2022 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Conference

Removing the Blindfold: Investing in Young People, Communities, and Healing.

For a copy of the agenda click here.

Every year, CJJ hosts a conference focusing specifically on the issue of racial and ethnic disparities (R/ED) in the juvenile justice system. With the help of wonderful presenters, this year’s R/ED conference was a wonderful success. We anticipated 250 registrants and had 315 attendees for this year’s conference. A special thank you to our presenters whose hard work and dedication continue to shape the field. Presenters ranged from young people with lived experience to Senators from Kentucky and the changes they have made in the statute that benefit youth. In addition to our presenters, we also had a federal update from OJJDP Administrator Elizabeth Ryan and Author Kris Henning (Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth) as a keynote speaker who shared and drew upon experiences in her 25 years working in D.C.’s Juvenile Court to explain the history and reasoning of why the system is the way it is and the consequences that come from denying African American Youth access to healthy adolescent development.

If you would like to view slides from our conference workshops, the following presentation’s are available:

• Congregate Care, Collective Trauma
• Disrupting Stigma and Racial and Ethnic Disparities for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorder
• Using Data as Your Flashlight: Guiding the Way to Disrupt Racial and Ethnic Disparities and Improve Outcomes for Youth and Their Families
• Bridging the Gap Between Youth and Law Enforcement

Andrew Smith Awardee

Congratulations to Craig Hargrow of Tennessee, this year’s Andrew Smith Awardee. To learn more about Craig and the work he is doing to address racial and ethnic disparities in the youth justice system, click here. 

Sponsors and Exhibitors

Thank you to this year’s sponsors! We are grateful for the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Justice Resource Institute, Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, and members of the CJJ Executive Board.