Definition of DMC

Began as Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC)
 
In the 1988 Amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act of 1974, Congress required that States address DMC in their State plans. Specifically, under the Formula Grants Program, each State must address efforts to reduce the proportion of youth detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secure correctional facilities, jails, and lockups who are members of minority groups if it exceeds the proportion of such groups in the general population. For purposes of this requirement, OJJDP has defined minority populations as African Americans, American Indians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.

Movement to Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC)

The JJDP Act of 2002, signed into law on November 2, 2002, modified the DMC requirement of the Act as follow: "addressing juvenile delinquency prevention efforts and system improvement efforts designed to reduce, without establishing or requiring numerical standards or quotas, the disproportionate number of juvenile members of minority groups who come into contact with the juvenile justice system." This change broadens the DMC initiative from disproportionate minority "confinement" to disproportionate minority "contact" by requiring an examination of possible disproportionate representation of minority youth at all decision points along the juvenile justice system continuum. It further requires multi-pronged intervention strategies including not only juvenile delinquency prevention efforts but also system improvement efforts to assure equal treatment of all youth.

For more information, contact Lindsey Draper at 414-550-9731 or Lindsey.Draper@wisconsin.gov.

Federal DMC Information

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