Home News Center Youth Justice Reform Roundup | September 2016

Youth Justice Reform Roundup | September 2016

September 21, 2016
Benjamin Chambers

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Member News

  • "Diversion programs don't need more study; they work," Tampa Bay Times, Aug. 26, 2016. Authored by Roy Miller of Florida-based Children's Campaign, an NJJN member, the column questions the need for a pilot program to study the effectiveness of alternatives to arresting youth caught with small amounts of marijuana since considerable, statistically valid data already exists proving its effectiveness.

Youth Justice in the News

Events / Trainings

  • 2017 LEAD Conference (Leadership. Evidence. Analysis. Debate.): Moving from Research to Policy & Practice to Improve the Lives of Youth (April 6-7, 2017). Sponsored by Georgetown University, the McCourt School of Public Policy, and the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR). This is an annual event that brings together experts and key stakeholders to examine a particular policy challenge and discuss potential solutions. This year's program coincides with CJJR's 10-year anniversary and will explore current research in child-serving fields and how best to adapt that research into sound policies and practices. Early discounted registration will open later this fall. Questions to Rachael Ward at RW855@georgetown.edu.

    At the event, Georgetown University will be presenting the inaugural Janet Reno Endowment Women’s Leadership Award. 
  • CJJR Now Accepting Applications for Multi-System Collaboration TTA Program. The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR), in partnership with the Center for Coordinated Assistance to the States, has issued a request for applications from jurisdictions seeking to engage in multi-system improvement efforts. The Multi-System Collaboration Training and Technical Assistance Program supports jurisdictions that are interested in developing a sound infrastructure to promote multi-system approaches to serving at-risk, justice-involved youth and their families. Applications are due by November 11, 2016. Learn more. Interested? Take part in an informational call for prospective applicants on October 4, 2016 at 2:00 pm ET. The call-in information is: 1-866- 910-4857; passcode: 863624#.

Webinars

  • Sept. 27, 2016, at 12 pm EST - Webinar To Discuss Engaging Educators in School-Justice Partnerships. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in partnership with the National Association of State Boards of Education and supported by OJJDP’s School Justice Collaboration Program, will present “Engaging Educators in School-Justice Partnerships.” This webinar will focus on the role that educators and school administrators play in reducing the pathways from school to the juvenile justice system and the importance of developing buy-in for school-justice partnerships among schools. Presenters will share examples of effective school-justice collaborative teams and explore strategies for increasing participation and building strong relationships with educators. Register here.
  • Sept. 27, 2016 at 3 pm EST - Civil Rights Roundtable Free Webinar: “The New OSEP Guidance Document on Behavior and Discipline: How Can Advocates Use this Tool to Ensure Equity?” 
    A brief review of a recent OSEP guidance document regarding behavior, discipline, and informal removal. Topics to include: preventing “ten free days,” shortened school days, “sent homes,” unnecessary restraint and seclusion, transfers to “no where” and other illegal practices. This review to be followed by a discussion of how advocates may use this new guidance to ensure equity, improve program quality, and prevent unnecessary removal from school. Speakers to include: Selene Almazan, Legal Director, Council of Parent Attorneys; Arlene Mayerson, Directing Attorney Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF); Diane Smith Howard, Senior Staff Attorney, NDRN. Register here.

Resources

  • Defining Violence: reducing incarceration by rethinking America’s approach to violence, from Justice Policy Institute.  The report seeks to help make the case that the only way the U.S. will be able to significantly lower its incarceration rate is to change how the justice system treats people charged and convicted of violent crimes, as well as the nations’ approach to violence prevention generally. Though primarily focused on the adult criminal justice system, it recognizes the progress made on juvenile de-incarceration and seeking to end life without parole and extreme sentences for young people who commit crimes.
  • Unjust: How the Broken Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems Fail LGBTQ Youth, from the Movement Advancement Project and the Center for American Progress. Explores how the U.S. juvenile and criminal justice systems endanger the lives and life chances of young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ). Among the report's most alarming findings is that the percentage of LGBT youth in juvenile detention is double that of LGBT youth in the general population; 20% of youth in juvenile justice facilities identify as LGBT or gender non-conforming compared to 7-9% of youth in general. 

See also: Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide For Policy Reform, from the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School. 

  • Righting Wrongs, from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth. Highlights recent state bans of juvenile life without parole, largely in traditionally conservative states, as well as some of the stakeholders involved in reform and some of the lives impacted.
  • Education and Interagency Collaboration: A Lifeline for Justice-Involved Youth, from the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. It reviews research on education for system-involved youth, details recent efforts to improve education outcomes for the population, and highlights the Washington Education Advocate Program, a school-based transition program that focuses on bridging the education achievement gap for youth involved in the juvenile justice system in the state of Washington. 

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