The Disproportionate Minority Contact Mandate

Abstract

The Disproportionate Minority Confinement, and later Contact (DMC), mandate was developed by Congress to reduce minority overrepresention in the U.S. juvenile justice system. Presently, this federal provision compels states to decrease the disproportionate number of minorities handled at all of their juvenile processing stages. The DMC mandate has recently captured political attention due to its compulsory status and system-wide focus, but its impacts on the treatment of minority youth are less clear. This study uses original juvenile processing data from Pennsylvania to evaluate whether the DMC mandate has diminished the size of processed minority youth populations. Empirical assessments demonstrate the DMC mandate has successfully generated substantial declines in minority processing throughout the state’s juvenile justice system. The results highlight the potential of a national reform to remedy racial inequalities in juvenile justice.