*NCJ~228306*

Office Of Juvenile

Justice and

delinquency PreventiOn

For information about other

OJJDP programs, go to

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp.

4 InFocus

Serving Children, Families,

and Communities

The Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention is 

a component of the Office of 

Justice Programs, which also 

includes the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance; the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics; the Community 

Capacity Development Office; 

the National Institute of Justice; 

the Office for Victims of Crime; 

and the Office of Sex Offender 

Sentencing, Monitoring, 

Apprehending, Registering, 

and Tracking (SMART).

For More Information on 

Disproportionate Minority Contact

To learn more about OJJDP’s efforts to reduce the overrepresentation of minority youth in 

the Nation’s juvenile justice system, visit OJJDP’s DMC Web site: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/dmc/

about.html. The site provides tools and resources to help States comply with the JJDP Act’s 

DMC requirement. 

OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center offers a broad range of DMCrelated training and technical assistance. Contact your State’s DMC Coordinator or Juvenile 

Justice Specialist to request OJJDP-sponsored training and technical assistance. Contact 

information is available on the OJJDP Web site:

•	 Visit	www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov.

•	 Click	on	“State	Contacts”	in	the	left	navigation	panel.

•	 Select	the	checkbox	next	to	“DMC	Contact”	or	“Juvenile	Justice	Specialist.”	

•	 Click	on	your	State	in	the	map.

•	 Evaluation. Phase IV involves conducting a systematic, objective, and unbiased 

evaluation of a program’s implementation

and effectiveness.

•	 Monitoring. Phase V involves looking for 

changes in State demographics that affect 

DMC trends, looking for fluctuations in 

DMC rates that may require adjustments 

in intervention strategies, and sustaining 

DMC-reduction efforts.

The challenges of DMC reduction are complex and not easily resolved, but States are

making progress. Several States have shown 

reductions in disproportionality at secure 

detention and attitudinal change of law enforcement officers at the arrest contact points 

based on their DMC activities (see “Summary of States’ DMC-Reduction Activities”).

continued from p. 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Determining States’ Compliance With the 

DMC Core Requirement 

OJJDP requires all grantees to collect and report •	 Develop and implement intervention stratedata that measure the results of funded activities gies, if DMC exists. 

and expects grantees to use these data to inform •	 Evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the their administration of grant funds to improve chosen intervention strategies. program performance. 

Each State2

 reports progress in a comprehensive

OJJDP requires States participating in the Formula 3-year plan and annual plan updates (in compliGrants program to: ance with Section 223(a)(23)). Because addressing DMC is one of four core requirements3

 of •	 Identify the extent to which DMC exists the JJDP Act, OJJDP withholds 204

 percent of within their jurisdictions. their annual formula grant allocation for the 

subsequent fiscal year for States that fail to meet •	 Assess the reasons for DMC, if it exists.
 

the DMC plan requirement.
 

OJJDP’s DMC Reduction Model 

OJJDP’s five-phase DMC Reduction Model (see figure) 

helps States determine whether disproportionality exists 

within their jurisdictions, and if it does, provides a stepby-step model to guide their DMC-reduction efforts:

•	 Identification. In Phase I, States calculate disproportionality at nine contact points in the juvenile justice 

system (i.e., arrest; referral to court; diversion; case 

petitioned; secure detention; delinquency finding; probation; confinement in secure correctional facility; and case 

transferred, certified, and waived to adult criminal court) 

using the Relative Rate Index (RRI).The RRI provides 

a single index number that indicates the extent to which 

PHASE 

Identification 

PHASE II 

Assessment/ 

Diagnosis 

PHASE III 

Intervention 

PHASE IV 

Evaluation 

PHASE V 

Monitoring 

Ongoing 

DMC-Reduction 

Activites 

the volume of that form of contact or activity differs for 

minority youth and majority youth. In its simplest form, the RRI is the rate of activity involving minority

youth divided by the rate of activity involving majority youth. Any number more than 1 indicates disproportionality except at the diversion and probation contact points.5 

•	 Assessment/Diagnosis. In Phase II of the model, States assess the mechanisms that contribute to 

DMC. This includes discussing each probable explanation, asking questions about the data and information collected, and consulting other data sources to verify the explanation. 

•	 Intervention. In Phase III, plans for appropriate delinquency prevention and systems improvement 

activities should be implemented. Effective prevention and intervention activities include diversion, alternatives to secure confinement, advocacy, and training and technical assistance on cultural competency with

youth and staffing practices. Systems improvement activities include advocating for legislative reforms;

making administrative, policy, and procedural changes; and implementing structured decisionmaking tools 

at various contact points within the juvenile justice system. continued on p. 4 

2

Puerto	Rico	is	exempt	from	this	activity	as	of	2008.	The	U.S.	Census	Bureau	did	not	require	Puerto	Rico	to	report	race	statistics	for	the	

2000	census.

3

The	other	three	core	requirements	are:	deinstitutionalization	of	status	offenders,	removal	of	juveniles	from	adult		jails	and	lockups,	and	

sight and sound separation of juvenile offenders from adults in secure institutions. 

4

In	the	1992	reauthorization	of	the	JJDP	Act,	OJJDP	was	to	withhold	25	percent	of	a	State’s	Formula	Grant	allocation	for	each	finding	

of	noncompliance	with	the	four	core	requirements.	In	its	2002	reauthorization	of	the	JJDP	Act,	Congress	reduced	the	penalty	for	

noncompliance	to	20	percent.

5

The	national	RRI	of	0.9	reported	in	the	National DMC Databook	(http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/dmcdb/index.html),	shows	that	with	the	

exception	of	Asian,	Hawaiian,	or	Pacific	Islander	youth,	minority	youth	are	not	being	diverted	or	probated	relative	to	white	youth.

2 InFocus 
2 InFocus

OJJDP’s five-phase DMC Reduction Model (see figure) 

helps States determine whether disproportionality exists 

within their jurisdictions, and if it does, provides a stepby-step model to guide their DMC-reduction efforts:

•	 Identification.In Phase I, States calculate disproportionality at nine contact points in the juvenile justice 

system (i.e., arrest; referral to court; diversion; case 

petitioned; secure detention; delinquency finding; probation; confinement in secure correctional facility; and case 

transferred, certified, and waived to adult criminal court) 

using the Relative Rate Index (RRI).The RRI provides 

a single index number that indicates the extent to which 

the volume of that form of contact or activity differs for 

minority youth and majority youth. In its simplest form, the RRI is the rate of activity involving minority

youth divided by the rate of activity involving majority youth. Any number more than 1 indicates disproportionality except at the diversion and probation contact points.5

•	 Assessment/Diagnosis.In Phase II of the model, States assess the mechanisms that contribute to

DMC. This includes discussing each probable explanation, asking questions about the data and information collected, and consulting other data sources to verify the explanation.

•	 Intervention.In Phase III, plans for appropriate delinquency prevention and systems improvement 

activities should be implemented. Effective prevention and intervention activities include diversion, alternatives to secure confinement, advocacy, and training and technical assistance on cultural competency with

youth and staffing practices. Systems improvement activities include advocating for legislative reforms;

making administrative, policy, and procedural changes; and implementing structured decisionmaking tools 

at various contact points within the juvenile justice system.

OJJDP’s DMC Reduction Model

PHASE I

Identification

PHASE II

Assessment/

Diagnosis

PHASE III

Intervention

PHASE IV

Evaluation

PHASE V

Monitoring

Ongoing 

DMC-Reduction 

Activites

2

Puerto	Rico	is	exempt	from	this	activity	as	of	2008.	The	U.S.	Census	Bureau	did	not	require	Puerto	Rico	to	report	race	statistics	for	the	

2000	census.

3

The	other	three	core	requirements	are:	deinstitutionalization	of	status	offenders,	removal	of	juveniles	from	adult		jails	and	lockups,	and	

sight and sound separation of juvenile offenders from adults in secure institutions.

4

In	the	1992	reauthorization	of	the	JJDP	Act,	OJJDP	was	to	withhold	25	percent	of	a	State’s	Formula	Grant	allocation	for	each	finding	

of	noncompliance	with	the	four	core	requirements.	In	its	2002	reauthorization	of	the	JJDP	Act,	Congress	reduced	the	penalty	for	

noncompliance	to	20	percent.

5

The	national	RRI	of	0.9	reported	in	the	National DMC Databook	(http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/dmcdb/index.html),	shows	that	with	the	

exception	of	Asian,	Hawaiian,	or	Pacific	Islander	youth,	minority	youth	are	not	being	diverted	or	probated	relative	to	white	youth.

OJJDP requires all grantees to collect and report 

data that measure the results of funded activities 

and expects grantees to use these data to inform

their administration of grant funds to improve 

program performance.

OJJDP requires States participating in the Formula 

Grants program to:

•	 Identify the extent to which DMC exists 

within their jurisdictions.

•	 Assess the reasons for DMC, if it exists.

•	 Develop and implement intervention strategies, if DMC exists.

•	 Evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of the

chosen intervention strategies.

Each State2

 reports progress in a comprehensive

3-year plan and annual plan updates (in compliance with Section 223(a)(23)). Because addressing DMC is one of four core requirements3

 of

the JJDP Act, OJJDP withholds 204

 percent of

their annual formula grant allocation for the 

subsequent fiscal year for States that fail to meet 

the DMC plan requirement.

Determining States’ Compliance With the 

DMC Core Requirement

continued on p. 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•	 Evaluation. Phase IV involves conducting a systematic, objective, and unbiased 

evaluation of a program’s implementation 

and effectiveness. 

•	 Monitoring. Phase V involves looking for 

changes in State demographics that affect 

DMC trends, looking for fluctuations in 

DMC rates that may require adjustments 

in intervention strategies, and sustaining 

DMC-reduction efforts. 

The challenges of DMC reduction are complex and not easily resolved, but States are

making progress. Several States have shown 

reductions in disproportionality at secure 

detention and attitudinal change of law enforcement officers at the arrest contact points 

based on their DMC activities (see “Summary of States’ DMC-Reduction Activities”). 

continued from p. 2 

For More Information on 

Disproportionate Minority Contact 

To learn more about OJJDP’s efforts to reduce the overrepresentation of minority youth in 

the Nation’s juvenile justice system, visit OJJDP’s DMC Web site: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/dmc/ 

about.html. The site provides tools and resources to help States comply with the JJDP Act’s 

DMC requirement. 

OJJDP’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center offers a broad range of DMCrelated training and technical assistance. Contact your State’s DMC Coordinator or Juvenile 

Justice Specialist to request OJJDP-sponsored training and technical assistance. Contact 

information is available on the OJJDP Web site: 

•	 Visit	www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov.

•	 Click	on	“State	Contacts”	in	the	left	navigation	panel.

•	 Select	the	checkbox	next	to	“DMC	Contact”	or	“Juvenile	Justice	Specialist.”	

•	 Click	on	your	State	in	the	map.

Office Of Juvenile 

Justice and 

delinquency PreventiOn 

For information about other 

OJJDP programs, go to 

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp. 

Serving Children, Families, 

and Communities 

The Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention is 

a component of the Office of 

Justice Programs, which also 

includes the Bureau of Justice 

Assistance; the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics; the Community 

Capacity Development Office; 

the National Institute of Justice; 

the Office for Victims of Crime; 

and the Office of Sex Offender 

Sentencing, Monitoring, 

Apprehending, Registering, 

and Tracking (SMART). 

*NCJ~228306* 4 InFocus