A conference today focuses on the number of minority kids who’re sent to detention centers in Iowa. Dave Kuker is with the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. He says about eight-percent of the youth in Iowa are “youth of color” — African Americans, Native Americans, Asian or Hispanic-Latino youth — but they make up one third of the youth in detention centers in the state. He says they hope to hear from some experts who’ve dealt with this problem in other states. He says other states have been successfull in reducing the number of minority youth in detention. He says other states have been able to look at alternatives for kids in the juvenile detention system and look at detention as only one option. Kuker says Iowa is not alone in dealing with this problem. He says it’s a tough issue and most states are dealing with the problem. The conference runs today and tomorrow in Iowa City.
