Coalition Letter to the Senate on Juvenile Justice and Disproportionate Minority Confinement

Dear Senator:

We would like to take this opportunity to bring to your attention a matter of serious concern to us.

Earlier this year, Senator Hatch introduced S.254, the Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999. The bill substantially revises the current Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act's (JJDPA) core requirement regarding Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC). Current law directs states to identify the extent to which disproportionate minority confinement exists in their states, to assess the reason that it exists, and to develop strategies to address the disproportionate number of minority children in confinement.

It is well documented that in nearly every state, minority youth are over-represented at every stage of the juvenile justice system, particularly in secure confinement. Studies show that minority youth consistently receive more severe punishments and are incarcerated more than non-minority youth who committed the same offense. For example, a study in California showed that minority youth consistently received more severe punishments and were more likely to receive jail time than non-minority youth who committed the same offenses.

As a result of the current law requirement, 40 states to date are developing plans to address DMC. The Department of Justice issued a report several months ago, "Disproportionate Minority Confinement: Lessons Learned From Five States" which acknowledges the differential treatment between minority and non-minority youth and highlights some of the promising interventions undertaken in these five states to address the disparity. As the current law requires, 40 states to date are implementing or developing intervention plans to address DMC.

The law does not require and has never resulted in the release of juveniles, or require numerical quotas for arrest or release of any youth from custody based on race, and no state's funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act has ever been reduced as a result of non compliance with this provision.

We strongly believe that by removing the current law's language, the widespread disparity in treatment of minority youth would be largely ignored and efforts developed by the states themselves to remedy the disparate treatment of minority youth would be seriously undermined. We urge your support of any amendments which would continue to support the states' efforts and build on the progress that has been made to date. We further urge your support in strengthening the statutory language under the current law that requires states to address the disproportionate number of minority youth confined in the juvenile justice system.

Sincerely,

American Civil Liberties Union
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Defense Fund
Florida Avenue Baptist Church
Friends Committee for National Legislation
Justice Policy Institute
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
League of United Latin American Citizens
LISTEN, Inc.
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense Fund
National Council of Churches
National Council of La Raza
National Network for Youth
National Urban League
The National Association of Counsel for Children
The Sentencing Project
Youth Law Center