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February 2012
Highlight of the Month: Reentry Improvement Efforts in Illinois
Illinois’ youth reentry system is “broken, but not beyond repair,” concludes a recent report from the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission (IJJC), Illinois' State Advisory Group (SAG).
In January 2010, Governor Pat Quinn reconstructed the IJJC, appointing several Models for Change leaders as members, including retired Chief Circuit Judge George Timberlake as chair. Around the same time, the Illinois Youth Reentry and Improvement Law of 2009 went into effect, requiring IJJC to make recommendations for improving the state's youth reentry system.
IJJC's role in planning, conducting and publishing this report is illustrative of leadership efforts throughout the nation's SAGs and sets an example of the extent of impact SAGs can have. To come up with these recommendations, the SAG did not simply provide a grant to external researchers, says Judge George Timberlake, the Illinois SAG Chair. SAG members took an active part in every stage of the study.
Teaming up with the Child and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University, SAG members observed hundreds of Prison Review Board hearings and personally reviewed the clinical, incarceration and parole records of hundreds of youth whose probation was revoked to look at ways to reduce revocations.
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CJJ Leadership News
2012 CJJ Southern Region Conference
From Susan Kamp (VT), CJJ National Chair
As your national chair, I had the honor and pleasure of joining more than 100 attendees from southern region states and beyond at the CJJ 2012 Southern Region Conference in beautiful San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 27-29, 2012. The conference theme, Public-Private Partnerships: Joining Forces to Improve Outcomes for Youth, Families and Communities, was well supported by a strong group of speakers and workshops.
Click here to learn more about our wonderful speakers and presenters and to download many of the conference presentations.
I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Puerto Rico Juvenile Justice Advisory Group and its Chair, Juan Carlos Ramirez de Arellano and Juvenile Justice Specialist Sidney Baron Lebron, as well as to Linda Hayes, CJJ’s Southern Region Chair, John Dewese and Arturo Deliz, conference co-chairs, as well as the entire planning committee and CJJ staff.
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CJJ Government Relations Alert
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CJJ Conference and Training News
- Save the Date for CJJ's Annual Conference, June 21-24, 2012, Hyatt Regency Bethesda, in Bethesda, MD, right outside Washington, D.C. Please look for a call for presentations and draft agenda in coming weeks! For any questions, contact Jessica Russell Murphy, CJJ's Conference and Member Services Manager at 202-467-0864, ext. 102 and murphy@juvjustice.org.
Models for Change Connections
Models for Change Connections is a new monthly column in the CJJ e-Monitor highlighting state and local partners participating with the Models for Change Initiative of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Raising the Standards of Juvenile Indigent Defense in Pennsylvania
The Models for Change Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network recently published a brief, “Raising the Standards of Juvenile Indigent Defense, from the Juvenile Law Center.
Pennsylvania does not have any state funding dedicated to juvenile defense, so responsibility for representation of court-involved children falls completely to the counties and may differ significantly from county to county in terms of funding, training and support services. The result is "justice by geography," where some court-involved children receive appropriate services and representation, while others suffer harmful consequences of ineffective, insufficient representation.
With support from the Models for Change Initiative and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Pennsylvania's State Advisory Group (SAG) and the Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania developed recommendations for reforms, guidelines and expanded training programs. The Pennsylvania SAG has been a leader and an invaluable partner in these reform efforts, giving grants that matched the MacArthur Foundation's investment throughout the years.
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CJJ Committee and Regional News
- Congratulations to Rhode Island State Juvenile Justice Specialist Elizabeth Gilheeney who was inducted to the Ocean Tides Hall of Fame for her advocacy and dedicated service to system-involved youth in Rhode Island. Read more.
- And congratulations to Michael Pennington, Pennsylvania State Juvenile Justice Specialist for being selected to serve as OJJDP’s National Juvenile Justice Specialist!
- Check out the January 2012 edition of The Advocate, the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth's newsletter. Read the latest news on Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) advances in the state and other updates from the SAG. You can also follow TCCY on Facebook and Twitter.
- CJJ's National Youth Committee is seeking energetic youth SAG members who wish to be involved at the national level. The committee is busy these days establishing partnerships with other youth-serving organizations, strengthening communications between states and forming connections between youth members. If you are a youth member or you know of a youth member who may be interested in becoming involved, please contact CJJ's National Youth Committee Chair Ben Deaton (KY) at badeat02@gmail.com.
National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) News
- NJJN is hiring! NJJN seeks a full-time Program Associate to support its Fiscal Policy Center. The Associate will conduct research and policy analysis, assist with on-site regional trainings, provide technical assistance, develop resources, and more. The position requires excellent analytical, writing, communication, and relationship-building abilities. The position will be based in Washington, D.C.; some travel will be required. Read more.
- Victims vs. Juvenile Justice Reform: a False Choice: A thought-provoking new publication from the Partnership for Safety and Justice (NJJN's Oregon member) argues that justice system reformers would be more effective at countering the prevailing "tough on crime" paradigm if they worked with crime victims to promote a new public safety paradigm instead.
- Answers on School Discipline from NJJN’s Virginia Member: Want something constructive to offer educators when critiquing school discipline policies? The Legal Aid Center's JustChildren Program (one of NJJN’s Virginia members) published “Educate Every Child: Promoting Positive Solutions to School Discipline in Virginia,” which documents the negative impact of harsh school disciplinary policies on students and community safety. It also recommends broader use of a Virginia program that successfully addresses discipline problems within the school.
- Oregon Stops Temporarily Housing Youth in Adult Prison: Until December 2011, roughly 100 16- and 17-year-old teens convicted as adults were held in an adult prison each year while being processed into the system. Thanks to NJJN’s Oregon member, the Partnership for Safety and Justice, Oregon’s Corrections Department and the Oregon Youth Authority have agreed to end the policy.
- Youth Justice Leaders Meet in Little Rock, AR: NJJN’s Youth Justice Leadership Institute held its second in-person gathering for its Fellows in Little AR, Dec. 14-17, 2011. Eight of the ten Fellows – all leaders of color in the juvenile justice system – were able to attend, sharing what they’ve learned from their individual advocacy projects and participating in leadership and communications workshops.
- Resources Available from Seminar on Reforming Juvenile Justice: The Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, an NJJN member, has generously shared the highlights from its recent seminar, "Juvenile Justice: Investing in Success,” featuring presentations from Jeffrey Butts, Ph.D., of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Elizabeth Clarke, director of the Illinois-based NJJN member, the Juvenile Justice Initiative; Francisco Villaruel, Ph.D., senior research associate with the Institute for Children, Youth and Families at Michigan State University; and the Honorable Frederick Mulhauser, Presiding Judge of the Family Division in Charlevoix County, MI. You can view the video presentations from the event, or download the presenters' slides.
Resources and Information of Note
- The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will grant $2 million to four organizations to provide states and jurisdictions with training and technical assistance to support effective and innovative reforms in treatment and services for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. Read more.
- The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University is now accepting applications for its 2012 Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Programs. The deadlines are March 22, 2012, for the public sector leaders program, and July 17, 2012, for the private sector leaders program.
- The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform also announced an Information Sharing Certificate Program, October 1-4, 2012. The program, held in partnership with the Juvenile Law Center, is designed for public and private sector leaders working in the juvenile justice, child welfare and other related systems of care, who seek to improve information sharing in their communities.
- The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) launched the National Girls Institute (NGI) website, a clearinghouse for disseminating research-based, gender-responsive and practical information to professionals, caregivers and girls in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.
- The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Help Desk launched its redesigned website! Read more.
In the News
- NPR's The Picture Show recently featured Juvenile In Justice, a project by photographer and professor Richard Ross, who spent five years documenting youth in more than 100 juvenile facilities in 30 states. Read more.
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