Article about why it is critical that the Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) Guidelines be written flexibly enough to permit the use of funds for youth who may be past the front door of juvenile justice. Youth of color are particularly at risk of entering juvenile justice for mental health related behavior that is not […]
Drugs and Disparity: The Racial Impact of Illinois’ Practice of Transferring Young Drug Offenders to Adult Court
This study analyzed data from state criminal justice agencies in Illinois and national corrections databases. It concludes that Illinois’ practice of automatically sending 15 and 16-year-old youth charged with drug crimes to adult court has produced one of the most racially disparate outcomes in the nation. Of the 259 youth automatically transferred to adult court […]
Chapter 7 Strategies for Serving Hispanic Youth
Maria Ramiu, YLC Managing Director, and Dana Shoenberg, CCLP Staff Attorney co-authored Chapter 7, Strategies for Serving Hispanic Youth, in Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Disproportionate Minority Contact Technical Assistance Manual (2009 fourth edition). Chapter 7 describes the lessons learned from a two-year project in Washoe County, Nevada, and Travis County, Texas that […]
Color of Justice: An Analysis of Juvenile Adult Court Transfers in California
This study shows that African American, Latino, and Asian American youth in California are significantly more likely to be transferred to adult court and sentenced to incarceration than white youth who commit comparable crimes. The report provides detailed information, charts, and analyses that lead to the conclusion that youth of color are 2.5 times more […]
And Justice for Some: Differential Treatment of Minority Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
This report shows that youth of color are over represented at each point in the system and that this disadvantage accumulates as they move through the system. Researchers found that minority youth are more likely to be referred to juvenile court, be detained, face trial as adults and go to jail than white youth who […]
OFF BALANCE: Youth, Race & Crime in the News
The authors in this study examined more than 70 content analyses of newspaper and television crime coverage and found that depictions of crime in the news are not reflective of the rate of crime, the proportion of crime which is violent, the proportion of crime committed by people of color, or the proportion of crime […]
Tale of Two Jurisdictions: Youth Crime and Detention Rates in Maryland and the District of Columbia
The report looks at youth crime and detention rates during the 1990’s in the District and Maryland. During the decade, DC’s juvenile detention rate dropped 71%, while Maryland’s detention rate increased by 3%. During the same decade, DC’s violent juvenile crime rate dropped by more than three times as much as violent juvenile crime dropped […]
Public Opinion on Youth, Crime and Race: A Guide for Advocates
This resource for youth advocates summarizes the public opinion research on youth and juvenile justice issues from the Building Blocks focus groups and national poll, as well as other polls, and includes recommendations about how advocates can frame the issues in their work focusing on effective messages and messengers, and how advocates can use this […]
¿Dónde Está La Justicia? A Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the U.S. Justice System
This report is the most comprehensive report ever released about Latino and Latina youth in the U.S. justice system. The report reveals that Latino and Latina youth receive disparate and more punitive treatment than White youth, even when charged with the same types of offenses, and that available data actually under-counts the disparities because states […]
Unintended Consequences: The Impact of ‘Zero Tolerance’ and Other Exclusionary Policies on Kentucky Students
This report found that Kentucky’s African-American youth are suspended from many schools at rates far higher than the suspension rates for Kentucky’s white students. The report also found that tens of thousands of students are suspended from Kentucky’s schools each year for minor school board policy violations. In addition to the problem with suspensions, the […]
Northern Lights: Success in Student Achievement and School Discipline at Northern Elementary School
As a follow up to the February, 2003, Building Blocks study that illustrated the disproportionate impact of zero tolerance policies on Kentucky’s students of color, this new study, ‘Northern Lights’ released on April 22 shows that this trend can be reversed. This report highlights that out-of-school suspensions can be significantly decreased (over 50%) without compromising […]
Punitive Juvenile Justice Policies and the Impact on Minority Youth
A review and analysis of recent ‘get tough’ legislation and its effect on youth of color.