Following the news of OJJDP’s buried suicide study, released last week after five years in the agency’s possession, JJ Today has learned of another report that was essentially buried during the Flores years.
OJJDP contracted for Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP) Executive Director Mark Soler and his DMC policy director Lisa Garry to write a report on Disproportionate Minority Contact, which was supposed to be part of the most recent DMC Technical Assistance Manual, published in 2006. While the report was mostly instructive rather than revelatory – it focused on how to start DMC work in local communities and how to help move public opinion toward progressive DMC positions – sources tell us it included a section on addressing DMC issues with public officials.
When it was not included in the manual, sources say, the authors were told by OJJDP that it would become its own separate bulletin or report.
Unlike the suicide report – which absolutely still was worth publishing last week – there is some question as to the impact this DMC information would have if it were released now. At the very least, we’re pretty sure Soler and Garry would want to update the work; one of the main priorities of CCLP since the report was handed in has been leading DMC work for the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change initiative. You would have to think they now have more to add.
Also, there is certainly an expectation that DMC issues will get significant attention at OJJDP during the Obama administration. So releasing a relatively out-of-date piece on the subject might not be in their plans.
Meanwhile, there is still no explanation from OJJDP on the suicide study and what the holdup was.
