The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

Blacks/Dropout Placement
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The second race finding was at the stage of judicial disposition. Black youth who
dropped out of school were more likely to be placed than white youth who dropped out of
school. Again, this finding disappeared when those waived to adult court were excluded
from the analyses. Explanations for this finding, however, were provided. The two more
prominent explanations were the availability of community alternatives for blacks and
cooperation, though some indicated that the quality of the home life could also be a
factor.
I would say that it is based on what they have available in their home. A
child from a two parent household has a much greater chance of staying
home.
You know, mostly I would say that would not be true but then I am not
sure what our stats would show for that.
Q. Do you think that there is a lack of community-based treatment for
blacks
A. I think there has been, yes. I think that has made it sort of difficult at
times to ensure that the services are out there for the kids.
I wonder if what comes into play then is more community based things
being available for white families than for the black families. If there are
some of those opportunities available for the black families they might
once again be more resistant to do that so we have to place them, they
force our hand if they aren’t going to take advantage of what is going on
here in the community.
… I would speculate that the blacks probably have been more
uncooperative and it has probably been well documented their lack of
cooperation and adhering to the expectations. My experience has been that
blacks on the whole will typically be more noncooperative.