Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Governor Culver To Attend UI Conference On Racial Disparities
(Des Moines)- Governor Chet Culver has announced he will attend the sixth annual conference organized by the University of Iowa School of Social Work's Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Resource Center, which is part of the National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice. The conference is called "Investing in Iowa's Youth, Investing in Iowa's Future-Chapter 6: Linking Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Education and Health to Reduce Racial Disparities."
Governor Culver said, “I look forward to addressing these important issues head on. We cannot wait to take action. Lt. Governor Judge and I are working to ensure that all of Iowa’s youth regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation are not being discriminated against. It is critical to the future of our state that opportunities are limitless for all Iowans, and that young people are treated with respect and dignity.”
The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 28-29, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30 at the downtown Holiday Inn in Des Moines. The media is invited to cover the conference or to interview organizers about the issue. Nearly 300 people have registered to attend, and a limited number can still sign up.
A few weeks ago, Governor Culver ordered the establishment of the Youth Race and Detention Task Force to address the over-representation of minority youth in Iowa's juvenile detention centers. Recent reports have also drawn attention to the fact that minority students are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school and be involved in the child welfare system.
State and national leaders in the fields of juvenile justice, child welfare, education, health, and family and human services will gather November 28-30 in Des Moines to discuss the disproportionate numbers of minority youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and ways to address the disparity. They will pay special attention to how the issue connects with school systems.
"We're pleased that the timing of this conference coincides with acknowledgement of the significance of the problem we've been working to solve," said Brad Richardson, director of the DMC Resource Center. "Governor Culver's Executive Order No. 5 noted that minorities are over-represented in Iowa's juvenile detention facilities, that most of those incarcerated are there for misdemeanors, that incarceration of these offenders increases the odds of repeating criminal behavior, and that African-American youth are more likely than White youth to receive harsher legal outcomes when they make mistakes."
With increased input from youth, including presentations from a variety of youth perspectives and a host of nationally known speakers, Richardson said this year's conference will examine the issues, explore potential solutions and facilitate learning about the best ways to address the problems. The conference features presentations by nearly two dozen speakers.