Abstract
Disproportionate minority contact ("DMC") has plagued the United States juvenile justice system for decades, but federal legislation has lacked the clarity and guidance to battle this affliction. A strong partnership must exist between state and federal entities in order to directly target DMC and thereby decrease the appallingly disproportionate number of minority children who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. This Note discusses the problem of DMC, identifies state and private efforts to combat the crisis, and indicates deficiencies in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act as well as its reauthorization bill, S. 678. The Note urges Congress to revisit the reauthorization bill and supplement it with stand-alone legislation that will address DMC more effectively. Such law reform is urgent and timely, because the needs of at risk minority children have never been more pronounced than they are today.
Recommended Citation
Atasi Satpathy,
Urgent Reform 'in the Name of Our Children': Revamping the Role of Disproportionate Minority Contact in Federal Juvenile Justice Legislation,
16
Mich. J. Race & L.
411
(2011).
Available at:
https://repository.law.umich.edu/mjrl/vol16/iss2/2
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