Fewer Boone Co. minorities being referred to juvenile detention

Since at least 2009, Boone County leaders and officials have been looking into the disproportionate number of minority youths in the juvenile justice system and trying to find ways to reduce the gap between the number of non-minorities and minorities in the system.

Those leaders and officials met Monday to take a look at the new statistics of the juvenile justice system for 2016 for Boone County.

In 2016, the relative rate index (RRI) for referrals of black youths was 4.8, meaning black youths were 4.8 times more likely to be referred to juvenile court than white youths. That number decreased in 2016 from 5.4 in 2015.

The RRI only shows that there is disproportion in the juvenile system by race, not why.

The answer to why is one aspect of the juvenile justice system that the Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee is trying to find out. Another aspect is how to decrease the gap between minorities and non-minorities.

Courtney Pulley, supervisor of Roger L. Perry Juvenile Justice Center, said one of the focuses of the committee is finding ways to prevent kids going into the court system in the first place.

“We know when kids get involved in the juvenile justice system or go to detention, sometimes the outcomes aren’t as good for those kids. We really want to help those kids in the community as much as possible,” Pulley said.

One way the committee has done that is by connecting children and families to juvenile assessment centers, such as the Family Access Center of Excellence, before or after a child is referred to court.

“Mental health services, substance abuse services, parenting classes. Things of that nature that will help them not be referred to the system and have that be the first place they can get services. We don’t want that,” Pulley said.

A national non-profit organization that strives to have kids involved in the community and out of trouble, the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia, also provides counseling services to children and families.

Valorie Livingston, executive director of Boys and Girls Club of Columbia, said it can be hard for kids to rehabilitate and stay out court, jail or just bad situations once they’ve been incarcerated.

“The more we can invest in prevention, the better everything is going to get,” Livingston said.

The 2016 data for the Boone County juvenile justice system also show that boys ages 15 and 16 had a higher rate of being in contact with the juvenile court system, compared to other ages.

Livingston said that junior high transition is a critical point in a child’s life.

She is hoping that once the expansion of the Columbia facility is completed in September, more middle school and high school kids will want to join.

“In particular we are targeting to keep our arms around this high school age youth. That’s been the challenge for us, is creating that space for them that they feel like is appropriate.”

The expansion will include a recording studio, basketball gymnasium and a kitchen.