The report will be publicly available on Monday, February 13, 2017.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE:
February 10, 2017
Contact:Anna Thomas, Strategic Communications Manager
The ACLU of Utah, in partnership with multiple community stakeholders - including the YWCA of Utah, Voices for Utah Children, Racially Just Utah and Ogden Branch NAACP – will release a new report detailing serious racial disparities in Utah’s Juvenile Justice System. The report will be publicly available on Monday, February 13, 2017. Early release copies will be made available at a brief press event on Saturday, February 11, as part of the second annual Breaking the Pipeline Symposium at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law.
WHAT: Release of Racial Disparities Report at Second Annual Breaking the Pipeline Symposium
WHERE: Moot Court Room, Fourth Floor
S.J. Quinney College of Law
383 E. Universty St., Salt Lake City, UT 84112
WHEN: Saturday, February 11, 2017
12:40 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
(Symposium lunch break begins at 12:15 p.m.)
PARTIES PRESENT:
Voices for Utah Children
YWCA Utah
Ogden Branch NAACP
Racially Just Utah
ACLU of Utah
Impacted youth
Knowledgeable educators
Using data collected and compiled by an official Juvenile Justice Working Group, assisted by the Pew Charitable Trust, the report reveals stark racial disparities including the following:
• Black/African-American youth make up 1% of Utah’s youth population, but they represent 12% of all kids placed with the Utah Division of Child and Family Services through the juvenile justice system.
• In one judicial district, Latino/Hispanic youth make up 24% of the youth population - but 52% of all “secure care” dispositions resulting in out-of-home detention for these youth.
• In another district, Native American youth make up 9% of the overall youth population, yet 41% of “secure care” disposition are imposed on Native American youth.
Upon release, the report will be available online at www.acluutah.org.
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