The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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If they don’t have an attitude that, ‘I’m willing to work. I’m 4illing to do
it,’ then they aren’t going to get it. They have to have a pretty good
attitude, they don’t have to be perfect. If you go along the reasoning that a
lot more of the minority youth have a worse attitude, then it stands to
reason they aren’t going to get it.
Others feel that blacks receive less consent decrees because they are more likely
to come from single—parent families. Therefore, these youth may have less cooperation
or support from their families, which are necessary factors in an effective consent decree.
Some also feel that often times if blacks are given a break the first time they are
brought into the system, then they commit another crime. When they are brought back to
the system they do not qualify for a consent decree, because they are given only for
serious first offenders.
Females Placed Out of the Community More than Males
The final major finding from the first phase of the study, and the one that seems to
bring the most disagreement among the decision makers, is that females are placed out of
the home more than males at judicial disposition. One of the most popular explanations
given was that females tend to be more out-of-control and more problematic than males.
The only thing that really stands out is the one about the females being
placed more often as a disposition rather than community—based. And
that is because they are so out of control by the time we get the girls. And
we have less facilities for females so we aren’t placing that many. It’s just
that it’s a