Join us for CJJ's 2022 Youth Summit |
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Join CJJ for the 2022 Youth Summit in Tacoma, Washington. This year's theme is "From the Past, Here in Our Present, Into the Future: Cultivating Youth and Legal System Change." The event is developed by and for young people who are actively engaged in improving the youth justice system.
The Youth Summit will take place Aug. 1-2 at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington. To view a copy of the agenda, click here.
This Youth Summit brings together young people from across the country who are interested in juvenile justice reform. The Summit aims to cultivate and empower the next generation of leaders by providing them with the tools they need to leverage their lived expertise. Participants will learn the basics of juvenile justice and have the opportunity to delve into more detail about key topics in the field of juvenile justice. This event is intended for emerging leaders in the field and is best suited for audiences ages 16-24.
To make hotel reservations click here.
To register for the summit click here.
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Don't Miss CJJ's Racial and Ethnic Disparities Conference |
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From Nov. 1-2, 2022, CJJ will host its 2022 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Conference in Louisville, Kentucky at the Omni Louisville. This year's theme will be "Removing the Blindfold: Investing in Young People, Communities and Healing."
To view a draft agenda click here.
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CJJ is currently accepting workshop proposals for the 2022 Racial and Ethnic Disparities Conference. To learn more about workshop topics and selection criteria, click here. To submit your proposal, click here.
Proposals are due August 1, 2022. For additional information, please contact Ridha Kapoor at kapoor@juvjustice.org.
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Nominate a Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator for this year's Andrew Smith Award. This award is given annually to honor Andrew Smith, a former Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator, who went above and beyond in his work to address disparities in the youth justice system. Nominations are now open and can be submitted here.
Nominations are due Sept. 1. For questions, please contact Naomi Smoot Evans at evans@juvjustice.org.
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Senate introduces Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System Act
Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced on June 14th the Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System Act. Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other youth of color are vastly overrepresented in America’s juvenile justice system, and those youth are more likely to face more severe treatment. The senators’ new bill would expand access to vital funding for jurisdictions seeking to address racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, and boost local services, planning, and data-sharing to promote more equitable treatment of youth.
The Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Juvenile Justice System Act would help states better address racial and ethnic disparities by:
- Clarifying that JJDPA block grants can be used to fund programs seeking to reduce racial and ethnic disparities;
- Promoting funding opportunities for small, community-based providers in counties with higher-than-average rates of youth involvement in the juvenile justice system;
- Requiring states to create a plan to identify and record youth data disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and to provide a publicly-accessible annual report on their progress to address racial and ethnic disparities;
- Requiring OJJDP to issue guidance for states on uniform on collecting and reporting youth data on race and ethnicity; and
- Ensuring that youth of color with prior experience with the juvenile justice system, or parents or guardians of such youth, are represented on State Advisory Groups and on state, local, and tribal-level coordinating bodies dedicated to monitoring efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities.
Text of the bill is available here.
The full press release is available here.
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June 23rd at 2:00pm ET
"If I Were White: Crime, Punishment and Injustice"
After failing the first grade, Darrell Lamont believed he could not learn. This belief plagued and fueled his decision to drop out of high school. He had no formal education or training and after hitting financial hardship Darrell turned to a life of crime selling crack cocaine. In 1991, federal agents in Bluefield, West Virginia arrested Darrell after being caught distributing 1 gram of crack cocaine. Darrell was an unfortunate victim of disparities in sentencing laws and facing the possibility of life in prison. Despite being convicted and sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 37.5 years Darrell never gave up on bettering himself and those around him. Darrel became a jailhouse lawyer assisting other offenders in their cases and after studying years of law he was able to earn his freedom. Had it not been for Darrel's determination and perseverance to fight an unjust system and sentencing he would still be looking at a release date sometime in 2031.
To date, Darrell has earned his master's degree in Criminal Justice Administration. He is a narrator for the Obama Oral History Presidential Museum that will open in Chicago. And he is the author of a Number One New Release Memoir, "If I Were White: Crime, Punishment, and Injustice." In the book, Darrell uses his voice and lived expertise to spotlight the harsh, unfair, and often racially motivated legislation and its disproportionate effect on our minority communities.
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Tools for Student Collaboration with Education Systems
Friday, June 24th, 2022, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET
In a time of school closures, quarantines, and lockdowns, young people involved in the justice system experienced severe levels of disruption to their educational journeys. Communities best able to serve youth in this time period forged strong partnerships that cross bureaucratic boundaries. Hailly T.N. Korman and Bonnie O'Keefe from Bellwether Education Partners will share takeaways from their work with communities across the country, along with practical tools and techniques they used and adapted to build effective youth-centered partnerships between justice systems, schools, districts, and other youth-serving systems. Learn more in advance of this session at https://lostbydesign.org/.
Presenters:
Hailly T.N. Korman (She/Her/Hers), Senior Associate Partner, Policy and Evaluation, Bellwether Education Partners
Bonnie O'Keefe (She/Her/Hers), Associate Partner, Policy and Evaluation, Bellwether Education Partners
This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.
To register for this webinar click here.
Family-Based Care for Justice-Involved Youth Webinar
Thursday, July 14th, 2022, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Incarcerating youth deprives them of the opportunity to learn and grow, cuts them off from their communities, and can lead to trauma and maladaptive behaviors. As a result, many justice systems are increasingly serving youth in family-based settings. This webinar will discuss why family-based settings are often the best option for youth who cannot remain at home. A range of approaches will be discussed, including therapeutic family-based settings for high needs youth and less intensive settings such as "host homes" and probation-specific foster homes.
Presenters:
Lisette Burton, Director of National Advocacy for Boys Town
Lisa Pilnik, co-founder and director of Child & Family Policy Associates
This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.
To register for this webinar click here.
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Would You Like to Blog for CJJ? |
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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; or
- Promising Practices or Program Spotlights.
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Restorative Practices in Kansas
In schools across the country, suspensions and expulsions predominantly effect students of color and the financially disadvantaged. Students removed from the classroom have reduced educational opportunities, view the suspension or expulsion as an issue outside of their control, and are much more likely to enter the juvenile justice system.
Restorative practices are based on the belief that decisions are best resolved by those most directly involved. Restorative practices provide alternatives to suspensions and expulsions, and aim to improve student behavior, and create a positive school environment of accountability where students can learn from their mistakes.
Nearly a decade ago in Wichita, Kansas, West High School started a restorative practice/restorative justice initiative with the aim of reducing suspensions and expulsions, and connecting kids, schools, and communities. Prior to this approach in Wichita, as with many schools across the country, often the first disciplinary response to a behavior at school was a suspension or expulsion.
Since beginning the restorative practices initiative, West High School has seen an improved climate at the school, fewer and shorter expulsions and suspensions, fewer discipline referrals, and more successful returns from expulsions and suspensions.
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CJJ Releases Report on Youth Compensation |
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In the report, CJJ explores the importance of providing compensation for youth that participate in SAG meetings. The report explains ways in which travel advances, stipends, hourly pay and other forms of compensation including hourly pay can help make it possible for youth to work with the SAG.
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Other News and Announcements |
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Events and Trainings
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The National Partnership for Juvenile Services will be hosting its 28th National Symposium on Juvenile Services on September 27th to 30th. Registration begins on June 30th.
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Crime and Justice News invites the public to sign up for its platform at no cost. Sign up for this opportunity here.
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The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are cohosting a webinar to highlight recent (May 2022) updates to the CDC’s Guidance on Prevention and Management of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Correctional and Detention Facilities. The Webinar will be held Thursday, June 16th, 3:00pm-4:00pm ET. To register for the webinar, click here.
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The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), through the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), is pleased to announce a series of three webinars on key probation practice changes that judges can provide important leadership on. These practices are set forth in the publication: The Role of the Judge In Transforming Juvenile Probation: A Toolkit for Leadership. The webinars will be conducted at the following times:
- The Use of Minimum Probation Conditions - June 16, 2022 (9:00 – 10:15 am PT).
- Alternatives to Detention as Responses to Technical Violations - July 14, 2022 (10:00-11:15 am PT).
- Probation as a Disposition for Youths with Serious Offenses Histories - August 11, 2022 (10:00-11:15 am PT).
To register for these webinars, click here.
New Publications and Resources
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CJJ invites you to share news from your SAG, organization, state, or region! Inclusion and editing of submissions are subject to CJJ editorial guidelines. |
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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
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006-1631
(202) 827-9751
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