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JJ Monitor
October 2015
OCTOBER IS YOUTH JUSTICE AWARENESS MONTH 
President Obama has designated October as Youth Justice Awareness Month! In a Presidential Proclamation on September 30, he called "upon all Americans to observe this month by getting involved in community efforts to support our youth, and by participating in appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs."
 
Here's how you can be a part of the movement for Youth Justice Awareness Month:
The Campaign for Youth Justice originally launched Youth Justice Awareness Month (YJAM) seven years ago. Click here to view the full Presidential Proclamation on YJAM.
CJJ Announcements
CJJ and IACP Awarded Policy/Youth Relations Grant 
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has awarded CJJ and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) a grant to administer the "Police and Youth Engagement: Supporting the Role of Law Enforcement in Juvenile Justice Reform" program. CJJ will work with IACP to bring youth and law enforcement officers together for in-person and virtual meetings to discuss best practices and approaches to improving police and youth relations. In addition, CJJ will assist in creating a training curriculum on this subject for law enforcement officers.
 
You can read more about this announcement in The Hill or OJJDP's newsletter. For more information about the project or CJJ's other work on youth engagement, contact Jonathan Litt, CJJ's Field and Policy Relations Associate, at litt@juvjustice.org. 
2016 CJJ Annual Conference 
The 2016 CJJ Annual Conference,  "Redefining Leadership: Engaging Youth, Communities, and Policymakers to Achieve Better Juvenile Justice Outcomes"  will take place on April 20-23 at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC. 

Sessions will provide attendees a hands-on opportunity to explore the newest methods for preventing delinquency and ensure fairness through all stages of involvement with the justice system. Participants will also learn about establishing the best possible outcomes for children and families who do become involved with the juvenile justice system.
 
Registration will open next month! Please contact Jes sica Russell Murphy at murphy@juvjustice.org with any questions.
Webinar on Family Centered Treatment 
Research indicates that unnecessary use of out-of-home placements is an ineffective and expensive approach to serving young people in the juvenile justice system. Please join CJJ for a webinar on "Family Centered Treatment®: A Community-Based Alternative to Out-of-Home Placement" on Tuesday, October 27 at 1:00 pm ET.

This webinar will discuss the need for community-based alternatives and provide an overview of Family Centered Treatment®, including a newly-released independent evaluation. Participants will learn how this intensive, family-focused intervention was implemented statewide in Maryland, as well as implementation challenges and opportunities.
Presenters include:
Webinar on LGBT Youth in Juvenile Justice 
Many juvenile justice systems don't know how many young people in their system identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) and often lack appropriate policies that meet their unique needs.  Please join CJJ for a webinar on "LGBT Youth in Juvenile Justice: Creating Agency Policies for an Equitable System on the State and Local Level" on November 2 at 2:30 pm ET.
 
This webinar will discuss the need for agency policies to support LGBT young people in the juvenile justice system. Participants will learn how the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services and Santa Clara County Probation Department developed policies for LGBT youth in their system, as well as different strategies for creating similar policies in state- and county-based systems.
 
Presenters include:
Webinar Recording on Boys and Trafficking
CJJ held a webinar on "Boys and Trafficking: Identifying and Serving Silent Survivors" on October 6. This webinar, which is part of a series of webinars on the topic of human trafficking, focused on boys who are survivors of trafficking and the unique challenges that exist for them. Presenters shared new data about the prevalence of human trafficking among boys and how one local jurisdiction is responding to the needs of male trafficking victims in their community. You can watch the recording here.
CJJ is Hiring a Project and Office Assistant
CJJ is hiring a Project and Office Assistant! This position is responsible for providing ongoing project support for all staff, as well as the core operational functions of a dynamic national nonprofit. He/she will take a proactive approach to the smooth operation of the office and provide general programmatic support for conferences and special events, membership, communications, government relations, fundraising, and special projects. You can find the job description and instructions on how to apply here .
U.S. House of Representatives Holds Hearing on Juvenile Justice
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on October 8 entitled, " Reviewing the Juvenile Justice System and How it Works ." During the hearing, Members heard from Sloane Baxter, a young man who was previously incarcerated in DC's now-closed Oak Hill detention facility and participated in Boys Town programs. Dr. Derek Cohen from Right on Crime, Dr. Tim Goldsmith, a service provider in Memphis, TN, and Judge Steve Teske, State Advisory Group Member and Chief Judge of Clayton County Juvenile Court, GA, also spoke.

Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MI) discussed the importance of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) . Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA) expressed interest in working with Representative Kline to get the JJDPA reauthorized by this Congress.
Department of Education Focuses on School to Prison Pipeline and Chronic Absenteeism
Education Secretary Arne Duncan spoke at the National Press Club on September 30 about his Department's pledge to eradicate the school to prison pipeline. He highlighted his decision to focus on, "setting a different direction as a society, a different priority - one that says we believe in great teaching early in our kids' lives, rather than courts, jails, and prisons later." You can watch the full speech on the National Press Club website .
 
A week later, the Department of Education announced that they're partnering with the Departments of Justice , Housing and Urban Development , and Health & Human Services on an "Every Student, Every Day" initiative to combat chronic absenteeism. As part of this initiative, they released a community toolkit, which includes a section on juvenile justice and law enforcement. 
Girls Incarcerated Longer for Less Serious Offenses
The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange published an article that featured CJJ's Deputy Executive Director Lisa Pilnik. In the article entitled, "Girls Incarcerated Longer for Less Serious Offenses, Texas Study Shows," she discusses how locking up girls for status offenses is not the answer. She writes, "The best solution is for most of these kids not to be in a facility in the first place--to be getting trauma-responsive services in their communities." 
CJJ Collaboration with NLC
CJJ has recently collaborated with the National League of Cities (NLC) on several projects. NLC's Isabella Jorgensen penned a blog post for CJJ entitled, "Life on the Street Ain't Easy: What Cities Need to Know to Provide Services to Runaway Youth." In the blog, she discusses the challenges runaway youth face and what local governments can do to support young people who run away from home. She also highlighted a recent webinar on the topic, which featured CJJ's Deputy Executive Director Lisa Pilnik. 

In September, Lisa Pilnik also presented on municipal responses to truancy and other status offenses at the NLC's  Municipal Leadership for Juvenile Justice Reform Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, MN. 
CJJ at the NCJFCJ National Conference
The  National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ)  will hold the National Conference of Juvenile Justice in Las Vegas on March 20-23, 2016. The conference will focus on alternatives to detention, trauma-informed justice, ending solitary confinement, shackling, DMC, LGBTQ issues, and sex trafficking. CJJ staff will be speaking in a plenary session on the intersection of trafficking and status offenses and highlighting our new status offense curriculum in an interactive skill building workshop. Learn more about the conference on the  NCJFCJ website . 
2016 National Mentoring Summit
CJJ is joining dozens of other national organizations in supporting MENTOR's 2016 National Mentoring Summit. The event will take place on January 27-29, 2016, in Washington, DC. It will bring together practitioners, researchers, corporate partners, government and civic leaders, national youth-serving organizations, and the network of affiliate Mentoring Partnerships . It will explore and advance me ntoring's positive impact on individuals and communities. Click here for more information.
Want to see news that's important to you in the CJJ Members and Partners section? 

Join CJJ as a member today! 
Member and Partner News
CJJ's State Advisory Groups (SAGs), Individual, and Organizational Members
Each issue, CJJ is pleased to highlight the latest news and innovations from our members. Learn more about our membership. 
Member Spotlight: National Network for Youth
The National Network for Youth (NN4Y) advocates at the federal level to educate the public and policymakers about the needs of homeless and disconnected youth. Their members work towards a vision of a world where vulnerable and homeless youth can escape the dangers of the streets and access safety, youth-appropriate services, hope, and healing. They include:
  • Service providers,
  • State agencies,
  • Coalitions,
  • Faith-based organizations,
  • Individuals, and
  • Advocates.
NN4Y will host their third National Summit on Youth Homelessness in Washington, DC on March 15-16, 2016. This event focuses exclusively on how government agencies, policymakers, community leaders, services providers, and other experts can partner together to end youth homelessness. The summit will highlight innovative and effective practices that attendees can replicated within their own communities. Moreover, participants will learn about federal policies that are being implemented, considered, or promoted by policymakers. NN4Y will also facilitate a discussion among federal agencies about their own work to address youth homelessness, including plans moving forward. Visit the NN4Y website for more information about our newest CJJ member. 
New Report on Gender Injustice
Francine T. Sherman and Annie Balck have written, "Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms for Girls," a comprehensive report released in partnership with CJJ Member The National Crittenton Foundation and The National Women's Law Center. The report's key findings focus on the fact that girls now make up a larger share of the juvenile justice population at every stage in the process, despite the overall decline in juvenile arrests over the last two decades. 
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Each issue, CJJ is pleased to highlight the latest news and innovations of the Annie E. Casey Foundation .
New Report Shows Continuing Maltreatment in Juvenile Correctional Facilities
In 2011, the Annie E. Casey Foundation first called attention to the dangers of juvenile incarceration with evidence of widespread abuse in its No Place for Kids report. Four years later, new maltreatment revelations have emerged. You can now download an update of the report. 
New Practice Guide on LGBT Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
The National Center for Lesbian Rights has released a new practice guide written for the Annie E. Casey Foundation entitled, "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in the Juvenile Justice System." This publication provides juvenile justice agencies with the tools to ensure the safety and well-being of LGBT youth in their care. 
Models for Change
Each issue, CJJ is pleased to highlight the latest news and innovations of th e Models for Change Initiative of th e  MacArthur Foundation.
New Report on the Supreme Court and Juvenile Sentencing 
Models for Change recently released a new report titled, "The Supreme Court and the Transformation of Juvenile Sentencing." It explores the key issues surrounding the constitutional landscape of juvenile sentencing. It clarifies the Court's constitutional framework around the regulation of juvenile crime, provides an overview of existing law reform initiatives underway, and shapes future discussions around juvenile sentencing reform. 
Other News and Announcements
The following news articles on juvenile justice and related issues appeared over the last 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.