Union County Selected by MacArthur Foundation for DMC Action Network to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System

Union County was recently selected by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to participate in the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Action Network to reduce the disproportionate number of minority youth in the juvenile justice system.  This selection provides the Union County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) with a three year grant of up to $100,000 to support its DMC efforts.   Sites were selected based on system leadership, demonstrated use of data-driven approaches to reducing biases, and determination to build a viable continuum of alternative programs and diversion services.

This grant coincides with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s overall focus on providing equitable outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system through staff training on DMC issues as well as the Race Matters Toolkit.  As part of the Network, North Carolina will work to eliminate systemic unfairness based on ethnicity or color.  Efforts will be carried out in Union County to develop model programs that can be used to create a set of best practices for others sites across the nation.

“The scales of justice should be balanced, fair and just-- much like a mathematical equation and race or the color of someone’s skin should not be a factor in that equation,” says Rich Smith, a consultant for the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Crime Prevention Council for the Piedmont Area. “Union County's selection to become a member of the Action Network provides our county the opportunity to expand on the achievements we have made thus far.  With access to lessons already learned, combined with funding to assist with implementation, we can significantly enhance our efforts to balance those scales.”

During the first year of the grant, the Union County JCPC DMC subcommittee will collaborate with the Forsyth and Guilford County DMC committees to provide each of the Piedmont Area JCPCs and the Department’s court services staff with training in the DMC reduction initiative. Additionally, the project will continue to research and design a detention screening tool and pilot implementation within Union County.  During the remaining years, expansion of the training to other areas in the state is anticipated and implementation of the tool throughout the Department will take place.

The DMC Action Network is a national platform developed to expand the work of states and local jurisdictions to achieve reduction in racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. Currently, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Louisiana and Washington are the four primary states providing leadership in the DMC Action Network’s initiative.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private, independent grant-making institution helping to build a more just and sustainable world. Through the support it provides, the Foundation fosters the development of knowledge, nurtures individual creativity, strengthens institutions, helps improve public policy, and provides information to the public, primarily through support for public interest media. With assets of more than $6.4 billion, the Foundation makes approximately $300 million in grants annually. More information is available at www.macfound.org.

For more information about the DMC efforts, contact Jamal Carr at jamal.carr@ncmail.net