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CO Department of
Public Safety

700 Kipling Street #1000
Denver CO 80215 USA
Tel: 303.239.4400
Fax: 303.239.4670

Disproportionate Minority Contact

The Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, with direction from Colorado House Bill 08-1119, addresses the issue of racial and ethnic disparities in the adult and juvenile justice systems by conducting studies of the policies and practices in Colorado. The statute mandates the Commission to have the goal of reducing disparity and reviewing work and resources compiled by states in the area of disparity reduction.

The CCJJ created the Minority Over-Representation Subcommittee to coordinate and advance the continuing efforts by the Commission regarding issues of minority over-representation and disproportionate minority contact in the criminal and juvenile justice systems.

This Disproportionate Minority Contact page reflects some of the ongoing work of the Commission and its MOR Subcommittee. The data provided primarily reflects Colorado’s juvenile justice system, given the availability of data on this system. There is limited information provided on the adult criminal justice system.
  DEFINITIONS

Minority
According to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of (2002), “minority” populations are defined as American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.

DMC: Disproportionate Minority Contact
The size of the minority population at various points in the juvenile justice system that is disproportionate to that groups portion of the general population. Includes any contact from arrest to confinement and all the decision points in between.

MOR: Minority Over-Representation
Over-representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system relative to the proportion of the minority youth in the general population.

Relative Rate Index Method
A calculation method, chosen by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to identify where disproportionate minority contact may exist in the juvenile justice system. The relative rate index (RRI) represents the relative volume of minority juveniles to the volume of majority juveniles (adjusted by population) at stages in the juvenile justice system. For additional background on the calculation method, see this excerpt from a technical assistance manual developed by the NTTAC of the OJJDP. 
  DRIVING FACTORS

Research has identified a variety of driving factors that contribute to the existence of disproportionate minority contact of minority youth with the criminal justice system.  Below are several factors and the research related to the factor (The full reference for each of the research citations is appended at the end of this section).

System bias

  • Minority youth are more likely to be arrested and detained in a secure facility (Snyder & Sickmund, 1999; Hsia, Bridges, & McHale, 2004).
  • Detention for the purpose of accessing services (Cahn, 2006; Kempf-Leonard, 2007).
     

Socioeconomic status and family structure
(Winters, Dean, Hirschel, & Brame, 1996; Devine, Coolbaugh & Jenkins, 1998)

  • Inner city residence
  • Broken families/Single parent households
  • Welfare income/Low socioeconomic status
    Lack of parental supervision due to parents work schedule (prevents supervision which may look bad to the court, increasing the likelihood of confinement.
  • Criminality in the family
     

Lack of adequate resources
(Devine, Coolbaugh & Jenkins, 1998)

  • Lack of adequate diversion programs for minority juveniles
  • Lack of culturally appropriate juvenile services
  • Lack of cultural understanding within juvenile justice system
     

Educational system failures
(Devine, Coolbaugh & Jenkins, 1998; Mata, 1997)

  • Inadequate early childhood education
  • Inadequate programs to prevent early dropouts
  • Lack of appropriate cultural education
  • Increased minority truancy, suspensions, and expulsions
     

Community risk factors

  • Juveniles who live in high risk communities are more likely to be involved in and arrested for criminal activities (Kakar, 2006).
     

Over-involvement in crime

  • Disproportionate involvement of minority youth in serious and violent crime (Conley, 1994).
     

REFERENCES

Conley, D.J., (1994). Adding color to a Black and White picture: Using qualitative data to explain racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 31 (2), 135-148.

Devine, P., Coolbaugh, K., & Jenkins, S. (1998). Disproportionate minority confinement: Lessons learned from five states (Juvenile Justice Bulletin, NCJ 173420). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Mata, J. (1997). Overrepresentation of Hispanic/Latino youth. Washington, D.C.: Coalition for Juvenile Offenders.

Kakar, S. (2006). Understanding the causes of disproportionate minority contact: Results of focus group discussions. Journal of Criminal Justice, 34, 369-381.

Winters, O., Dean, C., Hirschel, D., & Brame, B. (1996). Developing a model program response to the problem of overrepresentation of minorities in the juvenle justice system of the four states. Charlotte: University of North Carolina.

Snyder, H.N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). Minorities in the juvenile justice system. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Hsia, H.M., Bridges, G.S., & McHale, R. (2004). Disproportionate minority confinement 2002 update. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Cahn,E. (2006). How the juvenile justice system reduces life options for minority youth. Washington, D.D.: The Joint Center Health Policy Institute.

Kempf-Leonard, K. (2007). Minority youths and juvenile justice: Disproportionate minority contact after nearly 20 years of reform efforts. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 5, 71-87.
  CALCULATING THE RRI

The Relative Rate Index Method

The relative rate index method is a calculation method, chosen by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, to identify where disproportionate minority contact may exist in the juvenile justice system. The relative rate index (RRI) represents the volume of minority juveniles relative to the volume of majority juveniles (adjusted by population) at stages in the juvenile justice system. The RRI derives from the conceptual formula pictured below. The "majority rate" is designated as the rate of criminal justice involvement for those who are identified as White (not Hispanic or Latino). It should be noted that the calculation is problematic where those who are White are not the majority in the reference population.

RRI formula

 For details on the exact formula and calculation
method, see this excerpt from a technical
assistance manual developed by
the NTTAC of the OJJDP. 

What the RRI Indicates

  • The Relative Rate Index compares the relative rate of activity at each major stage of the juvenile justice system of minority youth to that of white youth. 
     
  • The involvement rate is adjusted by population totals.  In other words, the subgroups are equated by determining how many individuals per 1000 would be involved at that point in the system. This adjustment allows group members with disparate representation in the total population to be compared directly. If all groups were exactly the same size in the total population, the adjustment would not be necessary. 
     
  • The RRI can be calculated at each decision point in the criminal justice system.  The calculation at any particular point must reference the group sizes at the previous decision point.  For example, an RRI reported at the filing-of-charges decision point would be based on the totals of the groups at the previous step, for example, the arrest decision point. 
        
  • The RRI provides a single index number that indicates the extent to which the rate of that activity differs for minority and white youth.
    • A rate of 1.0 means that members of the two groups are involved at the same rate at that point in the system.
      For example, if the RRI=1.0 then the relative rate of, for example, arrests comparing a minority group to the white group would indicate that one minority group member is arrested for every one arrest of a white member.
       
    • A rate above 1.0 means that that minority group members are more involved than white members at that point in the system.
      For example, if the RRI=2.0 then the relative rate of, for example, arrests comparing a minority group to the white group would indicate that two minority group members are arrested for every one arrest of a white member. 
       
    • A rate below 1.0 means that minority group members are less involved than white members at that point in the system.
      For example, if the RRI=0.50 then the relative rate of, for example, arrests comparing a minority group to the white group would indicate that one minority group member is arrested for every two white members. 
  JUVENILE DMC: COLORADO DASHBOARDS

DMC (disproportionate minority contact) and the RRI (relative rate index) calculation are described in the sections above. The information provided on DMC in Colorado focuses on juveniles in the criminal justice system because race/ethnicity data are not reliably collected for adults. Click on the images below to see the Colorado DMC dashboards.

Colorado Juvenile
Racial / Ethnic Breakdowns

Colorado Juvenile
RRIs

Colorado Juvenile
Totals
  ADULTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: RACE & ETHNICITY

The following data were drawn from Crime and Justice in Colorado: 2008-2010 created by the Office of Research and Statistics at the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. Although some national data is provided in the report, the information shown here is specific to Colorado.

What is the racial breakdown of:
Adults arrested in Colorado?
Criminal case convictions?
Placements in closed criminal cases?
Adults terminated from community corrections?

Adult arrests in Colorado

Colorado adult arrests by race/ethnicity, CY 2008 (N=147,238)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Asian 1.0%
American Indian 1.1%
Black 11.1%
White 86.9%
Total 100.0%
Arrest
C.R.S. § 16-3-101 through 16-3-102.
A peace officer may arrest a person when:
 - there is a warrant commanding that the person be arrested;
 - any crime has been or is being committed by such person in the peace officer's presence; or
 - the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the offense was committed by the person to be arrested.
Source:  Arrest data were extracted from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s Colorado Criminal History (CCH) data via the Colorado Justice Analytics Support System (CJASS) and analyzed by DCJ’s Office of Research and Statistics.

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Criminal case convictions

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado criminal case convictions in 2008 (N=31,819)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Asian 0.8%
American Indian 0.7%
Black 12.7%
Hispanic 11.1% 
White 73.8% 
Other 0.9%
Total 100.0%
Source: Filing data were extracted from the Judicial Department's Integrated Colorado Online Network (ICON) information management system via the Colorado Justice Analytics Support System (CJASS) and analyzed by DCJ’s Office of Research and Statistics.

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Placements in closed criminal cases

Race/Ethnicity in Colorado criminal case convictions in 2008 (N=31,819)
[Placement types defined below]
Race/Ethnicity Probation Intensive
Supevision
Probation		 Jail Probation
& Jail		 Community
Corrections		 Prison Other Total
Asian 59.5% 2.7% 3.4% 11.6% 1.7% 15.3% 5.8% 100%
American Indian 47.1% 1.6% 7.8% 7.8% 3.9% 25.3% 6.6% 100%
Black 46.3% 4.2% 6.3% 7.1% 4.8% 28.3% 3.0% 100%
Hispanic 48.3% 3.2% 8.5% 12.1% 3.2% 20.2% 4.5% 100%
White 52.6% 3.0% 6.8% 9.3% 4.3% 17.1% 6.8% 100%
Other 51.2% 2.7% 8.5% 5.2% 3.0% 20.3% 9.1% 100%
Total 51.4% 3.2% 6.9% 9.3% 4.2% 18.9% 6.1% 100%
Source: Filing data were extracted from the Judicial Department's Integrated Colorado Online Network (ICON) information management system via the Colorado Justice Analytics Support System (CJASS) and analyzed by DCJ’s Office of Research and Statistics.

Probation (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-201, et seq.)
Offenders are eligible for probation with the following exceptions: (1) those convicted of a class 1 felony or class 2 petty offense; (2) those who have been convicted of two prior felonies in Colorado or any other state; and (3) those convicted of a class 1, 2 or 3 felony within the last ten years in Colorado or any other state. Eligibility restrictions may be waived by the sentencing court upon the recommendation of the DA. In considering whether to grant probation, the court may determine that prison is a more appropriate placement for the following reasons: (1) there is an undue risk that the defendant will commit another crime while on probation; (2) the defendant is in need of correctional treatment; (3) a sentence to probation will unduly depreciate the seriousness of the defendant's crime or undermine respect for law; (4) past criminal record indicates that probation would fail to accomplish its intended purpose; or (5) the crime and the surrounding factors do not justify probation.

Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP) (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-208 (4))
The court may sentence an offender who is otherwise eligible for probation and who would otherwise be sentenced to the DOC to ISP if the court determines that the offender is not a threat to society. Offenders on ISP receive the highest level of supervision provided to probationers including highly restricted activities, daily contact between the offender and the probation officer, monitored curfew, home visitation, employment visitation and monitoring, and drug and alcohol screening.

County Jail ( C.R.S. § 18-1.3-501)
Offenders convicted of a misdemeanor offense are punishable by fine or imprisonment. A term of imprisonment for a misdemeanor is not served in a state correctional facility unless the sentence is served concurrently with a term of conviction for a felony. The court may also sentence an offender to a term of jail and probation (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-202to a term of jail and work release (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-207), or to a term of jail and a fine (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-505).

Community Corrections: Diversion (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-301)
Any district court judge may refer an offender convicted of a felony to a community corrections program unless the offender is required to be sentenced as a violent offender. The court may also refer an offender to community corrections as a condition of probation. Any offender sentenced by the court to community corrections must be approved by the local community corrections board for acceptance into the program.

Prison (C.R.S. § 18-1.3-401, et seq.)
Persons convicted of felony offenses are subject to a penalty of imprisonment for a length of time that is specified in statute corresponding to the felony class for which the offender was convicted.

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Adults terminated from community corrections

Offenders can be referred to community corrections by the sentencing judge or by officials at the Department of Corrections (DOC). A placement by the court in community corrections is considered a diversion from prison, and individuals in these cases are called “diversion clients.” The placement by the DOC in community corrections serves as a method of transitioning prisoners back into the community, and these individuals are referred to as “transition clients.”

Race/Ethnicity of clients terminated from community corrections programs, FY 2008 (N=5,174)
Race/Ethnicity Diversion
(47.8%; n=2,475)		 Transition
(52.2%; n=2,699)
Black 13.1% 21.0%
White 59.6% 52.4%
Hispanic 24.3% 24.0%
Other 3.0% 2.6%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Source: The Office of Research and Statistics analyzed data obtained from offender termination forms provided by DCJ’s Office of Community Corrections.

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  JUVENILES IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: RACE & ETHNICITY

The following data were drawn from Crime and Justice in Colorado: 2008-2010 created by the Office of Research and Statistics at the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. Although some national data is provided in the report, the information shown here is specific to Colorado.

What is the racial breakdown of:
Juvenile arrests in Colorado?
Juvenile diversion participants?
Juvenile delinquency petitions disposed?
Criminal cases filed statewide on defendants under 18 years old at the time of the offense (i.e., direct file cases)?
Juvenile detention participants?
Juvenile commitment participants?
Juvenile parole participants?

Juvenile arrests in Colorado

Colorado juvenile arrests by race/ethnicity, CY 2008 (N=12,243)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Asian 0.9%
American Indian 0.5%
Black 14.1%
White 82.3%
Other 2.2%
Total 100.0%
Arrest
C.R.S. § 19-2-502 and 19-2-503.
Juveniles may be taken into temporary custody by law enforcement when a lawful warrant has been executed or without a court order if reasonable grounds exist to believe that a juvenile has committed a delinquent act.
Source:  Arrest data were extracted from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s Colorado Criminal History (CCH) data via the Colorado Justice Analytics Support System (CJASS) and analyzed by DCJ’s Office of Research and Statistics.

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Juvenile diversion participants

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado juvenile diversion participants in FY2010 (N=2,615)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Asian/Pacific Islander 1.0%
American Indian 3.2%
Black 3.5% 
Hispanic 29.5%
White 57.6%
Other 5.3%
Total 100.0%
Diversion
C.R.S. § 19-2-303 and 19-2-704.
An alternative to a petition being filed, the district attorney may agree to allow a juvenile to participate in a diversion program. If the juvenile successfully meets the contract conditions and does not re-offend during the contract period, charges are dropped.
Source: Diversion data was complied and analyzed by the Omni Institute using the Colorado KIT system.

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Juvenile delinquency petitions disposed

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado juvenile delinquency petitions disposed in FY 2008 (N=13,875)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
Asian/Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian 0.8%
Black 10.5%
Hispanic 13.5%
White 72.7%
Other 1.7%
Total 100.0%
Delinquency
When a juvenile is accused of a crime in Colorado, the court process is very different than that followed in adult court. The juvenile crime is called an act of delinquency and requires juvenile court intervention to deal with the delinquency. The district attorney decides whether to dismiss the matter, to handle the matter informally, or whether to file a delinquency petition in court. An adjudicatory trial then takes place to determine whether the allegations of the delinquency petition are supported by the evidence.
Source: Filing data were extracted from the Judicial Department's Integrated Colorado Online Network (ICON) information management system via the Colorado Justice Analytics Support System (CJASS) and analyzed by DCJ’s Office of Research and Statistics.

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Criminal cases filed statewide on defendants under 18 at the time of the offense (i.e., direct file cases)

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado criminal cases filed statewide on defendants under 18 years of age at the time of the offense between FY 2004-2008 (N=1,149)
Race/Ethnicity Percent
(rounded)
Asian/Pacific Islander 2.0%
American Indian 0.0%
Black 16.0%
Hispanic 18.0%
White 62.0%
Other 2.0%
Unknown 1.0%
Total 100.0%
Direct File in Criminal Court
C.R.S. § 19-2-517.
Juveniles may be direct filed upon in adult district court if they are 14 years old and older and are alleged to have committed a class 1 or 2 felony or committed a crime of violence; used, possessed, or threatened to use a deadly weapon; committed vehicular assault or homicide; are considered to be a “habitual juvenile offender;” or are 16 years old or older and have been adjudicated a delinquent during the previous two years.
Source: Data extracted from the court's automated case processing system for the fiscal years 04-08 by the State Court Administrator's Office-Division of Planning and Analysis.

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Juvenile detention participants

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado juvenile detention admissions, average daily population and average length of stay (days) in FY 2010
Race/Ethnicity New
Admissions		 Average
Daily
Population		 Average
Length of Stay
(days)
Total Percent
Asian 91 1.0% 3.3 12.7
Black 1,373 15.1% 66.3 17.4
Hispanic 3,550 39.0% 142.1 13.9
American Indian 121 1.3% 5.7 17.2
Other 143 1.6% 4.8 12.0
White 3,824 42.0% 140.9 13.2
Detention
C.R.S. § 19-2-507
Detention is the temporary care of a juvenile in a physically restrictive facility. A juvenile may be held if the intake screener determines that the juvenile's immediate welfare or the protection of the community requires physical restriction. A juvenile may also be admitted to a detention facility if a law enforcement agency requests that the juvenile be detained because the alleged act would constitute a serious or violent felony if committed by an adult.

Source: Division of Youth Corrections. (2011). Fiscal year 2009-2010 management reference manual. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Human Services.
Available at http://www.colorado.gov/cdhsdyc/Resources-Publications/MRM0910_FINAL.pdf

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Juvenile commitment participants?

Race/Ethnicity of new Colorado juvenile commitments in FY 2010
Race/Ethnicity Total Percent
Asian/Pacific Islander 2 0.3%
American Indian 10 1.3%
Black 138 18.6%
Hispanic 269 36.2%
White 322 43.3%
Other 2 0.3%
Commitment
(to the Colorado Department of Human Services: 
Division of Youth Corrections)
C.R.S. § 19-2-909.
The court may commit a juvenile to the Department of Human Services for a determinate period of up to two years if the juvenile is adjudicated for an offense that would constitute a felony or a misdemeanor if committed by an adult; except if the juvenile is younger than twelve years of age and is not adjudicated an aggravated juvenile offender, the court may commit the juvenile to the Department of Human Services only if the juvenile is adjudicated for an offense that would constitute a class 1, class 2, or class 3 felony if committed by an adult.
Source: Division of Youth Corrections. (2011). Fiscal year 2009-2010 management reference manual. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Human Services.
Available at http://www.colorado.gov/cdhsdyc/Resources-Publications/MRM0910_FINAL.pdf

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Juvenile parole participants?

Race/Ethnicity of Colorado juvenile parole participants in FY 2010
Race/Ethnicity Average
Daily
Population		 Percent
of Stay (months)		 Length
of Stay
(months)
Asian/Pacific Islander 3.2 0.7% 5.4
American Indian 7.9 1.8% 7.4
Black 74.4 16.7% 6.8
Hispanic 169.0 37.8% 6.8
White 191.0 42.7% 6.6
Other 1.4 0.3% 9.3

Source: Division of Youth Corrections. (2011). Fiscal year 2009-2010 management reference manual. Denver, CO: Colorado Department of Human Services.
Available at http://www.colorado.gov/cdhsdyc/Resources-Publications/MRM0910_FINAL.pdf		 Parole
C.R.S. § 19-2-909 (1) (b), 19-2-1002, et seq.
The Juvenile Parole Board has the authority to grant, deny, defer, suspend, or revoke the parole of a juvenile. The Board, appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, comprises nine part-time members chosen from the Departments of Human Services (DHS), Public Safety, Education, and Labor and Employment. One member must be a local elected official and four must be non-specialist citizens. Juveniles committed to the Division of Youth Corrections of DHS have a mandatory parole period of six months. However parole can be extended if a juvenile was adjudicated for an offense against a person, robbery, incest, or child abuse that would have constituted a felony if committed by an adult. Also, if special circumstances have been found to exist, parole can be extended up to 15 months.

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  DMC / MOR RESOURCES

 

Organization
Description & Link
Colorado Division of Criminal Justice: Office of Research & Statistics Minority Over-Representation in the Criminal Justice System (2010)
  A literature review of MOR research (Appendix D from the October 2010 CCJJ report).
http://www.colorado.gov/ccjjdir/Resources/Resources/Report/2010-10_CCJJAnnRpt-AppD.pdf
     
  Crime and Justice in Colorado: 2008-1010
    A comprehensive, but non-technical, presentation of data and information on the criminal (adult) and juvenile justice systems in Colorado.
http://dcj.state.co.us/ors/pdf/docs/CJ08-10.pdf
   
Colorado Department of Corrections Minority Overrepresentation in Colorado’s Criminal Justice System: An Interagency Report to the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (2010)
  A report that compiles a variety of information and data on the general topic of minority over-representation (MOR), MOR in Colorado, and evidence-based suggestions and recommendations to reduce MOR.
http://www.doc.state.co.us/sites/default/files/opa/MOR_2010.pdf
     
Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention
 		  National Disproportionate Minority Contact Databook
  The DMC "...Databook is designed to give users an understanding of the Relative Rate Index (RRI) and an assessment of the levels of disproportionate minority contact at various stages of juvenile justice system processing at the national level."
http://ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/dmcdb/
     
  The OJJDP DMC Reduction Best Practices Database
    An online resource "...designed to assist jurisdictions in the development of initiatives to reduce Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC). It provides guidelines for choosing strategies and developing an intervention plan and presents a conceptual framework, similar to the risk and protective factor framework used in prevention science, for use in plotting a course through the mixture of programs, services, and activities to determine the most appropriate strategy for targeting specifically identified DMC contributing mechanism(s)."
http://www.ojjdp.gov/dmcbestpractices/
     
  DMC Technical Assistance Manual (2009)
    "This online manual provides detailed guidance on DMC identification and monitoring, assessment, intervention, and evaluation."
https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/dmc_ta_manual/
The full version of the manual may be found here...
http://www.ojjdp.gov/compliance/dmc_ta_manual.pdf
     
  Fact Sheet: In Focus - Disproportionate Minority Contact (2012) 
    An OJJDP brief fact sheet on disproportionate minority contact.
http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/239457.pdf
     
  Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice System: A Study of Differential Minority Arrest/Referral to Court in Three Cities (2007)
   

"This report uses information from three community studies of delinquency to examine disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and factors that might affect DMC at the police contact/court referral level."
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/grants/219743.pdf

See additional resources on the OJJDP Causes and Correlates of Delinquency Program:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/programs/ProgSummary.asp?pi=19
     
National Council on Crime and Delinquency Created Equal: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the US Criminal Justice System (2009)
  "NCCD uses federal and state data to catalog racial and ethnic disparities at each stage of the justice system, including arrest, court processing, jails and prisons, probation and parole, and the death penalty. "
http://www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/created-equal.pdf
     
Models for Change Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Action Network
   

An online community "...[s]haring knowledge and accelerating progress in the reduction of racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system."
http://www.modelsforchange.net/about/Action-networks/Disproportionate-minority-contact.html

This online community is located at the website:
Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice
http://www.modelsforchange.net/
     
The Sentencing Project The Changing Racial Dynamics of Women's Incarceration (2013)
    "This report first describes trends in incarceration for the first decade of the century, and contrasts this with patterns of the previous decade. We then assess the extent of change in the race and gender dynamics of incarceration over the past decade, and suggest factors which may be contributing to these trends."
http://www.sentencingproject.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1492&id=167
http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/index.cfm
     
Burns Institute The Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity
    "The W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI) is a San Francisco-based national nonprofit. It is a leading organization in the field of juvenile justice and ethnic and racial disparities reduction, which helps to protect and improve the lives of youth of color and poor youth by promoting and ensuring fairness and equity in youth-serving systems across the country."
http://www.burnsinstitute.org/
  Burns Institute: State by State Profiles: Colorado
    http://www.burnsinstitute.org/state.php?custom1=Colorado#top
     
American Civil Liberties Union ACLU: Race and Criminal Justice
    General information on laws, policies, and practices regarding racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
http://www.aclu.org/criminal-law-reform/race-and-criminal-justice 
     
Child Welfare League of America Disproportionate Representation of Children of Color
    Addresses issues around "[c]hildren of color, belonging to various cultural, ethnic, and racial communities...[who] are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system and frequently experience disparate and inequitable service provision." 
http://www.cwla.org/programs/culture/disproportionate.htm

 
  CAREERS AND INTERNSHIPS

www.DiscoverCorrections.com

Managed by the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) and funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, DiscoverCorrections.com is dedicated to promoting corrections careers.   The Web site enables agencies to reach a local and national audience of informed, interested and qualified candidates; post jobs to a job board; search resumes of registered job seekers; and present candidates with detailed information about the agency.  It is also a valuable career tool for students or experienced professionals who are interested in working in corrections.  The site is a partnership between APPA, the American Correctional Association, American Jail Association, and Center for Innovative Public Policies.

www.NALP.org

"The National Association for Legal Career Professionals is a nonprofit educational association established to meet the needs of all participants in the legal employment process (career planning, recruitment and hiring, and professional development of law students and lawyers) for information, coordination and standards.  NALP is dedicated to continuously improving career counseling and planning, recruitment and retention, and the professional development of law students, lawyers, and its members."
This site provides information on job opportunities as well as other useful information.
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