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As announced in the July/August 2007 OJJDP News @ a Glance, the annual Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Conference was held October 25–27, 2007, in Denver, CO. The theme was "Reducing Disproportionate Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice by Making the Right Connections."

The conference provided State and local juvenile justice and other related policymakers and practitioners (such as juvenile justice specialists, DMC Coordinators, police officers, detention and probation professionals, family court judges, and attorneys) and community-based youth service providers (such as child welfare professionals) with a variety of strategies to help them make the right connections in their DMC-reduction efforts. The conference featured workshops and panel presentations on:

• Best practices that may reduce DMC at different juvenile justice contact points.
• Development and use of risk assessment instruments.
• Cultural competency training.

The conference featured 80 speakers from 25 States and attracted 420 participants—the largest turnout to date and twice the number expected. Further, over half of the participants were first timers, indicating an increasing number of individuals who are interested in and committed to reducing DMC.

Four useful tools were launched at the conference: The National DMC Databook; DMC Data Tool; DMC Reduction Best Practices Database; and FY 2007 States' DMC Reduction Activities Summary Table.

National DMC Databook

OJJDP has added a National Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Databook to its Statistical Briefing Book. The DMC Databook enables users to review the processing of delinquency cases within the juvenile justice system and assess levels of disproportionate minority contact at various decision points. It includes national data for the 15-year period 1990–2004, which can then be compared with local data.

DMC Data Tool

DMC data from more than 700 local jurisdictions, derived from FY 2006 Formula Grant applications, were entered in OJJDP's DMC Data Entry System. This tool—available in online and Excel versions—enables local jurisdictions to compare their data with overall patterns from these jurisdictions, thus enhancing analysis. An example of how the tool may be used is also available.

The DMC Data Tool (online and Excel versions) can be accessed on OJJDP's DMC Tools Web page.

DMC Reduction Best Practices Database

OJJDP has expanded its online Model Programs Guide to include strategies and programs that show promise in reducing DMC. This DMC-reduction best practices database includes jurisdictional strategies as well as single programs that can be implemented to reduce DMC. The database is searchable by juvenile justice system point-of-contact, DMC-contributing mechanism, ethnicity, and other criteria. Search results present case studies and program profiles of useful approaches.

Summary of States' DMC-Reduction Activities

The Summary of States' DMC-Reduction Activities provides a snapshot of DMC-reduction activities, derived from Fiscal Year 2007 Formula Grant applications, including information on reduction strategies and targeted local sites.