Fact Sheet: Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)

What is Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)? Under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), DMC exists when the proportion of youths detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails and lockups who are members of minority groups exceed their groups' proportions in the general population.
How widespread is DMC? Nationwide, at every stage of the juvenile justice system, youth of color are overrepresented and receive disparate treatment, particularly in secure confinement.

DMC and Youth of Color

• Although youth of color are one-third of the adolescent population in the U.S., youth of color are two-thirds of the over 100,000 youth confined in local detention and state correctional systems.
• While representing just 34% of the U.S. population in 1997, youth of color represented 62% of youth in detention, 67% of youth committed to public facilities, and 55% of youth committed to private facilities.
• Three out of four youth admitted to state prisons in 1997 were youth of color.

  Source: And Justice for Some. 2000. Building Blocks for Youth.
  
  DMC and African-American Youth

• Nationwide, African-Americans represent 15% of the population, 26% of juvenile arrests, 44% of youth who are detained, 46% of the youth who are judicially waived to criminal court, and 58% of the youth admitted to state prisons.
• In 1997, the proportion of referred cases involving African American youth was twice their proportion in the population.
• The admissions rate to state public facilities for youth with no prior admissions was six times higher for African American than White youth in 1993.

  Source: And Justice for Some. 2000. Building Blocks for Youth.
  
  DMC and Latino/a Youth

• Human Rights Watch reports that Latino/a youth were overrepresented in 39 states in 2002.
• Between 1983 and 1991, the percentage of Latino/a youth in public detention centers increased by 84%, compared to an 8% increase for White youth and 46% increase for youth overall.
• In Los Angeles in 1996-98, Latino/a youth were arrested 2.3 times as often as White youth; prosecuted as adults 2.4 times as often as White youth; imprisoned 7.3 times as often as White youth.

  Source: ¿Dónde Está la Justicia? A Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the U.S Justice System. 2002. Building Blocks for Youth.

What must states do to comply with the DMC mandate? The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) reauthorization requires states to address prevention and system improvement efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth, who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. The amendment expands the core requirement to include all contacts with the juvenile justice system -- not just those in confinement. As a condition of receiving federal funding under JJDPA, states must comply with the DMC requirements.