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Abstract
| In 2008, the Carey Group released a report indicating that La Crosse County had a juvenile arrest rate higher than not only three like sized counties, but the entire state of Wisconsin (Kruse and Foegen 2014). In hopes to change the statistics, the Juvenile Justice Arrest and Disproportionate Minority Contact Inter-Agency (JJADMC) Task Force has collaborated to discuss different methods to help the at-risk youth in the city of La Crosse avoid contact with the juvenile system. This task force is a collaboration of key stakeholders including the Juvenile Justice Supervisor, the Health and Human Services Supervisor, school administrators, school resource officers, and youth program implementers. In this case study, semi-structured qualitative interviews are used to assess the effectiveness of the JJADMC Task Force as it redefines juvenile justice for the city of La Crosse, and implements a new System of Care. Interviews with the La Crosse School District School Resource Officers (SROs) and the key stakeholders of the task force will help to gain an understanding of specific stakeholders’ views of obstacles and changes created. La Crosse arrest and Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) data is also discussed. After compiling major themes and trends within the interviews, the effectiveness of the task force will be discussed in comparison to prior literature on challenges faced by school resource officers, interagency collaboration, and diversionary programs. The success of this task force will be beneficial for the community of La Crosse and others in understanding the most effective ways to address juvenile delinquency and disproportionate minority contact. |
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