ProcessOhio’s DMC InitiativeOhio Rates and DataCuyahoga County’s DMC InitiativeQuestions and Answers

What is DMC

Disproportionate Minority Contact

A condition that exists when minority youth have a rate of contact with law enforcement and the juvenile justice system greater than their proportion in the general population

Federal Requirement The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and

Delinquency Prevention requires that states receiving Title II funding address DMC—states must:

“address juvenile delinquency prevention efforts and system improvement efforts designed to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or quotas, the disproportionate number of juvenile members of minority groups, who come into contact with the juvenile justice system”

Federal DMC Process

IdentificationDMC Decision Points:

Juvenile arrestsReferrals to juvenile courtCases divertedCases involving secure detentionCases petitioned (charge filed)Cases adjudicated delinquentCases resulting in probation placementCases resulting in confinement to secure JCFCases transferred to adult court

Identification and Assessment Since 2004, Ohio has collected data to identify

disparities across the decision points Counties teams are currently conducting

assessments of the data to determine who, what, when, where, and why disparities exist

Ohio’s DMC Initiative The purpose of Ohio’s initiative is to reduce

overrepresentation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system through the development and implementation of a model of community capacity building and systems change to address issues around DMC

The 14 Counties selected to participate in DMC represent 86.91% of the minority youth population ages 10 – 17, in the State of Ohio

Ohio’s DMC Initiative Participating Counties

AllenButlerClark

CuyahogaFranklin

HamiltonLorainLucas

MahoningMontgomery

RichlandStark

SummitTrumbull

Ohio’s DMC Initiative August 2007

Kicked off the first DMC Institute with OSU, CLEX

100+ participants from all 14 counties Overview of DMC Process

September 2007 DYS allocated approximately $700,000 to the

14 counties to begin assessments and for possible interventions

November 2007 Cultural competency Institute conducted by

Michael Lindsey of Nestor Consulting

Ohio’s DMC InitiativeFebruary 2008

Institute on DMC Reduction Strategies Center for Children’s Law and Policy Annie E. Casey Foundation Children’s Home Association of Illinois West Virginia Supreme Court

May 2008 Held an Institute on monitoring and

evaluation Developing logic models Developing outcomes based on assessment results

Ohio’s DMC InitiativeFuture Institutes and Activities

June 27, 2008—Institute on sustaining DMC locally Continuing beyond the State’s DMC Increasing/building community capacity DMC as part of a community strategic plan

September 26, 2008—Counties will participate in a presentation event showcasing their accomplishments

Title II funding earmarked for DMC reduction activities OSU will continue to provide training and technical

assistance (Institutes) in year 2 of the DMC Initiative

Ohio Rates and Data 84.1% of Ohio’s youth population is Caucasian 36.8% of DYS’ population is Caucasian

15.9% of Ohio’s youth population is African American 60.1% of DYS’ population is African American

2.9% of Ohio’s youth population is Hispanic 2.5% of DYS’ population is Hispanic

Ohio Rates and Data Total Admissions to DYS

Comparing 1999 to 2007, admissions are down by 19.2%

Ohio Rates and Data DYS Admissions by Race

Comparing 1999 to 2007, white admissions are down by 40% and non-white admissions are up by 1.2%

Ohio Rates and Data Cuyahoga County Admissions to DYS by Race

Cuyahoga County DMC Cuyahoga County is 28% minority Cleveland City is 57% minority DMC Activities

Juvenile Court has submitted data to identify DMC Law enforcement has submitted arrest data County has formed a team to facilitate DMC process locally Department of Justice Affairs is participating in DMC Initiative Kent State University is conducting an assessment to

determine who, what, when, where, and why Title II funding will be dedicated to DMC reduction activities

Questions and Answers