A Strategy for Dismantling Structural Racism in the Juvenile Delinquency System

Poverty & Race PRRAC POVERTY & RACE RESEARCH ACTION COUNCIL March/April 2011 Volume 20: Number 2 A Strategy for Dismantling Structural Racism in the Juvenile Delinquency System by Edgar S. Cahn, Keri A. Nash & Cynthia Robbins Juveniles of color are more likely outcomes for youth of color have been to 2004, African Americans com- than their white counterparts to be ar- well documented for years. This ar- prised only 16% of all youth in the rested, referred to juvenile court rather ticle provides some of the national data United States, but constituted 28% of than diversion programs, waived to that underscore the extensive racial juvenile arrests; 30% of referrals to adult court, detained pre-trial and disparity that persists in the juvenile juvenile court; 37% of the detained locked up at disposition. justice system. Second, the article will population; 34% of youth formally In 2008, the Racial Justice Initia- narrow the focus to Washington, DC, processed by the juvenile court; 30% tive of TimeBanks USA (“RJI”)— where the RJI is working more inten- of adjudicated youth; 35% of youth www.RacialJusticeInitiative.org— sively in 2011 and beyond. Finally, judicially waived to adult criminal developed a new social advocacy and the article sets forth how this strategy court; 38% of youth in residential litigation strategy focused on disman- could be implemented to break placement; and 58% of youth admit- tling structural racism in the juvenile through more than three decades of ted to state adult prison. There is in- justice and child welfare systems as logjam on legal challenges to racial controvertible evidence that race bias well as other public systems that af- disparity in juvenile justice. Although affects critical decisions leading to fect vulnerable youth. Congress annually appropriates hun- confinement, and that the conse- The data on the depth of the racial dreds of millions of dollars to reduce quences of this disparate treatment are disparity and the resulting negative the racial disparity in juvenile justice, devastating to juveniles of color. more than 35 years after enactment Over the last 30 years, multiple Edgar S. Cahn (yeswecan@aol. of the seminal juvenile delinquency studies have shown that disproportion- com) is founder of Time Dollars and prevention act, results in most juris- ate minority contact (“DMC”) afflicts TimeBanks USA, co-founder of the dictions are barely discernible. nearly every processing point in nearly Racial Justice Initiative of TimeBanks every juvenile justice system in the USA, co-founder of the National Le- country. In Michael J. Leiber’s article, gal Service Program and of the National Arrest, (Please turn to page 2) Antioch School of Law, predecessor Prosecution and to the UDC David A. Clarke School Incarceration Rates of Law. Keri A. Nash ([email protected]) Reveal Substantial CONTENTS: is Associate for Legal Research & Out- Disproportionality Juvenile Justice ........ 1 reach of the Racial Justice Initiative Foreclosures & of TimeBanks USA. While young people of all races Schooling ................. 3 Cynthia Robbins (Cynthia@time commit delinquent acts, some receive Mt. Laurel .................. 9 banks.org) is co-founder & co-leader treatment while others are arrested, PRRAC Update ....... 11 funneled into the delinquency system, of the Racial Justice Initiative of Apologies/ and too often, eventually incarcerated. TimeBanks USA and former chair of Reparations ............ 12 Public Defender Service of the Dis- According to the National Council on Resources ................ 13 trict of Columbia. Crime and Delinquency, from 2002 Poverty & Race Research Action Council • 1200 18th Street NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036 202/906-8023 • FAX: 202/842-2885 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.prrac.org Recycled Paper (JUVENILE: Continued from page 1) federal juvenile delinquency preven- made up the majority, with 3,051 tion funding to measure the rate of (93%) arrests. An African-American “Disproportionate Minority Confine- DMC at nine different decision points youth is approximately 19 times as ment of Youth: An Analysis of State in the juvenile justice system: juve- likely to be arrested as a White youth and Federal Efforts to Address the nile arrests; referral to juvenile court; in the District. Issue,” he noted that 32 of 46 studies cases diverted; cases involving secure conducted by 40 states reported “race detention; cases petitioned (charges Data for Juvenile Delinquency effects”—defined as “the presence of filed); cases resulting in delinquent Involvement in Washington, DC a statistically significant race relation- findings; cases resulting in probation ship, with a case outcome that remains placement; cases resulting in confine- In addition to the juvenile arrests, once controls for legal factors have ment in secure juvenile facilities; and, there was disproportionate represen- been considered.” When African cases transferred to adult court. tation at almost every other major Americans, Latinos, Native Ameri- decision point in the juvenile justice cans, Asian and Pacific Islanders con- system. In 2007, 3,364 youths were stituted only 35% of the U.S. youth Washington, DC referred to juvenile court, with 2,624 population, they comprised 65% of all (78%) referrals for African-American youth who were securely detained pre- Washington, DC is like many cit- youth; 637 (19%) referrals for Other/ adjudication. Youth of color are four ies, a majority-minority city. How- Mixed youth, 81 (2%) referrals for times more likely to be arrested for a ever, that alone does not explain the Hispanic youth, 17 (1%) referrals for drug trafficking offense, even though White youth, and 5 (0.1%) referrals white teens’ self-reported experiences Negative outcomes for for Asian youth. The decision to di- of using and selling drugs are at rates youth of color have vert youth from the system is the only greater than that of African-American been well documented. decision point where the 582 youth teens. The length of incarceration arrested who were diverted was pro- compounds both the disparity and the portionate because the majority of injury inflicted; on average, African- depth of the racial disparity in the ju- youth diverted were youth of color. American and Latino juveniles are venile justice system. The RJI’s strat- There were 1,212 total cases in- confined, respectively, 61 and 112 egy can be implemented in any pub- volving secure detention, of which days longer than white youth. Addi- lic system in this nation, but we focus 1,173 (97%) were African-American, tionally, as noted in a previous RJI on jurisdictions where the disparity is 29 (2%) were Hispanic, and 5 (.04%) publication—“An Offer They Can’t stark and the outcomes for youth of were White. And 2,478 youth had Refuse: Racial Disparities in Juvenile color are even starker. A brief dis- cases petitioned: 1,940 (78%) were Justice and Deliberate Indifference play of some basic statistics of the dis- African-American, 458 (18%) were Meet Alternatives That Work,” “mi- proportionate rate of system engage- Other/Mixed, 63 (3%) were Hispanic, norities account for more than 58% ment for youth of color in DC pro- 12 (0.48%) were White, and, 5 of youth admitted to state adult pris- vides a snapshot of the inequities (0.2%) were Asian. Also, 616 youth ons.” manifest throughout the country. had cases that resulted in delinquent In an attempt to eliminate DMC, In 2007, the youth population in findings, with 589 (96%) African- federal law requires states that receive the District of Columbia ages 10 to American, 22 (4%) Hispanic. In ad- 17 was 49,394. It was comprised of: dition, there was 1 White and 1 Asian 38,131 (77%) African Americans, Poverty and Race (ISSN 1075- youth who each had cases that resulted 3591) is published six times a year by 9,848 (20%) Whites, and 1,415 (3%) in delinquent findings. the Poverty & Race Research Action Latinos/Hispanics. There were 3,410 At the deeper end of the spectrum Council, 1200 18th Street NW, Suite (7%) classified as Latino/Hispanic, of juvenile justice system involve- 200, Washington, DC 20036, 202/906- which overlaps with other racial cat- ment, the statistics show the same 8023, fax: 202/842-2885, E-mail: egories because Latino/Hispanic was [email protected]. Chester Hartman, story of disproportionality. In 2007, Editor. Subscriptions are $25/year, classified as ethnicity and not a race 369 cases resulted in probation in $45/two years. Foreign postage extra. according to U.S. Census Bureau sta- placement, with 349 (95%) African- Articles, article suggestions, letters and tistics. Indeed, youth of color consti- American youth, 16 (4%) Hispanic general comments are welcome, as are tute the majority, but we find an over- youth, 2 (0.54%) White youth, and 1 notices of publications, conferences, representation of youth of color at job openings, etc. for our Resources (0.27%) Asian youth. There were 247 Section. Articles generally may be re- every decision point in the delin- cases that resulted in confinement, printed, providing PRRAC gives ad- quency system, except for the most with 240 (97%) African-American, 6 vance permission. important decision at the outset: to (2%) Hispanic and 1 (0.4%) Asian. © Copyright 2011 by the Poverty avert involvement through diversion. There were no White youth sent to & Race Research Action Council. All In 2007, 3,279 juveniles were ar- rights reserved. correctional facilities. Additionally, rested, and African-American youth (Please turn to page 6) 2 • Poverty & Race • Vol. 20, No. 2 • March/April 2011 Foreclosure and Kids: When Losing Your Home Means Losing Your School by Vicki Been, Ingrid Ellen, Amy Schwartz, Leanna Stiefel & Meryle Weinstein While researchers, policymakers Center for Real Estate and Urban sure (lis pendens or “LPs”) each year and the popular media have given con- Policy and NYU’s Institute for Edu- more than doubled between 2000 and siderable attention to the causes of the cation and Social Policy examined the 2010.

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