Juan Herrara	Carmen T. Joge
	(202) 543-1771

CHCI TOUTS REPORT ON 
CRIMINALIZATION OF LATINO YOUTH

 

Washington, DC - There are over 35 million Latinos living in the U.S., and more than one-third (35.7%) of this population is under the age of 18. While these statistics alone are no cause for alarm, what is happening to many of these youth is. Recent reports indicate that Latino youth are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the high school drop-out rate, teenage pregnancy, and unemployment. The report, “Dónde Está La Justicia?: A Call to Action on Behalf of Latino and Latina Youth in the U.S. Justice System,” released by Building Blocks for Youth, exposes yet another growing area of concern for Latino youth and their families-overrepresentation of young Latinos in the criminal justice system.

“The Building Blocks for Youth report concludes that Latino communities throughout the country, and in particular their youth, are increasingly singled out by the criminal justice system. The report also indicates that Latino youth, like other youth of color, receive harsher treatment than Caucasian youth charged with the same offenses,” said CHCI President and CEO Ingrid M. Durán. “As an educational organization responsible for developing young Latino leaders, we find these statistics alarming.”

Some key findings in the report include:

• The current means for collecting and accessing data are inadequate, resulting in undercounting and inaccuracies in reporting disproportionate representation and disparate treatment of Latino youth in the U.S. justice system.
• The system fails to provide adequate bilingual services to Latino youth and families and also fails to ensure cultural competency of staff working with Latino youth in the system.
• Consideration of immigration status of Latino youth results in incarceration, deportation, and permanent separation from families, and anti-gang laws result in harsh and unfair consequences for Latino youth.

As part of its 2002 Issues Conference, CHCI will host a Youth Town Hall on Tuesday, September 17, 2002 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. This year’s topic will be the criminalization of Latino youth. The findings raised in the aforementioned report will be included in the town hall discussion. The town hall provides Latino youth a forum in which to discuss issues impacting their communities with elected officials, community activists, and policy experts.

Building Blocks for Youth is an alliance of children's advocates, researchers, law enforcement professionals and community organizers that seeks to protect minority youth in the justice system and promote rational and effective justice policies. F

CHCI, a non-profit and non-partisan educational 501(c)(3) organization, provides leadership development programs and educational services for Hispanic high school, college and postgraduate students. The CHCI board of directors is comprised of Hispanic Members of the U.S. Congress, non-profit leaders, and corporate executives. For more information on CHCI and its Youth Town Hall, visit our web site, www.chci.org.