We have been pointing out all the signs of good news – of success – in the juvenile justice world in recent years. With fewer and fewer kids being placed in secure institutions, arrest rates declining, detention populations declining, and formal delinquency petitions declining, something seems to be working. But that apparent good news has to be tempered with an ever-vigilant reminder that we are not successful until we are successful for all.

A recent release by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), titled A Crisis Ignored, illustrates how progress for some does not mean progress for all – in this case as it relates to unemployment for the black community. Declines in unemployment in the country as a whole are not reflected in the changes for black Americans, particularly young men. This may be a harbinger of things to come – or at least a recognition that our youth, those that are at-risk of becoming involved in the juvenile justice system, are affected by what they see around them. Economic gains that leave out parts of our communities will surely make our issues with DMC worse in the years to come.