Racial, ethnic disparities addressed in Berks County, PA
Dec 8, 2008, National Center for Juvenile Justice
Significant and imaginative work addressing racial and ethnic disparities at the local level
Models for Change funding, coordination and expert assistance have enabled a coalition of juvenile justice stakeholders and community leaders in Berks County (Reading), PA—the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Reduction Project—to take a series of innovative steps to deal with the disproportionate court involvement and incarceration of African American youth and of Berks County’s rapidly growing population of Hispanic youth.
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Enhancing Spanish-language capability and cultural competence
Interpreters translated court notices and forms, and community-based service providers reviewed them to ensure meaningful translations. The court hired additional in-court interpreters. MacArthur funding provided cultural competence training, and juvenile probation staff are using instructional software and routine testing to improve their Spanish-language proficiency.
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Reducing minority detentions through screening and alternatives
To reduce high detention rates that affected youth of color disproportionately, the County instituted a Detention Assessment Instrument, a more structured and objective approach to detention decision making. In addition, the County established a new evening reporting center (ERC) in a neighborhood where many youth involved in the juvenile justice system live. The ERC provides an alternative to detention for youth awaiting court hearings who need additional supervision but do not pose a danger to public safety that warrants incarceration. It also serves youth who would otherwise have been detained for probation violations and similar infractions.
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Recruiting nontraditional service providers
Berks has also surveyed churches and other nontraditional providers that offer community service, mentoring and other opportunities, mapped responses against law enforcement and court data showing where court-involved youth live, and used the results to begin expanding and filling gaps in the array of services available to minority youth.
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Developing workforce opportunities
With Models for Change help, Berks brought together community stakeholders to support an application to the U.S. Department of Labor to fund a Youth Build program and expand the array of opportunities for youth to learn building trades. The program will acquire old homes in need of repair and rehabilitation in minority communities in the Reading area, giving neighborhood youth the chance to pick up transferable employment and job-readiness skills by working to restore them.
This story is based on the 2008 Update: Gathering Force report. Read the full report for more progress updates from Pennsylvania and the other Models for Change states, action networks and research initiatives.
- Issues
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Racial-ethnic fairness/DMC
- States
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Pennsylvania
- Action networks
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DMC Action Network