JJDPA Implementation: Removing Youth from Adult Jails
|
|
When the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was reauthorized in 2018, new provisions required removal of youth charged as adults from adult jails and prisons. These provisions focused on evidence-based and trauma-informed responses to youth involved with the justice system. Currently, four states prohibit youth who are charged as adults from being held in adult jails, 12 states require youth to be held in adult jails in specific circumstances, and 34 states and the District of Columbia allow youth to be held in adult jails under certain circumstances.
States have three years from the JJDPA's reauthorization to remove youth charged as adults from adult jails unless it is otherwise in the interest of justice. In order for a youth to remain in an adult jail, a judge must take seven factors into consideration: age of the youth, physical/mental maturity of the youth, whether there is imminent harm, the youth's history, and the facility's ability to meet the needs of the youth. If the youth is held in an adult jail, they must be separated from adults so that they are not able to see or hear adult inmates.
In 2018, the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law published a
report with strategies to remove all youth from adult jail facilities. They found that approximately 15 states accounted for 90% of youth held in adult jails. Additionally, they found significant racial and ethnic disparities when studying youth who are held in adult jails. In 2012, Black youth were approximately 15% of the overall youth population but approximately 51% of the youth population held in adult facilities.
For additional information on implementation of the JJDPA's jail removal requirement, please see:
|
|
We as the Coalition for Juvenile Justice join our country in mourning the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbrey, Breonna Taylor, and countless other men and women of color. We stand with our young people and their families, holding space for this moment of sorrow.
We remain committed to creating more just and equitable outcomes for all youth and children. We recognize that the history of oppression in the United States has resulted in ongoing and systemic disparities and we are well aware of the limitations of a nonprofit framework to address them. Yet, we believe that organizations that intentionally prioritize addressing disparities and engaging the perspectives of diverse stakeholders can evolve into an inclusive ally with a commitment to equity and will have profound impacts on the broader society.
CJJ is currently creating a peer resource guide for Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinators as part of our work towards a more equitable system for youth, among other work.
Read our full statement
here.
|
|
New Executive Board Members Elected
|
|
CJJ is happy to announce the results of our recent Executive Board elections:
- Anya Sekino was elected National Juvenile Justice Specialist. Ms. Sekino is the Juvenile Crime Prevention Manager at the Youth Development Division in the Oregon Department of Education. She wants to continue to bring CJJ's vision to fruition through a collaborative, determined effort of all juvenile justice professionals and partners.
- Lieutenant Carlos Camacho was elected Northeast Regional Chair. Lt. Camacho is a police officer for the Nashua, New Hampshire Police Department. He previously served as the Northeast Regional Representative and plans to work with law enforcement to prevent minority youth from touching the justice system.
- Chief Tony Jones was elected Southern Regional Chair. Chief Jones is the Chief of Police in Gainesville, Florida. He wants to work with State Advisory and citizens centered groups to gather new ideas to address the prevention of delinquency in the US.
- The Honorable Michael Mayer was reelected as the Midwest Regional Chair. Judge Mayer is a District Court Judge in Minnesota. His vision for CJJ is to continue being the voice of State Advisory Groups in Washington, DC.
- Stacie Nelson-Colling was reelected as the Western Regional Chair. Ms. Nelson-Colling is the Juvenile Defense Coordinator for the Colorado Office of the Alternate Defense Council. She has served as the Western Regional Chair since 2016 and hopes for CJJ to continue its presence as an advocate to Congress and OJJDP on behalf of states.
Each board member will take over their position on July 1.
|
|
Join CJJ for the 2020 Annual Conference on November 18-21
|
|
Registration fees that were already paid for CJJ’s 2020 Annual Conference will automatically be applied to the new conference registration dates. If you are in need of a letter confirming this or if you are unable to attend the rescheduled conference and would like to discuss options, we are ready to assist. Alternatively, if you cannot attend and would like to help further CJJ’s mission, we would be happy to convert your registration fee to a donation and would be very grateful for your support. If you have any further questions, please contact Naomi Smoot Evans at
evans@juvjustice.org
.
To view a draft agenda, click
here
.
|
|
Early Bird Registration
Dec 11 - Feb 9
$345/ Members
$445/ Non-Members
$175/ Students
|
|
Regular Registration
Feb 10 - Oct 2
$395/ Members
$495/ Non-Members
$185/ Students
|
|
Late Registration
Oct 3 - Nov 6
$455/ Members
$555/ Non-Members
$195/ Students
|
|
CJJ invites you to consider sponsoring this year's Annual Conference. Sponsorship dollars help support a broad range of necessary functions, including materials production, speaker and workshop support, youth engagement, and other general functions.
|
|
CJJ Welcomes Summer Interns
CJJ is excited to be joined this summer by three interns from across the United States.
Mamadou Jawo
will be CJJ's Policy and Legal Research Intern. He is originally from The Gambia, West Africa, but has resided in Madison, WI for the last seven years. Mamadou is a rising 2L at the University of Wisconsin School of Law. He is looking forward to expanding his knowledge of the juvenile justice system. He is also eager to learn about positive systemic changes states undertake to protect the rights of vulnerable children in the system or at risk of involvement. Lastly, he looks forward to building a strong, fun, and meaningful relationship with his co-workers and supervisor. Mamadou is also a huge soccer enthusiast!
Ravanna Cantrall
will be a Communications Intern. She is from Phoenix, AZ and is a student at Columbia University. She is excited to see how the current Black Lives Matter movement will affect the criminal justice system in the upcoming months. Ravanna also has an Australian Shepherd named Storm!
Katie Dodds
will also be a Communications Intern. Katie is from Arlington, VA and attends the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She is looking forward to gaining experience in her primary policy interest area, criminal justice reform, and learning more about the structures and roles of non-profits. In her spare time, she loves listening to true-crime podcasts; her favorite is the Crime Junkie podcast!
|
|
Want to see news that's important to you in the CJJ Members and Partners section?
Join CJJ as a member today!
|
|
|
Would You Like to Blog for CJJ?
|
|
CJJ is looking for bloggers for
CJJ Today
to author stories and posts about juvenile justice. We're particularly interested in stories from
State Advisory Group members
or staff, CJJ
individual
or
youth members
, and CJJ
organizational members
, about issues at the state or local level, interesting programs or approaches, and perspectives about the course of juvenile justice reform at the local or state level. We also welcome blog posts from other juvenile justice system stakeholders. Blog posts can be between 400-750 words in length. Click
here
to see our other guidelines for blogs.
Suggested topics could include:
- School to Prison Pipeline
- Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
- Remedying Racial and Ethnic Disparities
- Adolescent Brain Development
- Evidence-Based Practices
- Status Offenses
- Family and Youth Involvement
- Promising Practices or Program Spotlights
|
|
Member Spotlight: Vermont
|
|
In Vermont’s three-year plan, the SAG identified a top priority goal of youth and young adult service coordination and enhancement – specifically the promotion of evidence-based and developmentally appropriate youth service and justice responses. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Members of the Vermont SAG identified increasing needs from youth serving organizations across the state.
The SAG agreed that in order to continue to support youth and young adult service coordination and enhancement during COVID-19, youth at-risk of becoming involved with the justice system must still have access to services even as schools closed and youth serving organizations move their services from in-person to virtual. In addition, as the virus’ impact on youth continues to change as the scope of the pandemic evolves, many youth serving organizations continue to face new and unprecedented costs in order to keep these youth safe, engaged and lower the risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors.
The Vermont SAG allocated $100,000 to fund a number of youth serving organizations and help them adapt to the new requests and costs from youth due to the pandemic and allow them to continue to provide crucial services to those youth. The SAG sees this as instrumental in order to continue coordination and enhancement of youth and young adult service coordination during these unprecedented times.
Subgrantees provide support and assistance to at-risk youth who are experiencing hardship as a result of COVID-19 in order to reduce the risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors. This assistance may include assisting youth in accessing stable living environments, education, employment, physical health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment, and social and emotional supports. These grants are not to be used on food, in line with OJJDP’s rules regarding use of federal funds for that purpose.
|
|
Survey for Youth SAG Members
|
|
Are you a Youth Member of your State Advisory Group? Please fill out this
form so CJJ has an up-to-date list of Youth members.
If you are a member of a State Advisory Group, please share the
form with your Youth Members.
|
|
Celebration of Graduating SAG Members
|
|
Congratulations to all of our 2020 graduates, especially the following State Advisory Group Members:
Hailey Brooks
(Tennessee) graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Belmont University
Paige Brown
(Colorado) graduated with a Master of Science in Management from the University of Denver
Kira Pyne
(CJJ staff) graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (Communication, Law, Economics, and Government) from American University
Abigail Solomon
(Idaho) graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University, Idaho
|
|
Other News and Announcements
|
|
Events and Trainings
·
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will host their 83rd annual
National Conference on Juvenile Justice
. The conference will take place November 8-11, 2020 in Pittsburgh, PA.
|
|
New Publications and Resources
·
The
AMEND program at UC San Francisco
Medical School, the Center for Children's Law and Policy, and Jarrell E. Davis, a fellow from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Youth Advisory Council, partnered to create a
video
for youth detention and commitment facilities and how kids can protect themselves from COVID-19.
·
CLASP released three new briefs during May for Mental Health Awareness Month:
|
|
CJJ invites you to share news from your SAG, organization, state, or region! Inclusion and editing of submissions are subject to CJJ editorial guidelines.
|
|
|
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
Washington, DC 20004
202-467-0864
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
