KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A $400,000 federal grant to the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority will help evaluate disproportionate minority contact in the juvenile justice system, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

The grant is being provided by the Title II Formula Grants Program through the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Program. A statewide disproportionate minority contact assessment will be conducted during 2012 through a competitive bid process with a local university researcher. Based on the assessment, including recommendations concerning why DMC exists and what can be done about it, $191,900 is budgeted in the award to address the problem at the local level.

The Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has been a leader in efforts to reduce the over-representation of minority youth in the nation’s juvenile justice system. In a 2007 report to the OJJDP, researchers concluded that offending behavior of different racial groups does not explain the higher representation of minority children in the juvenile justice system. The researchers called for further studies that consider a broader range of factors in police decision making including perceived public danger, availability of capable guardians, prior contacts with offenders, offenders’ demeanor at the time of arrest, existence of police diversion programs and availability of community services. For more information on the topic, visit the OJJDP’s DMC Virtual Resource Center at http://www.ojjdp.gov/dmc/

The grant also includes $95,950 for a juvenile detention alternative initiative. For more information about the grant, contact the Office of Justice Program’s Office of Communications at 202-307-0703.

 

 

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