Context: In recent years, due to an alarming increase in the number of opioid-related overdose fatalities for White, Non-Hispanics in rural and suburban communities across the United States, they have been considered as the face of this epidemic. However, there has also been a staggering rise in the number of opioid overdoses in urban, minority communities, which have not been thoroughly addressed by the literature. Methods We reviewed deaths where opioid-related substances were reported as the leading cause of death to the Centers of Disease Control Multiple Cause of Death database from 1999 to 2017. Deaths were analyzed by year, State, drug type, and race and ethnicity. Results There were 399,230 total opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2017 amongst all ethnic groups in the U.S. During this timeframe, approximately 323,939 total deaths were attributed to White, Non-Hispanics, while 75,291 were attributed to all other ethnicities. Examination of opioid-related overdose death data by ethnicity reveals that while White, Non-Hispanics have experienced the largest numbers of opioid-related overdose deaths in the U.S with up to 37,113 deaths occurring during 2017, there has also been a sharp rise in the number of opioid-related overdose deaths for minorities. opioid-related overdose deaths for Black, Non-Hispanics climbed from 1130 deaths in 1999 to 5513 deaths in 2017, while opioid-related overdose deaths for Hispanics climbed from 1058 in 1999 to 3932 in 2017. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past 19 years, age-adjusted opioid-related deaths for Hispanics have climbed from 3.5 overdoses per 100,000 in 1999 to 6.8 overdoses per 100,000 in 2017. However, greater increases have been reported for Blacks during the same 19-year timeframe with age-adjusted rates of 3.5 overdoses per population of 100,000 in 1999 to 12.9 overdoses per population of 100,000 in 2017. Conclusion While Opioid-related overdoses have overwhelmingly plagued rural and suburban White, Non-Hispanic communities, there has been a surge in the number of deaths in Black and Hispanic Minority communities in recent years. Although there have been significant increases in the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Black and Hispanic communities, the media narrative for this epidemic is often portrayed as a White, Non-Hispanic rural and suburban crisis. As a result, intervention strategies and policies have failed, both, to assess the severity of the problem in minority communities and to offer culturally sensitive preventative and treatment solutions. In this paper, the impact of the opioid epidemic on Black and Hispanic minority communities will be presented. Racial disparities in the U.S. Government’s current approach to an epidemic, which plagues rural and suburban White America, will be compared to its past criminal justice response to drug pandemics in urban minority communities. Culturally sensitive policy considerations and recommendations that can be used to, both, mitigate and offer treatment options for the opioid epidemic in these minority communities will also be addressed.

Recent findings have held that offender behavioral assessments unfairly predict the probation outcomes of racial/ethnic minorities. To that end, this study examines the extent and degree to which a commonly used offender risk needs assessment instrument equitably predicts probationer success and distributes predictive error. Findings suggest that the risk needs instrument predicts most equitably for "higher risked" probationers and that error is more likely for under-classified Blacks and over-classified Whites. The discussion presents issues for consideration by policy makers, practitioners, and future researchers motivated by the minimization of predictive bias.

This chapter will analyze school disciplinary actions across large metropolitan school districts. In recent decades, K-12 school disciplinary practices have garnered national attention from researchers, policymakers, and educators. Racial disparity among school discipline raises serious questions about continued violations of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. The purpose of the chapter is to provide a series of evidence-supported recommendations for the dismantling of the school-to-prison pipeline. The current chapter will examine the discipline records for the 2016-2017 academic school year in 19 independent school districts to identify the equitable assignment of suspensions and expulsions. Disparity ratio analysis will help us understand the relationship between race, ethnicity, and school suspension. The findings will be utilized to guide policy recommendations. The results will provide an evidence-based understanding of racial disparity in school suspensions.

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This chapter will examine the disproportionate rate of minority school suspensions relative to race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, grade level, and school population size. Although Black students account for 20% of the school population for this chapter's study, the rate of in-school discipline for Black students far exceeded the rates for White and Hispanic students. Notably, the authors find that race, gender, socioeconomic status, and grade level are correlated with the disproportionate disciplinary practices imposed upon minority students regardless of grade level. In this chapter, the authors review the previous research on race, gender, poverty, grade level, and school discipline before laying out their methodological approach for understanding suspension disparities. After analysis, they conclude with recommendations for improvement.