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Disproportionate Minority Confinement

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Introduction

The American juvenile justice system currently faces a huge problem of

overrepresentation of the racial minorities. Despite the white race being the largest group in

America, majority of those in the juvenile systems are from other races, demonstrating an effect

of racial and ethnic discrimination in America (Abrams et al., 2021). Even though there have

been efforts to reform the practices and policies to assist in ending racial disparity, the issue has

nevertheless continued to persist. That makes it necessary to identify the best way to bring racial

discrimination and disproportionate minority representation within the American juvenile justice

systems to an end. The racial discrimination is mainly demonstrated through the mistreatment of

the minority groups by the law enforcement or police, demonstrating that the issue is systematic

(St John et al., 2020). The issue of racial discrimination which lead to the disproportionate

representation of the minority groups within the juvenile justice systems is also perpetuated by

economic and social factors. The problem mainly affects three minority groups in America,

including the Native American youth, the Hispanics, and the African American population. Even

though the three minority groups combined forms minimal portion of the American population,

they bear the disproportionate brunt of those facing the juvenile justice systems in America

(Padgaonkar et al., 2021). These three minority groups face increased rates of imprisonment,

detention, and arrest compared to the majority white. The disparities highlight the wider societal

inequalities, prolonged by the structural injustice and historical discrimination which promotes

the idea that some races are more important than others. That has continued to be a huge issue

since the effect if disproportionate representation f the minority groups go beyond the

experiences of the detained and the incarcerated persons, it affects the communities from which

such individuals come from (Padgaonkar et al., 2021). For instance, it encourages extended
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cycles of trauma and poverty, leaving the communities and family members is wore situation

every day (St John et al., 2020). The aim f this paper is to highlight the dynamics of

disproportionate minority representation within the American juvenile justice systems, essential

in identifying strategies for enhancing equitable reform that take the interest of the minority

groups into account. This paper uses a social work-based theory, the critical race theory to

interrogate the link between race, power, and class in the juvenile justice system to gain better

insights to develop and evaluate interventions and their significance in promoting justice and

farness within the juvenile systems in America.

Problem Definition

The unfair confinement of the minority groups in America presents a huge challenge. It

demonstrates the level of racism, despite the centuries long efforts to end unequal treatment of

members of different races and ethnic groups in America (Nayak, 2022). The increased detention

and incarceration of the minority groups extends beyond the judicial proceedings and the

boundaries of law enforcement, indicating that without proper solution the issue is likely to grow

to a much bigger problem in the future (St John et al., 2020). That s true since the high disparity

between the minority groups and the white majority groups in America can be demonstrated

through the different domains, including the access to essential resources like housing,

employment, and education. The poor access to education, housing, and employment among the

minority groups leave their juveniles at higher risk of engaging in activities that may make them

go to the juvenile justice systems. the disproportionate representation of the minority groups is

therefore caused by the poor intersection of factors like poverty, lack of mental health support,

and early exposure to violence, leaving the young children more exposed to incarceration and

detention in the juvenile justice systems in America. The problem in promoted by decades and
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centuries of racial segregation, leaving the minority groups at higher risk of committing crimes

that may make them face the law. It is, therefore, necessary to address the root causes of the

problem as the best way of ensuring the incarceration rates among the minority groups in

America is kept at its lowest at all times (Abrams et al., 2021). That is important since it would

lower the impact on the minority communities by bring to an end the continued marginalization

and the problems with the law systems in America. It is therefore necessary to develop solutions

that rip to pieces the barriers to opportunities for the minority groups by investing in the minority

populations and incarcerating culturally based interventions, essential in enabling the solve the

injustices faced by the minority groups within the juvenile justice systems in America.

Theoretical Framework

This paper employs social work based theoretical framework to help in developing long

lasting solutions to the unequal minority confinement within the American juvenile justice

systems. Employing a social work-based framework is significant in this paper since offers

effective guidance for practice, making it easy to develop solutions that are backed by research.

Social work-based framework enables policy and practice practitioners to take time in

identifying and comprehending the complex nature of specific social issues and how they may

have been perpetuated in the past systematically (Harms & Connolly, 2023). It also enables

social change and advocacy, essential in developing a critical lens to analyse the social issue

more effectively to identify and advocate for actionable reforms.

This paper specifically employs the Critical Race Theory as the social work-based

theoretical framework. The theory provides a healthy analytical lens, making it easy to

understand the root cause of the disproportionate minority representation in the juvenile justice

systems in America (Brazant, 2023). It is important in exploring and identifying the influence of
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structural inequalities and racism on the experience of the minority groups in America, which

also happen to be some of the root causes of the unequal representation of the minority groups

within the American juvenile systems. The theory identifies that there is an intersection between

race, privilege, and power in informing the rate of incarceration of the minority groups in

America (Brazant, 2023). It is therefore important in shedding light on the systematic racial

inequalities within juvenile confinement, making it suitable in advocating for transformative

change systematically.

Critical Race Theory suggests that racism, demonstrated through unequal representation

in the juvenile justice system, is rooted within the justice institutions and societal structures in

America. It demonstrates that developing a lasting solution must involve the wider society

including the government, business owners, those running the justice systems, and the local

communities (Nayak, 2022). The theory indicates that racial bias has always existed at every

level of the American society, ranging from the practices of the law enforcement officers to the

decision-making process within the judicial systems. That justifies why the previous efforts to

end racial discrimination in America has bore no fruit since the strategies did not emphasize on

the need to involve all the stakeholders. This theory focuses on the experiences of marginalized

groups, in this case, the native American youth, Hispanics, and the Arican Americans. It

effectively illustrates structural discriminations demonstrated through high rates of arrests,

detention, and unfair sentencing f the members of these minority groups.

The Critical Race Theory also demonstrates that privilege and power play a significant

role in promoting the disparities in the unequal representation of the minority groups in America.

It suggests that to effectively develop and implement solutions addressing the racial

discrimination, those on power and the privileged members of the American society must be
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willing to take the leadership role in promoting the equality among all members of the society

(Ramírez, 2021). It shows that involving the privileged and those in power is important since

they have large number of followers, making it easy for them to convince the public to be art of

the solution to the huge problem affecting a significant number of the society. The theory

suggests that addressing the problem should involve the examination of power distribution

within the juvenile justice system (Serrant, 2020). That is important in identifying those whose

interest are served by overrepresenting the minority groups within the juvenile justice systems in

America. The theory indicates that understanding the distribution of power and power interest

would be significant in changing and improving the existing policies and practices that tend to

exploit the minority groups. That is also important in identifying the minority groups whose

voices are not included in relevant decision-making processes such as the process of developing

and improving relevant policies and practices. For instance, the theory suggests that need to

include minority groups representatives when developing and improving the policies and

practices around the minority arrests and incarceration.

However, intersectionality is another important framework necessary in exploring the

complications within the unequal confinement of the minority groups in America. It shows how

the factors of social identities, class, gender, and race informs how some groups are treated

within the American society (Drake & Hodge, 2022). For instance, based on the current justice

problem, intersectionality is important in highlighting how different forms of oppression against

the minority groups works together in shaping the experiences of individual members of the

minority groups in America. A good example is where female juveniles from black community

my face more discrimination within the judicial subsystems since they are likely to face gender
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and race-based discriminations, putting such girls at higher risk of being disproportionately

represented within the American juvenile justice systems.

Intersectionality as a complementary framework identifies the need for a more

comprehensive approach to the problem. It suggests that the solution to the racial discrimination

issue and the disproportionate representation of the minority groups within the American juvenile

justice systems must focus on the experiences of the minority groups who are discriminated

against (Serrant, 2020). It suggests the need to acknowledge that social identifies drives the

unequal representation of the minority groups within the juvenile justice systems. that

demonstrates that those developing strategies to address the racial discrimination and

overrepresentation of the minority groups within the juvenile justice systems in America. In that

light, intersectionality framework discourages the treatment of class, gender, and race as isolated

factors informing the disproportionate minority confinement but rather to identify how the

factors interact and intersect in producing discriminatory outcomes within the American juvenile

justice system (Nair & Vollhardt, 2020). Therefore, it is important to employ both the

intersectionality and critical race theory to explore the unfair confinement of the minority groups

in America. These two frameworks together would help in identifying the underlying factors that

encourages racial discrimination within the juvenile justice systems. they are therefore important

in informing transformative change buy dismantling the forces that are hell-bent on causing

suffering and havoc among the minority groups in America for their personal interests and gains.

That is true since these frameworks focus on identifying the root causes of the problem, making

them crucial in pulling to pieces the structural and systematic inequalities that leave the minority

groups at higher risk of facing the juvenile justice systems. on the other hand, intersectionality

would help end racial discrimination and overrepresentation of the minority groups within the
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justice systems by emphasising on the importance of acknowledging the complex nature of

individual experiences and identifies. It also promotes adoption of an all-inclusive approach to

the problem by focusing on racial disparities and how it can be reduced within the juvenile

justice systems in America (Serrant, 2020).

The Proposed Solutions

The above theoretical framework therefore suggests four solutions to the problem. First,

it advocates for the development of prevention and diversion programs to solve the issue of

disproportionate minority confinement within the American juvenile justice system (Serrant,

2020). That includes the implementation of programs intended to addressing the root causes of

the problem. For instance, this Solution demonstrates the need to increase access to education,

reduction of trauma, and increasing access to job opportunities among the minority groups. It

also suggests the need to increase access to mental health services which is believed to be among

the causes of increased incarceration among members of the minority communities in America.

In that light, the prevention and diversion programs would be important in offering timely

interventions and support for the minority groups who are at higher risk of being taken to the

juvenile justice systems.

The second solution proposal is the community-based incarceration, to reduce the high-

rate incarceration of members of minority groups based on their race and ethnic groups. This

proposal requires strategic investment intended to restore and improve the juvenile justice

practices (Nair & Vollhardt, 2020). That ranges from the practices of the law enforcement

officers to the criminal justice procedures. This solution promotes for increased reintegration in

the communities, character rebuilding, and increased accountability among law enforcement

officers to prevent the exploitation of the minority groups through unnecessary punitive trials
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enforced on them. It also calls for youth development programs within the minority

communities. The programs would be necessary in enhancing skill development and individual

growth, lowering their chances of being incarcerated and taken to the juvenile justice systems.

The third solution proposal is the reformation of practices and policies that tend to

encourage the mistreatment of the minority groups. This solution suggests the need to carry out

bias training for justice system persons, including the judges and police officers (Ramírez, 2021).

That is essential in keeping them aware that the minority groups are generally mistreated and

unequal represented within the juvenile justice systems. it would encourage the judges and law

enforcement officers to employ the same yardstick for judging members of their race on the

members of the minority groups. Offering bias training programs for the judges and law

enforcement officers would be crucial in enhancing impartial and fair decision making within the

juvenile justice systems in America. To enhance the effectiveness of this solution, it is necessary

to do away with zero tolerance policies which have been proven to affect the minority groups

such as the Hispanics and African Americans the most. The zero tolerance policies are dangerous

to the youths from minority groups in America since they contribute to the majority of the

juvenile incarcerations, creating a school to prison conduit for the young children.

The final solution proposal is to address the systematic inequalities in America. That can

be achieved by implementing systematic changes by doing away with policies intended to put

down members of minority races in America (Drake & Hodge, 2022). It should also focus on

bring to an end practice and beliefs that unfairly encourage racial disparities within the American

juvenile justice system. It focuses on promoting the youth’s wellbeing and mental health, despite

their ethnic and racial background. That is essential in implementing practice and policies that

promote inclusion and equity in the juvenile justice system. The policies and practices should
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guide on the actions to be taken against those who continue to racially discriminate against

individuals from minority groups in America, including jail terms and harsh fines. That would

encourage the judges and law enforcement officers to practice equality and inclusion within the

juvenile justice system and beyond, ensuring the problem is solved completely.

Implications Of the Suggested Solutions

The suggested solutions have a huge implication on the juvenile justice system and the

wider American society. That is true since the identified solutions focus on addressing the root

causes of the problem. First, the prioritization of diversion and prevention is significant in bring

to an end the disproportionate minority confinement within the juvenile justice systems. This

solution is crucial since it identifies and acknowledges that the increased minority group

confinement within the juvenile justice systems is not an individual’s issue but an issue of

systematic inequality (McCarter & Durant, 2022). It is likely to create a long-lasting solution to

the problem since it focuses on promoting systematic equality, crucial in addressing causative

factors like trauma, poverty, and better access to education for the minority groups. The diversion

and prevention programs are therefore important in redirecting the interest of the young members

of the minority groups, making them prioritize their future and wellbeing over actions that may

lead them to the juvenile justice systems. it enables the young members of the minority groups to

have better access to community based mental health services, after school programs, and

mentorship programs, keeping the children busy on self-improvement rather than illegal

activities that promote juvenile incarceration among the minority groups. These programs are

important in lowering the chances and risk of the young members of the minority groups to

involving themselves in the juvenile justice systems.

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Second, the community-based option to confinement is another important solution with a

great implication on the society and individuals. It focuses on rehabilitating individuals,

increasing their chances of being good members of the community and society at large (Zane &

Pupo, 2021). That benefits individuals since it restores them back to the community much faster.

It also benefits the society by lowering the expenses on the juveniles since it does away with the

need to keep them in prison. Instead, it allows the juveniles to interact freely with mentors,

increasing their accountability to the communities they belong. It also focuses on restoring the

justice system by changing and improving practices meant to punish the juvenile’s rom minority

groups. For instance, it enables different juvenile offenders, community members, and victims to

work together in addressing the effects of criminal acts on the community and how it makes

outsiders to vie the communities. It is, therefore, an important solution since it promotes

understanding and therapy over punishment. This solution is effective in restoring the justice

practices by encouraging the law enforcement officers and the judges to use an equitable and

more comprehensive response to juvenile offenses, lowering chances of sending the juveniles to

the justice systems which may leave them worse by allowing them to interact with more

experienced criminals.

Third, the youth development initiative is an important solution since it enables youth’s

wo are higher risk of being taken to the juvenile justice systems to have opportunity to develop

important skills and enhance personal growth. Youth development initiatives are important since

they enable youths to have free access to recreational activities and job training, essential in

making them important members of the society (Zane & Pupo, 2021). Such programs leave

individuals and the community with positive impression since enables the youths to develop

resilience, essential in making them feel part of the larger marginalized communities. These
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programs enable the communities to invest on the young people, enabling the youths to feel

valued. That is important in encouraging them to work hard to maintaining positive impression

on the members of their communities and beyond, lowering their chances of being sent to

juvenile detention camps and the justice systems.

Fourth, reforming practices and polices for the juvenile practitioners is crucial in

lowering racial disparity within juvenile confinement. It is important since it focuses on making

every stakeholder better. For instance, the bias training for the justice system persons such as the

judges and law enforcement officers make it suitable for the problem (Shoemaker, 2020). Beside

enforcing impartial and fair trail and decision making for the juveniles of all background,

reforming policies and practices through bias training is significant in raising awareness on the

issue. It is therefore important in discouraging unconscious biasness which forms a significant

portion of the juvenile incarceration for the members of the minority groups in America. The bias

training for the justice system personnel has positive implication on individuals and communities

since it helps in identifying how racial inequality practices are encouraged within the juvenile

justice systems in America. that is important keeping the community aware and prepared for

what may happen if they act a certain way. It also enables them to understand that they are likely

to be targeted, making members of the at-risk groups to be more careful when interacting with

the law enforcement officers and the juvenile justice systems judges.

The suggested solutions above therefore have deep rooted implications on the

communities and individuals. That is true since they extend beyond the juvenile justice systems

limitations. They are thus important in influencing the society to be more equitable and to treat

members of diverse races and ethnic groups with more respect (Morgan, 2020). They discourage

racial discrimination, making them important for developing an all-inclusive society where all
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individuals feel valued and respected irrespective of their race, colour, and interest as long as

they follow the existing laws.

Evaluation

Even though the suggested solutions appear promising resolutions to the bigger problem,

it is necessary to understand that they ca only be effective if they are implemented alongside

systematic improvements and structural reforms. That would make it possible to solve the root

causes of disproportionate representation of the minority groups in America in the local juvenile

justice systems (Morgan, 2020). It also requires a better understanding of how systemic

inequalities have direct links to poverty and race. That suggest the need to make every

stakeholder to prioritize improving the lives and wellbeing of the poor communities and having a

more positive appreciation of diverse races in America. It is also important to understand that the

suggested solutions may not work in absence of continuous and sustained efforts intended to rip

to shreds the racist practices and policies used by law enforcement officers and the juvenile

justice system judges. It also requires the societal focus on improving the wellbeing of all the

young people in America without putting their racial background or ethnic groups into

consideration.

Effective implementation of the proposed solutions also requires the acknowledgement of

their potential restrictions and inadvertent impacts on the society. For instance, it is necessary to

understand that the solution such as prevention and diversion initiatives may result in stigma and

stereotypes on the young people from the minority communities in America (Zane & Pupo,

2021). That can be true if the solution is implemented through force and intimidation. It is

therefore necessary to create awareness on the programs to allow the society take part in the

process through their own volition. That makes it necessary to bring the whole society on the
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same page by illustrating to them what the members of the minority groups have gone through

and are likely to face in future if the solutions are not implemented. That would encourage every

stakeholder to try to fit themselves in the soes of the minority groups, enabling them to show

empathy and compassion towards them. It is also crucial t identify and understand that the

community-based options t confinement may present challenges based on sustainability and

scalability. That makes it necessary for the community to identify adequate sources of the

necessary resources needed in running the programs. Besides, where the number of youths

required to join the program exceed the existing resources, the programs may become

unsustainable, making it necessary to consider the nature of the community and the rate of

juvenile detention before employing this solution.

Conclusion

The unfair confinement of the minority groups in America presents a huge challenge. It

demonstrates the level of racism, despite the centuries long efforts to end unequal treatment of

members of different races and ethnic groups in America. The increased detention and

incarceration of the minority groups extends beyond the judicial proceedings and the boundaries

of law enforcement, indicating that without proper solution the issue is likely to grow to a much

bigger problem in the future. This paper employs social work based theoretical framework to

help in developing long lasting solutions to the unequal minority confinement within the

American juvenile justice systems. Employing a social work-based framework is significant in

this paper since offers effective guidance for practice, making it easy to develop solutions that

are backed by research. Social work-based framework enables policy and practice practitioners

to take time in identifying and comprehending the complex nature of specific social issues and

how they may have been perpetuated in the past systematically. This paper specifically employs
 15

the Critical Race Theory as the social work-based theoretical framework. The theory provides a

healthy analytical lens, making it easy to understand the root cause of the disproportionate

minority representation in the juvenile justice systems in America. However, intersectionality is

another important framework necessary in exploring the complications within the unequal

confinement of the minority groups in America. It shows how the factors of social identities,

class, gender, and race informs how some groups are treated within the American society.

The theoretical framework suggests four solutions to the problem. It advocates for the

development of prevention and diversion programs to solve the issue of disproportionate

minority confinement within the American juvenile justice system. The second solution proposal

is the community-based incarceration, to reduce the high-rate incarceration of members of

minority groups based on their race and ethnic groups. This proposal requires strategic

investment intended to restore and improve the juvenile justice practices. The third solution

proposal is the reformation of practices and policies that tend to encourage the mistreatment of

the minority groups. This solution suggests the need to carry out bias training for justice system

persons, including the judges and police officers. The final solution proposal is to address the

systematic inequalities in America. That can be achieved by implementing systematic changes by

doing away with policies intended to put down members of minority races in America.

The suggested solutions have a huge implication on the juvenile justice system and the

wider American society. They focus on addressing the root causes of the problem. The

prioritization of diversion and prevention is significant in bring to an end the disproportionate

minority confinement within the juvenile justice systems. The community-based option to

confinement is important solution with a great implication on the society and individuals. It

focuses on rehabilitating individuals, increasing their chances of being good members of the
 16

community and society at large. The youth development initiative enables youths who are at

higher risk of being taken to the juvenile justice systems to have opportunity to develop

important skills and enhance personal growth. Reforming practices and policies for the juvenile

practitioners is crucial in lowering racial disparity within juvenile confinement. It is important

since it focuses on making every stakeholder better.

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References

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health and diasporic identities. Frontiers in sociology, 5, 1.

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10.1080/07418825.2021.1915364
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