Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Juvenile Justice Processing

This literature review from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) covers racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.

The review begins with definitions related to racial and ethnic disparities, which are followed by how disparities can be measured and a description of the scope of the problem.

A brief history of the Core Requirement to address racial and ethnic disproportionality in the JJDPA is then presented, followed by a description of a large body of empirical studies that attempt to explain why there are disparities in juvenile justice.

Finally, a brief overview is provided on some of the efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities that have been captured by research literature, followed, finally, by examples of programs related to the reduction of these disparities.

The review is part of OJJDP's Model Programs Guide, which contains information about evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs.

View the literature review

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