JJDPA Moving Forward in House and Senate
On April 4, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved
HB 1809, a bill to amend and reauthorize the
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The bill was introduced just days earlier by Rep. Jason Lewis (R-MN) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). It is similar to legislation that was approved by the House of Representatives in late 2016.
The Senate also introduced legislation earlier this month (
S. 806) to reauthorize the JJDPA. The bill was introduced by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The legislation moved out of committee and must now be approved by the full Senate.
The Senate and House are scheduled to reconvene on April 24.
Stay tuned for additional updates on the JJDPA!
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Collecting the right information is crucial to system improvement, but it's not always clear what information states should be collecting and when. Register today for "Improving Systems: The What, When, and Where of Effective Information Collection". This webinar will take place May 11 at 2 p.m. Eastern and will feature Melissa Sickmund and Teri Deal of the National Center for Juvenile Justice. Participants will gain a better understanding of how data can be used to help improve systems. Click here to learn more and register.
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Join us in for the 2017 Annual Conference!
Register by April 28!
Register between now and April 28th before late registration costs take effect! All participants that register as non-members will receive a complementary 2017 CJJ membership.
Become a Sponsor
CJJ invites all individuals and organizations to
sponsor
the Annual Conference. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; therefore, sponsorship may be partly or wholly tax-deductible. Sponsors will be acknowledged in the conference program and on CJJ's website, and eligible to receive a complementary or discounted CJJ membership.
Exhibit at the Conference
This year, CJJ also has a limited number of
exhibitor spaces
available. Exhibiting at CJJ's Annual Conference allows your organization an even greater opportunity to reach CJJ's members, partners, and other juvenile justice stakeholders. Exhibitors receive exhibit space, waived conference registration(s), acknowledgement in the conference program and on CJJ's website, a complementary or discounted CJJ membership, and additional benefits depending on their support level.
Hotel Accommodations
A conference room block is available at the
Washington Hilton Hotel
. The group rate is $242/night, the federal per diem lodging rate for Washington, DC.
Questions?
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Years of hard work in New York resulted in major wins this month, when lawmakers approved a plan to raise the age of criminal jurisdiction. Three years ago, in his January 8, 2014 State of the State Address, Governor Cuomo acknowledged that 16 and 17 year olds should not be tried and charged as adults. On April 9 of that same year, he signed Executive Order 131, which established the Commission on Youth, Public Safety, and Justice. The Commission developed a plan identifying steps for New York State to Raise the Age of criminal responsibility. This month, on April 11, Governor Cuomo signed into law a bill that raises the age of criminal responsibility to 18.
The New York State Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) has continually expressed their support for New York State raising the age of criminal responsibility. They have also provided funding for two key projects that will have a tremendous impact and contribution toward ensuring the raise the age legislation is successfully implemented.
First, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) authorized funding in December of 2015 to establish a Youth Justice Institute which will be governed by both the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Office of Children and Family Services. The Institute will be housed within the University of Albany's School of Criminal Justice and will provide technical assistance, training, resources and evaluation resources to local districts.
The goals of the Institute are to:
- Identify information and educate stakeholders and the public about evidence-based and promising practices in the area of youth justice;
- Conduct research, evaluation, quality assurance, and quality improvement of new and existing youth services; and
- Develop infrastructure, systems and mechanisms for disseminating, implementing and sustaining high quality youth justice in New York State.
Secondly, in 2016 the JJAG approved funding to continue support for the Regional Youth Justice Teams (RYJTs). The nine teams extend across the entire state of New York and have coordinated local and regional juvenile justice system improvement efforts. Previous JJAG awards to the teams have supported data improvement, needs assessment, and strategic planning activities to improve community responses to justice-involved youth and their families, and serve to pilot approaches that can be adapted for use in other localities across the state.
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Standalone legislation has been introduced in the House and the Senate to phase out use of the valid court order exception, a provision that is used in nearly half of all states and territories to detain youth for status offense behaviors. Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29) put forward H.R. 1885 earlier this month. Similar legislation (S. 866) was introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA). Both bills would require states to end usage of the VCO.
A phaseout of the VCO is also being considered as part of the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
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Other News and Announcements
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UTAH PASSES JUVENILE JUSTICE OVERHAUL
Earlier this month, with the support of the Pew Charitable Trust, Utah's legislature passed a bill to overhaul its juvenile justice system. The bill,
HB 239, earned overwhelming support. It focuses on preventing young people who have engaged in low-level behaviors from entering the justice system's deep end. HB 239 also aims to provide evidence-based counseling early on and in homes rather than out of home placements.
The bill is expected to drastically reduce the number of young people who are charged and incarcerated for status offense behaviors, while simultaneously saving the state nearly $70 million. These funds will be reinvested in evidence-based community services to keep young people in their homes and communities. The bill also establishes a criteria for pre-court diversion, caps fines and fees, limits school-based court referrals, and puts a limit on the amount of time a young person can spend in detention centers and under probation.
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EVENTS:
IN SOLIDARITY WE RISE:
The National Crittenton Foundation will host a conference entitled "In Solidarity We Rise: Healing, Opportunity and Justice for Girls" on October 11-13th, 2017 in Washington D.C.
To register click
here
.
GAULT AT 50:
In the D.C. area? Consider joining the National Juvenile Defender Center for the Gault at 50 Gala at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, on May 15, 2017 as NJDC commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that affirmed children's right to counsel. RSVP Today!
SRO TRAINING:
NATIONAL JUDICIAL INSTITUTE:
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NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES:
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The Juvenile Justice Monitor is brought to you by staff and volunteer leaders of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, and supported by membership fees paid by CJJ's State Advisory Group Members, Members at Large, Organizational Members, and allies. We are grateful to all for their ongoing support.
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
1319 F Street NW, Suite 402
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