Assessment of Minority Overrepresentation in Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System

• NCJ Number: 155321
• Author(s): E C Hartstone; D M Richetelli
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 181 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Connecticut Office of Policy and Management
• Corporate Author: Spectrum Associates
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services; Spectrum Associates
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) requires each State to evaluate and address the problem of minority overrepresentation of children in secure facilities. This study examined the issue of whether minority members are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system of Connecticut, and the question of whether such overrepresentation is explained by differences in the incidence of delinquent behaviors or by differential handling.

Abstract

Following an introductory section, an overview of the Connecticut juvenile justice system, and a discussion of the study methodology, the study discusses the extent of minority overrepresentation in Connecticut in terms of Statewide trends, overrepresentation by size of city or town, and overrepresentation by Juvenile Matters office. The system processing of juvenile offenders is described with regard to police decisionmaking, Juvenile Matters decisionmaking, and Department of Children and Families decisionmaking. The report includes a description of juvenile offender perceptions of differential handling, outcomes of public forum input, and personnel and program recommendations offered by the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee. 36 figures and 10 appendixes