CJJ members from across the country have voted for a new slate of officers to serve on the Executive Board.

Michelle Diaz of New York will take over as National Chairwoman starting July 1. Michelle previously served as CJJ National Vice Chair and CJJ Emerging Leaders Committee Chair. Michelle is passionate about youth partnership and has extensive experience working in her home state as a member of the New York State Advisory Group, and nationally with the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Justice Youth Advisory Council. Currently she serves as Director of Projects at National Crittenton.

CJJ thanks Pastor Edward Palmer of Kentucky who will be moving from his current role as National Chair to Immediate Past Chair on July 1. Pastor Palmer has led CJJ through an important chapter in our history, providing guidance as we navigated a pandemic and worked to ensure that young people and their families received the services and supports they need to remain safe during this challenging time.

Tracey Wells Huggins, of New Jersey, will also be taking over a new role on the board. Tracey was elected as CJJ National Vice Chair. She is a passionate voice for families involved with the youth legal system, and brings a vision that centers families and young people. As a healthcare professional, Tracey's vision for the legal system is also centered in public health approaches. She is a member of the New Jersey State Advisory Group and works closely with Justice for Families. Tracey served for the past two years as CJJ's Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee Chair.

Barbara Wallace, also of New Jersey, will be taking over Tracey's position as Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee Chair. Barbara is the former Mayor of the Township of Washington, and currently serves on her State Advisory Group. She is an active member of CJJ's Government Relations Committee in addition to the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee.

Also new to the Board this year are Janelle Ridley of Massachusetts and Jack Martin of Nevada. They will serve respectively as Northeastern and Western Regional Representatives. Janelle is founder of Transition HOPE and has worked extensively to address the needs of young people, both through the Department of Education and most recently with the Boston Mayor's Office. Jack, meanwhile, serves as Director of Clark County Juvenile Justice Services in Clark County, Nevada. He is committed to creating cultural change and implementing best practices nationally.

As part of this year's elections CJJ members also voted for Mark Hutchinson of Massachusetts to serve a third term as Treasurer. Mark serves as Division Director for Justice Resource Institute (JRI) and has been a member of his state's State Advisory Group.

William Jernigan of Maryland was reelected to a second term as National Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator. William is committed to helping other Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinators from across the country in their work to ensure equity in the youth legal system.

Hasan Davis of Kentucky and Sarah Henry of Ohio were also reelected to another term as Southern Regional Representative and Midwestern Regional Representative respectively. Hasan is a long-standing and passionate advocate for youth who, in addition to previously leading Kentucky's Department of Juvenile Justice, is also an author, national speaker and leader in the youth legal system. Sarah is an advocate for young people in her community of Cincinnati, and nationally. She works as an attorney at Kentucky's Children's Law Center and is committed to ending the link between youth homelessness and the youth legal system.

Aaron Toleafoa, who chairs CJJ's Emerging Leaders Committee, was reelected for a second term. Aaron lives in Washington State where he serves as a passionate advocate for other young people who are involved with the youth legal system. He is committed to ending the over reliance on incarceration, and improving reentry services for young people who are returning to their communities.

CJJ offers our gratitude to our departing board members, including Immediate Past Chair Hon. Steve Teske (GA), Western Regional Representative Gordon McHenry (WA), and Northeastern Regional Representative Erica Bromley (CT). We are grateful for the time and talent you have invested in CJJ and our work to create brighter futures for our youth.

Members of CJJ's Council of State Advisory Groups met on June 11 as part of CJJ's 2021 Annual Conference. The group approved, without opposition, a policy platform to limit the presence of law enforcement in schools. The platform states:

The platform builds on a series of policy priorities that were passed in November 2020, all of which focus on addressing racism at the front end of the youth legal system. The full platforms are CJJ's top policy priorities for 2021. To view them in their entirety click here.

To learn more about other highlights from the 2021 Annual Conference click here.

Join us August 9th-10th in Tacoma, Washington for CJJ's 2021 Youth Summit, "Curating Brighter Futures: Paving the Way for the Next Generation." 

Each year, CJJ's 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 passion and lived expertise. Participants will learn about juvenile justice policy and have the opportunity to delve into key topics in the field. The summit's theme, agenda, and content are created by the CJJ Emerging Leaders Committee. 

We are excited to be joined by Nell Bernstein, the author of Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison, for this year's summit.

Attendees will have the option to travel in person to Tacoma, Washington OR enjoy the conference virtually via livestream. 

In person attendance is limited. The summit will take place at the Hotel Murano. To make hotel reservations, click here.

To register for the summit, click here. A draft of the agenda can be viewed here.

CJJ's 2021 R/ED Conference, "A Call for Justice: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities" will take place at the Omni Louisville Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky on November 1st - 3rd.

Choose our livestream registration option to receive virtual access to a limited conference agenda including conference plenaries, the awards ceremony, and one workshop session per time slot. To register for our livestream click here. 

R/ED Conference Workshop Proposals:

Don't miss your chance to present at CJJ's 2021 R/ED Conference! Workshop proposals are due July 13th for “A Call for Justice: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities.”

For submission guidelines and instructions, click here. To submit your proposal directly, click here. 

The 2021 Andrew Smith Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator Award is named to honor Andrew Smith, an incredible voice for youth and a pivotal agent of change. Mr. Smith served as New Hampshire's Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator and was responsible for the creation of the Mirror Project, an effort to bring together law enforcement and youth. He served on CJJ's Executive Board as the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee Chair.

To nominate them for the Andrew Smith Award click here. All nominations are due Wednesday, September 1. 

CJJ Applauds New Covid Guidance From OJJDP: Earlier this month, OJJDP issued new guidance for states as they continue to navigate COVID-19 and the dangers it poses for young people in the youth legal system. The guidance is available here. It includes, among other things, recommendations for educational programs to reopen in facilities and a call for communities to consider early release and alternatives to detention. The guidance states in part that "[o]only those youth accused of or adjudicated as having committed delinquent offenses, and who present a public safety risk should be detained or confined in corrections or detention facilities. OJJDP encourages the field, as well as juvenile corrections and detention facilities, to ensure comprehensive community-based services are available to support youths' successful reentry into their communities upon release."

President's Budget Released: The President's budget request was released Friday, May 28th. It includes robust funding proposals for the youth legal system and would increase appropriations dramatically. Highlights include: 

To view the full proposal, click here. To read more about the President's budget, and CJJ's asks for FY '22, click here.

Join us Thursday, June 24, 2021 from 3pm-4pm Eastern for a conversation with Desmond Williams about his book, The Burning House: Educating Black Boys in Modern America, which confronts issues pertaining to Black boys from the perspective of a teacher, principal, parent, and concerned citizen.

To purchase the book click here. To register to join click here. 

Join us Monday, August 2, 2021 from 3pm-4pm Eastern for a conversation with author Sherri Jefferson about her book, The Houses That Raise Our Girls, which is a smart and practical examination of the 6Ps (parents, pastors, principals, police, prosecutors and prison) that house girls in America.

To purchase the book click here. To register to join click here. 

Join us Thursday, December 2, 2021 from 4pm-5pm Eastern for a conversation with author Daphne Robinson about her book, Delinquent: How the American Juvenile Justice System is Failing Black Children, which focuses on the racial and ethnic issues surrounding the youth justice system and what we as professionals can do today to reduce the number of black youths arrested tomorrow.

To purchase the book click here. To register to join click here. 

William Jernigan, Director of Prevention Strategies and Maryland's Statewide R/ED Coordinator

Anna Lopez, Division of Criminal Justice and Colorado's Statewide R/ED Coordinator

Craig Hargrow, Deputy Executive Director and Tennessee's Statewide R/ED Coordinator

This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.

To register for this webinar click here.

Jill Ruggiero, Co-Founder, We Are the Gatekeepers, Inc.

Andre Parker, Co-Founder, We Are the Gatekeepers, Inc.

This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.

To register for this webinar click here.

Over the past decade, North Dakota has engaged in a number of efforts to improve practice within the youth justice system. As in many states, reforms and advances in the understanding of youth development has allowed North Dakota to shrink its youth legal population over the last decade. However, despite these advances, youth justice involvement rates, and particularly out-of-home commitment rates within the state remained high. While the reform efforts helped improve practice and align parts of the system with research, the foundational structure was in need of an overhaul. Statutes covering youth justice issues in the state had not received a comprehensive overhaul since 1969, and thus the language did not support continued improvements to align practice with what research shows improves outcomes. To that end, this past year, North Dakota drafted and passed House Bill 1035, titled the Juvenile Court Act, to update policy and practice and support the state in aligning youth serving systems with research and best practice.

The Juvenile Court Act was drafted following an in-depth analysis by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and involved input from a variety of stakeholders including state’s attorneys, public defenders, court staff, and child welfare officials. The legislation makes a number of key changes to current code and practice, most significantly, the separation of juvenile delinquency, deprivation, and child welfare into separate chapters. Additionally, the legislation replaces the designation of ‘unruly child’ with a designation of child in need of services which will allow these youth to receive access to services through human resource zones without being formally involved in the justice system, effectively decriminalizing status offenses. The legislation also establishes that all youth have the right to counsel in delinquency proceedings by establishing that they are presumed indigent rather than basing it on their parent’s ability to pay. 

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.  

If interested please email info@juvjustice.org for more details.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will hold their 84th Annual Conference in St. Louis, MO, July 18 - 21, 2021. Click here to register.

The National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) will host their 44th National Child Welfare Law Conference virtually and in Denver, CO on Aug. 13 - Aug. 17. Click here to learn more and/or to register.

•The Education Combination: End Inequity, Unlock Opportunities.

•Diagnostic: Understanding the State of Education Resource Equity in your Community.

•Guidebooks: Explore Underlying Causes and How to Make Change in your System.