NCJ Number
239356
Date Published
2011
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the status of data-collection practices in Illinois, with attention to the lack of accurate data on Latino youth in the Illinois juvenile justice system, which adversely affects efforts to reduce Latino youth's contact with the Illinois juvenile justice system.
Abstract
Currently, the only available statistical information on Hispanic youth in the juvenile justice system statewide is the data for secure detention. The lack of accurate data on Latino youth in the Illinois juvenile justice system is harmful, because without proper counts of the youth in the system, agencies and institutions cannot readily identify and address systemic challenges and the needs of Latino youth. Neither can the juvenile justice system develop, implement, and assess targeted policies and practices intended to reduce Hispanic youth's contact with the justice system. This report advises that the model that is most effective for collecting Hispanic demographic data is the two-part race and ethnicity questions, which Illinois juvenile justice agencies do not use. The purpose of the two-part question is to obtain information about whether a person is Hispanic/Latino, regardless of the person's race. Respondents are first asked if they are Hispanic/Latino, to which they can reply either yes or no. Respondents are then asked to identify their race. Hispanic/Latino is not an available option for the second question. This two-step method allows Latinos to identify themselves as both a Latino and as a member of a racial group. This results in a more accurate count of all Hispanic youth. Other recommendations are to create the infrastructure and capacity to maintain and analyze ethnicity data and to use the data collected as a resource for reducing the disproportionate contact of Latino youth with the Illinois juvenile justice system.