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Issue Area: Data Collection

Where are Our Children? A Data Scan of Native Youth Incarceration in Minnesota

Written by Laura Smith on .

Published by the Tribal Youth Justice Resource Center in December 2024, this publication examines the current state of data collection and reporting related to Tribal youth involvement in Minnesota’s juvenile justice system. Despite the growing recognition of the need for targeted interventions, there is a significant gap in the availability of comprehensive, accurate, and consistent data on Native youth in the justice system. The absence of this data impedes effective policymaking, program design, and the ability to track the outcomes and needs of this vulnerable population.

We adopted a case study approach to conduct a data scan on incarcerated Native youth, focusing on a single state to develop a manageable and replicable search strategy. This approach allowed for a deeper examination of data pathways and the refinement of a methodology that could be adapted for broader national studies. Minnesota was chosen based on several factors: its high population of Native youth; the state juvenile justice system’s problematic history of engagement with Tribal communities, which offers a meaningful context for studying existing data gaps; and the jurisdictional complexity which involves federal, state and Tribal justice systems, allowing us to study intersecting systems. Additionally, Minnesota’s recent efforts at criminal justice reform and addressing racial and ethnic disparities created a supportive environment that facilitated this inquiry.


Key data scan questions guided the process, including the number of incarcerated Native youth, types of offenses, age ranges, length of detention, and tracking of Tribal affiliation by juvenile detention centers (JDCs). The research focused on secure and non-secure detention facilities, including regional and county JDCs, as well as the state-operated Minnesota Correctional Facility—Red Wing. The data scan process included extensive outreach to JDCs via phone and email to obtain de-identified data, with an emphasis on collaboration with facility staff to gather accurate information. However, challenges included delays in response and difficulty locating the appropriate contacts at some JDCs. Ultimately, data was collected from four out of ten targeted JDCs, which was used to perform composite descriptive analyses.

Protecting our Most Vulnerable – Strengthening Supports for Unsheltered & Runaway Native Youth (The 2nd part of an Online Learning Event Series)

Written by Laura Smith on .

This will be the second of a TYJRC Online Learning Event series focused on the needs and current service gaps of unsheltered and runaway Native youth across the country. During this Online Learning Event (OLE), Frankie White Dress, Director, Oglala Sioux Tribe Emergency Youth Shelter, and Sheri Riemers (Nindaanisequay, White Earth Nation) Executive Director, Ain Duh Young Center (www.adycenter.org), will share prevention and intervention strategies that are proving to be successful in working with unsheltered and runaway Native youth. Alejandra Bruyere, California Native Youth Collective Representative for the Center for Native American Youth, will also share stories of resilience and hope. Data collection strategies and resources on this topic will be provided during the OLE to support OLE participants that are seeking to expand their services to this population of Native youth.

Indigenous Peoples Breathing Data Back (TEDxUArizona)

Written by Laura Smith on .

Indigenous peoples have been successfully working with data for millennia, and Dr. Stephanie Russo Carroll posits a way to bring “databack” into relationship with our messy, 3D, colonized world at TEDxUArizona. Discover the power of Indigenous Data Sovereignty and its role in reconnecting indigenous peoples with their data, and learn how data, as living entities, intertwine with our past, present, and future. Join the call for accountability, responsibility, and collaboration to ensure a shared, thriving world. Dr. Stephanie Carroll, citizen of the Native Village of Kluti-Kaah in Alaska, and of Sicilian descent, is an Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Arizona. As the director of the Collaboratory for Indigenous Data Governance, she spearheads research on Indigenous Data Sovereignty, shaping policy and practice. A leader in the field, she co-founded the US Indigenous Data Sovereignty Network and chairs the Global Indigenous Data Alliance. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. 

Changing Perspective: Data Collection in a Juvenile Healing to Wellness Court

Written by Laura Smith on .

During this strategic planning session, we’ll discuss the assortment of ways Juvenile Healing to Wellness Courts utilize data to make their services more effective. Topics covered will include: collection methods, types of data, confidentiality, inter-governmental agreements, and trauma informed decision-making. We will also discuss Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention requirements to ensure your court is up to date with its grant reporting.

Two Boys on Horseback

Telling Our Story Through Evaluation

Written by Andrea Dickerson on .

A session presented at the 2021 OJJDP Tribal Youth Virtual National Conference. In this session participants surveyed an example of an evaluation process from data collection through data analysis and provided with an example of how to present evaluation findings to the community.

Research and Evaluation in Native Communities

Written by admin on .

Developing tribal capacity to understand and conduct research and evaluation in tribal communities is an exercise in sovereignty. These resources can provide information to get started.