Friday, January 28, 2011

Disproportionality in Texas Systems




To start off the blogging in 2011, this chart speaks for itself, but a little more explanation. . . Racial disproportionality, specifically the impact of being African-American, pervades the child welfare, school discipline, juvenile justice, and criminal justice systems. For every bad outcome, from having a child removed from the home to being on death row, African Americans are represented significantly more than they are represented in our state population, and the exact reverse is true for Whites. 
Data Sources:

• State Population: Estimate of the Population by Age, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity for July 1, 2009 for State of Texas, Texas State Data Center, http://txsdc.utsa.edu/tpepp/2009ASREstimates/alldata.pdf.
• FY 2009 CPS Data: Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Data Book 2009, http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/About/Data_Books_and_Annual_Reports/2009/default.asp.
• Students Expelled 2008–2009, Mandatory and Discretionary Expulsions 2007–2008: Texas’ School-to-Prison Pipeline: School Expulsion The Path from Lockout to Dropout, Texas Appleseed, 2010, http://www.texasappleseed.net/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=380&Itemid.
• Juvenile Justice Data: The State of Juvenile Probation Activity in Texas—Calendar Year 2008, http://www.tjpc.state.tx.us/publications/reports/RPTSTAT2008.pdf, published July 2010.
• Prison/State Jail Population: TDCJ On Hand as of August 31, 2009: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Fiscal Year 2009 Statistical Report, http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/executive/Statistical_Report_FY09.pdf.
• Felony Revocations: FY 2010 Statewide Felony Revocations to Texas Department of Criminal Justice, data received from Texas Department of Criminal Justice, December 27, 2010.
• Drug Arrests: Arrest Data by Race, 2009 Crime in Texas, http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/crime_records/pages/crimestatistics.htm
• Death Row Offenders: Gender and Racial Statistics of Death Row Offenders, http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/racial.htm, last updated November 22, 2010.