Overrepresentation Of Minorities Research Articles

Reducing Overrepresentation of Minorities in Juvenile Justice: Development of Community-Based Programs in Pennsylvania

Although minority overrepresentation in juvenile justice settings has been identified as a persistent problem, interventions are scarce. To address minority overrepresentation in its juvenile justice system, Pennsylvania funded nine community-based intervention programs. This article describes a systematic model that provides an active role for program staff in program assessment and development prior to the design of outcome evaluations. Using archival, interview, and observational methods, we conducted evaluability assessments and process evaluations of each program. These formative evaluations provided essential information to strengthen community-based program planning, implementation, and impact assessment.

Reflections on the New Definition for Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Who Still Falls through the Cracks and why

The new federal definition for emotional or behavioral disorders improves upon the old criteria in many ways. However, a clause in that definition, intended to prevent overrepresentation of minorities, may instead deny services to many of these deserving pupils. In order to assure that the intent of the new definition is met, immediate action is needed at all levels of education.

Blind Justice? The Impact of Race on the Juvenile Justice Process

The increasing prevalence of minority youth in the juvenile justice system has renewed concerns over racial disparities in juvenile justice processing. Previous research has yielded ambiguous results, with findings complicated by methodological shortcomings, divergent research strategies, and design artifacts. To resolve questions on the extent and source of racial disparities in juvenile justice processing, research is needed on the nature, location, and magnitude of discrimination in the juvenile justice system. This study examines racial disparities in decision making at six points in the juvenile justice process, from apprehension through judicial commitment decisions. Samples of Anglo and minority youth were drawn at each point, controlling for offense severity, other offense characteristics, and extralegal factors in addition to race. The results show racial disparities at each point, with minorities consistently receiving harsher dispositions. Disparities took different forms at various stages of the process, usually for nonserious offenses. Race was a direct, indirect, and interactive influence at various decision points. Disparities were observed at other times only when controlling for other extralegal factors such as family status. The results suggest that the juvenile justice system reflects social and economic disparities endemic in other social domains. The correlates of delinquency in minority and predominantly Anglo populations are similar. Accordingly, base rate differences may be less important than societal reaction in explaining the overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenile justice process. The narrowing of social gaps may also reduce disparate perceptions of minorities in the juvenile justice system, and restore their population balance in delinquent populations.

Race, Income, and Penetration of the Justice System

A great deal of interest and controversy has focused on the impact of race on crime and justice system status. Some have suggested that the overrepresentation of identifiable racial minorities in our system can be attributed to discrimination; others suggest that this can be attributed to the higher levels of poverty observed in these groups. This study addressed this issue by the use of available summary data in the census, Department of Corrections reports, and law enforcement information from the State Criminal Justice Information System. The findings provide partial support for the hypothesis that when economic status is held constant, blacks will be more likely to be processed by the justice system than whites. Race does not appear to have an effect, with economic status controlled, at the arrest level. However, blacks are more likely to be incarcerated than whites, indicating that race has an impact on the degree of penetration of the system.

Professional Sports as an Alternative Channel of Social Mobility

Inequality of opportunity in the process of occupational attainment via the educational system is anticipated to cause a tendency toward alternative routes of social mobility among underprivileged groups. Professional sports have often been referred to in this respect, particularly in connection with the overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in them. The present study attempts to determine if the choice of a career in sports is mainly a matter of an individual's educational achievement and aspirations, or whether such a tendency is conditioned by socioeconomic and ethnic background. An investigation of this question among junior soccer players in Israel indicates that the preference for a career in soccer is associated with both low levels of educational achievement and modest goals, regardless of family background. Thus, at least as far as Israeli society is concerned, it is not only “cultural predisposition” which makes professional sports more attractive for lower ethnic groups, but, also the greater difficulties that youngsters of such origin encounter in the educational system.