Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities

CCLP staff members are working with several jurisdictions on strategies to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. We have helped officials achieve significant and measurable improvements for youth of color by pursing a data-driven approach that focuses on concrete and practical reforms. CCLP staff regularly provide training and technical assistance to jurisdictions that are interested in moving from simply studying racial and ethnic disparities to taking action to combat those disparities.

Our work has included:

  • Training law enforcement, probation staff, judges, prosecutors, defenders, and others on a wide range of topics, including implicit bias, how to talk about race, enhancing diversion opportunities for youth of color, and other issues.
  • Providing technical assistance to jurisdictions in Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, and Virginia with the support of OJJDP and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
  • Working with the cities of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury on a multi-year project to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in Connecticut with support from the Tow Foundation.
  • Creating a comprehensive Racial and Ethnic Disparities Reduction Practice Manual, focused on providing practitioners with concrete guidance and strategies, downloadable tools and resources, and examples of successful reform work in jurisdictions throughout the country.
  • Partnering with Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform to offer an intensive week-long Certificate Program designed to educate officials about effective reforms.
  • From 2007 to 2014, leading the DMC Action Network, a network of 17 jurisdictions focused on developing effective strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities as part of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative.

Our resource page contains additional information about tools to help with reform work in this area. To learn more about the Center’s training and technical assistance opportunities, contact Tiana Davis, Policy Director for Equity and Justice, at 202-637-0377 x103 or tdavis@cclp.org.