Union County DMC Project: 2004 - 2011

1. Union County DMC Project: 2004 - 2011 Presented by Rebecca Smith

2. What is DMC? • According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) refers to the disproportionate number of minority youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. • DMC = percentage of youth of color in system > percentage of youth of color in population

3. DMC is NOT: • A research project • Solving the problems of racism or poverty • The Blame Game – kids, parents, the community, music videos, television, the media, “the system” • Finger-pointing at public officials • The Abuse Excuse – poor, broken home, bad neighborhood, etc. • Slap on the wrist for African-American/Hispanic youth

4. What does DMC look like?

5. Why does DMC occur? • Structural inequalities and inequities in our society • Differential offending rates • Juvenile justice policies that are fair on their face but have unintended negative consequences • Police responses to crime • Location of offenses • Conscious or unconscious use of racial/ethnic stereotypes • Policy based on anecdote or “gut feeling” • Failure to use data to drive decisions • Failure to include all stakeholders in policy decisions

6. How did this project start in Union County?

7. Governor’s Crime Commission Grant • Juvenile Crime Prevention Council was awarded a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission in 2004 • Goal was to study the extent of and gain insight into disproportionate minority contact • Memorandum of Understanding • Analysis of decision points

8. What did Union County do?

9. Initial steps • Established/re-established relationships • Met with stakeholders at each decision point • Developed strategies based on needs of the local community

10. Determined that more training was needed for law enforcement • ACTION: Developed training for law enforcement agencies based on NC General Statutes – Training was offered to all agencies in the county • RESULT: Officers stated they felt more comfortable working with the juvenile population

11. Law enforcement expressed that they did not know where to refer youth and families so they were charging youth in order to get them services • ACTION: Created Resource Guide that is broken down by service needed – Given to all law enforcement agencies in the county, school guidance counselors, school administrators, DJJDP Court Counselors, and JCPC programs • RESULT: Law enforcement and other agencies are referring youth to agencies to receive services instead of the juvenile justice office School system also incorporated resource guide into requirement before long-term suspension authorized

12. How did the Union County DMC Project get involved with the DMC Action Network?

13. DMC Action Network Grant • In October 2007, Union County was selected to be a part of the DMC Action Network by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Center for Children’s Law and Policy • Awarded grant for three years to implement strategic innovations locally and replicate them across the state

14. Strategic Innovations • Improved Race and Ethnicity Data Collection Methods • Implement and monitor strategies to reduce the number of post-dispositional youth admitted to secure detention for probation violations • Begin development and implementation of detention screening in order to reduce unnecessary and inappropriate admissions to secure detention

15. Improved Data Collection • Why? • Agencies that serve youth need to know demographics of target population • Data can give you a better understanding of where and what type of resources need to be made available • ACTION: Implement two part question used by the US Census Bureau – Also added primary language • RESULT: Clearer picture of who is being charged and what services need to be made available. Race and Ethnicity data collection is now part of the intake process statewide

16. Before… Union County, NC Juvenile Complaints Received Data is from January 2008 to March 2008 and was obtained from NC JOIN and Case Files.

17. After… Union County, NC Juvenile Complaints Received Data is from January 2010 to March 2010 and was obtained from NC JOIN and Case Files.

18. Questions Asked… • What strategies can be implemented to assist the families of Hispanic youth? • How can our JCPC programs assist with this need?

19. What we have learned… • Far fewer Hispanic youth in the system than most perceived • Fewer than 10 families had a primary language other than English (reduced need for translation of forms) • Majority of the Hispanic population being served in the juvenile justice system were comfortable speaking English

20. Graduated Sanctions Grid • Why? • Reduce number of detention admissions for violations of probation • Allows for immediate and appropriate consequences to violations of probation while maintaining public safety and juvenile accountability • ACTION: Developed and Implemented the Graduated Sanctions Grid for Violations of Probation • RESULT: Reduction in detention admissions for VOPs by 60% from October 2008 to October 2010, Overall detention admission reduction of 55%

21. Before… Union County, NC Detention Admissions Data is from October 2008 to December 2008 and was obtained from NC JOIN and Case Files.

22. After… 60% reduction in detention admissions for Violations of Probation Union County, NC Detention Admissions Data is from October 2010 to December 2010 and was obtained from NC JOIN and Case Files.

23. Questions Asked… • While the overall detention admissions dropped, why did the minority admissions remain 60% of the population? • Is it the seriousness of the violations or the seriousness of the original charges? • Is the court counselor using the appropriate sanctions? • Are there specific sanctions that are fair on their face, but present barriers for minority youth?

24. 2008: 76 detention admissions 2009: 48 detention admissions 2010: 17 detention admissions as of June 30th Of these admissions, 51% were black youth and 41% were white non-Hispanic youth All minorities accounted for 59% of detention admissions

25. What we have learned… • Many Court Counselors were using graduated sanctions on their own before the grid became standard. • When used appropriately, the graduated sanctions grid can reduce detention admissions and average length of stay for all youth. • Rewards and Incentives grids should be used in conjunction with the sanctions. (Positive Reinforcement)

26. Diversions from Court • Why? • Research shows that the further a youth penetrates the system, the higher the likelihood they will reoffend • Court services can provide limited structure as well as referrals to services in the local community • ACTION: Divert youth, based on risk and needs, as allowable by NC General Statute • RESULT: In 2009 and 2010, 35% of complaints were diverted from court

27. What we have learned • As much as 50% of school based complaints each quarter can/are diverted • These youth have a lower recidivism rate than those approved for court (20% of diverted vs. 53% non diverted in the April to June 2009 time period) • Youth are more successful in their completion of community programs

29. Contact Information • Becky Smith, Juvenile Court Counselor/Site Leader • Becky.smith@djjdp.nc.gov • 704-289-4169 www.uniondmc.webs.com