October is Youth Justice Awareness Month. YJAM brings awareness to systemic racial inequality
In his proclamation naming October 2015 Youth Justice Awareness Month, President Obama said, “Nearly 55,000 individuals under age 21 are being held in juvenile justice facilities across the United States—a disproportionate number of whom are young people of color, including tribal youth. The proportion of detained and incarcerated girls and young women, often victims of abuse, has also significantly increased over the past few decades.”
When you look at the statistics, the racial disparity between which kids end up in jail and which do not is startling.
According to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, African American juveniles comprise 16 percent of the youth population, yet they represent
- 26% of juvenile arrests
- 44% of those detained
- 46% of youth sent to criminal court
- 58% of youth admitted to state prisons
Take a look at the 2013 arrest rates, reported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:
- white arrest rate 32.2 for every 1,000 persons ages 10-17
- black arrest rate 73.8.
Though it may be hard to believe, this racial disparity starts as far back as preschool.
It has been found that 48 percent of preschool children with more than one suspension are black (Justice Policy Institute). Suspensions matter. Forty-nine percent of entering high-school students with three suspensions drop out. (“Sent Home and Put Off Track.") Leaving school harms more than the individual. The National Center for School Engagement has calculated that each high-school dropout costs society about $200,000 over a lifetime.
How does the juvenile justice system treat girls?
Then there is the question of young females that President Obama brought up. A September 2015 study uncovered a startling gender and racial disparity in juvenile justice.
Over the last 20 years while overall juvenile arrests and detentions declined
- female arrests increased 45 percent
- girls constituted 40 percent of court caseloads
- detentions jumped 40 percent
Disparity was found in the way males were treated as opposed to females. Twenty-five percent of detained boys were locked up for status offenses or technical offenses as opposed 37 percent of detained girls. Now look at the stat for girls brought up for weaponless, simple assault and public-order offenses. The breakdown is 21 percent females versus 12 percent males.
And there is inequality across racial and ethnic lines. Black girls were 20 percent more likely to be detained than whites. It’s worse for American Indian and Alaska Native girls. They were 50 percent more likely to be detained. These numbers come from the “Gender Injustice” report.
If you’re talking awareness, how many people are aware that it costs $8 to $21 billion a year to lock up kids? Again, that’s $8 to $21 billion each and every year.
There must be a better way—and there is. President Obama said his administration is “emphasizing prevention, promoting cost-effective and community-based alternatives to confinement.” Alternatives like Multisystemic Therapy keep kids in school and out of jail. The cost of evidence-based models pale in comparison to the status quo.
To learn about what makes MST such an effective intervention, download this white paper.
