Nationwide, research shows that minority youth are disproportionately involved with the juvenile justice system. To reduce the overrepresentation, ICJI carries out strategies and administers funding to address juvenile delinquency and support improvements to the juvenile justice system. The funding also helps Indiana address the four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act – one of those being Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED).
What are racial and ethnic disparities (RED)?
Racial and ethnic disparities exist if a specific minority group’s rate of contact at a particular point in the juvenile justice system is different than the rate of contact for non-Hispanic whites or other minority groups. The different racial and ethnic groups are: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders, Hispanic or Latino (of any race), Mixed or Other, and White. Decision point/Contact refers to the different decision points along the juvenile justice system continuum: arrests, delinquent findings, diversion, petition filed, probation, referrals, secure confinement, secure detention, and waived to adult court.
Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
JDAI is a national juvenile justice improvement initiative developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The initiative has been replicated across the country, proving to be successful in minimizing detention over-crowding, reducing the need to build more expensive facilities, improving efficiencies in the juvenile justice system operations, and producing better outcomes for youth and their families. Most importantly, JDAI has achieved successful outcomes while protecting community safety.