Initiatives
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)
In 1988 OJJDP referred to DMC as Disproportionate Minority Confinement. DMC existed when the racial or ethnic proportion of youth detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails and lockups exceeded their proportion in the general population.
In October of 2002 OJJDP changed Disproportionate Minority Confinement to Disproportionate Minority Contact. Basically, DMC now exists when the racial or ethnic proportion of youth who have contact with the juvenile justice system exceeds their proportions in the general population. Contact refers to each decision point in the juvenile justice system: arrest (initial legal encounters with law enforcement), diversion, detention, issuance of a petition, referral to juvenile court, placement on probation/parole, placement in a juvenile correctional center, referral to circuit court and treatment as an adult, etc. So the scope of DMC has broadened from just issues of confinement in secure settings to each contact a youth has with the juvenile justice system.
Since 1988 OJJDP has required that states receiving federal money must address their efforts to reduce DMC and in 1992 if a state failed to comply with that requirement they would risk losing 25% of their funding; in 2002 the penalty was reduced to 20%.
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) is the agency that monitors the compliance requirements established by OJJDP with respect to DMC. www.dcjs.virginia.gov
DMC is a sensitive and complicated issue with no easy solutions, and unfortunately a major problem in juvenile justice systems across the United States.
The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice strives to remove possible bias and promote consistency in our decision making processes to ensure equal and fair treatment for all youth regardless of race or ethnicity.