Connecticut’s Equity Dashboard – A Tool to examine the Juvenile Justice System

Connecticut has taken a significant step towards achieving equity and justice by introducing the Equity Dashboard, a powerful tool designed to examine and address disparities within the juvenile justice system. This innovative initiative aims to promote transparency, data-driven decision-making, and, ultimately, a fairer future for our state’s young population.

It is essential to ensure that Connecticut’s juvenile justice system operates in a manner that is fair, just, and free from bias. The Equity Dashboard focuses on providing a comprehensive view of the system, shedding light on areas where disparities may exist and identifying opportunities for improvement. The project began as a recommendation from Connecticut’s Improving Outcome For Youth Initiative (IOYouth).

In 2019, with the goal of assessing whether recent juvenile justice system reforms had been implemented as intended and have had the expected impact, Connecticut’s three branches of government launched the IOYouth Statewide Task Force. The Task Force’s recommendations were released in July 2020, and work began in late 2020 on developing the Equity Dashboard. The  dashboard, initiated by the Officer of Policy and Management, was a collaboration between JJPOC workgroups: The Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED) workgroup, and The Cross Agency Data Sharing workgroup