Racial and Ethnic Disparities Reduction Practice Manual

The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Reduction Practice Manual (Practice Manual) is a tool for public officials, agency administrators, community leaders, parents, and other advocates for children who are working to create more equitable and effective juvenile justice systems. The Practice Manual provides practitioners with concrete guidance and strategies, downloadable tools and resources, and examples of successful reform work in jurisdictions throughout the country. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supported the creation of this resource.


Chapter 1 of the Practice Manual provides an introduction to the problem of racial and ethnic disparities, including key terminology, basic principles, and relevant research. Chapter 2 outlines how to use data in a successful reform effort. Chapters 3 through 7 focus on reducing racial and ethnic disparities at key decision points in the juvenile justice system, from arrest through re-entry and transfer. For each of these decision points, the Practice Manual provides an overview of key issues, discusses data that should be collected and analyzed, and describes interventions, programs, and practices that have led to measurable reductions in racial and ethnic disparities.

Although Chapters 1 and 2 may be useful for jurisdictions working on reducing disparities at any decision point, it is not necessary to read through the entire Practice Manual.  Each of the Chapters 3 through 7 can be read independently for targeted information on that decision point.  Therefore, each chapter, listed below, can be downloaded separately.

The Center for Children’s Law and Policy is continuing to develop additional content for the Practice Manual. For questions related to the Practice Manual, please contact Tiana Davis, Policy Director for Equity and Justice, at tdavis@cclp.org or 202-637-0377, extension 103.

Download each chapter below or click here to download a the full Practice Manual.