Reform Efforts

Several challenges have delayed the reform efforts for Community B. The lack of adequate funds and community organizational commitment continues to be a challenge. Juvenile justice leaders are motivated to pursue alternatives to confinement, but the lack of funding hinders planning and implementation. Limited funding has been secured for two alternative programs (i.e., electronic monitoring and voice recognition) and limited consulting and technical assistance. Community B has implemented a DMC education and training program for juvenile officers. Similar to Community A, Community B has also developed a risk assessment tool to achieve a more objective decision-making process for confinement focusing on court case decisions, detention admissions criteria, alternative program development, and data collection. However, there has been no sig- nificant DMC decrease since the development of the DMC Advisory Board, and African Americans (especially males) continue to be overrepresented in arrests and detentions.