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The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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Indian <strong>Youth</strong> <strong>of</strong> America is very different. <strong>The</strong>re are, and I’ve asked some<br />

questions about that program because I’m not so sure that it doesn’t allow<br />

these kids to get the idea that they can bypass the legal system because<br />

they’re Indian and that’s not a good message for them to get because once<br />

they pass eighteen, they can no longer bypass the legal system and go to<br />

some agency, these people are not tra<strong>in</strong>ed people at Indian <strong>Youth</strong>, they’re<br />

not tra<strong>in</strong>ed to do the same th<strong>in</strong>g that the probation people are tra<strong>in</strong>ed to do.<br />

And we don’t have any k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> a handle on what k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>of</strong> a program they<br />

use over there. What authority they have to impose consequences on these<br />

kids.<br />

Q. How would you characterize their treatment <strong>of</strong> the children<br />

A. We know noth<strong>in</strong>g about that program.<br />

Q. Does anybody<br />

A. I just wrote a memo last week to ask. I’ve been question<strong>in</strong>g it more<br />

verbally ask<strong>in</strong>g John Calhoun. What exactly, why are we referr<strong>in</strong>g these<br />

kids to Indian <strong>Youth</strong> What are they do<strong>in</strong>g with them over there And he<br />

really didn’t know. And so I wrote him a rather formal memo ask<strong>in</strong>g him<br />

to please f<strong>in</strong>d out. I mean we need to know what they do with these kids<br />

once we. . .<strong>The</strong> fact <strong>of</strong> the matter is I can come up with these victims,<br />

compla<strong>in</strong>ant forms where they have referred kids, on occasion, a kid for<br />

burglary, a Class C felony, a serious assault...<br />

Q. And who’s do<strong>in</strong>g the referr<strong>in</strong>g<br />

A. <strong>The</strong> <strong>in</strong>take people. And that’s a policy decision, that’s not their<br />

decision. That was an agreement sometime back,..., that because <strong>of</strong> the<br />

number <strong>of</strong> kids at the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g school, the number <strong>of</strong> Native American kids<br />

at the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g school, exceeded their predicted numbers. And so they felt<br />

that they were be<strong>in</strong>g unfairly discrim<strong>in</strong>ated aga<strong>in</strong>st and this arrangement<br />

was worked out but there’s a lot <strong>of</strong> loose ends there...<br />

I have no idea what goes on at Indian <strong>Youth</strong>. <strong>The</strong>y just tell us that they<br />

were referred there and we don’t know if they do community service or if<br />

they receive <strong>in</strong>dividual or family counsel<strong>in</strong>g, or if the school system is<br />

tutor<strong>in</strong>g, or what they do. We have no idea...

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