Racial and Ethnic Disparities

Mission Statement

Improving the Youth Justice System for All

Through the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJPDA) as amended in 2018, the Tennessee Commisison on Children and Youth (TCCY) provides funding and technical assitance to improve the youth justice system for all youth. Participation in the JJDPA requires Tennessee to collect and analyze data to ensure compliance. The data points include arrest, diversion, pre-trial detention, secure confinement, and transer to adult court. 

What Is the R/ED Task Force?

The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Task Force is a task force sponsored by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth that consists of concerned citizens from a community and from across the state who come together quarterly.

Tennessee has a statewide task force and several local task forces. All R/ED task force meetings are open to the public.

How Do We Adress Opportunities for Improvement?

• Ensure equitable treatment;
• Provide effective delinquency prevention and early intervention programs;
• Educate system participants and educate policy makers;
• Provide cultural sensitivity and competency training for law enforcement, judges, teachers, attorneys, service providers, and concerned citizens;
• Use more objective decision-making criteria throughout the system;
• Make changes in processing policies and procedures;
• Implement better youth justice data collection and analysis systems;
• Provide better monitoring of the operation of the system.

What Citizens Can Do?

• Volunteer;
• Mentor a child;
• Tutor a child;
• Contribute money;
• Support public policies;
• Support efforts to keep children in school;
• Get involved with children in the community.

Causes and Correlates of Racial & Ethnic Disparities

The following are some potential causes of youth having contact with the youth justice system: 

• Poverty;
• Single-parent families;
• Lack of cultural perspective and competence;
• Youth unemployment;
• Subjective decision-making in the juvenile justice system;
• Absence of or poor legal representation;
• Lack of education;
• Overt discrimination and racism.

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