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New Report Examines School-to-Prison Pipeline in Chicago and Recommends Alternatives

01/31/2012 02:31 PM

Jan 31, 2012 | Illinois Models for Change | REFORM PROGRESS

CHICAGO – Because public schools in Chicago too often rely on police arrests to resolve discipline problems, the schools have become the gateway for thousands of youth to enter the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, according to a new report by advocates of restorative justice.

Project NIA’s research found there were 5,574 school-based arrests of juveniles on Chicago Public School (CPS) properties, accounting for about one of every five juvenile arrests in the city for all of 2010. “Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline” examines arrest data obtained from the Chicago Police Department; notes the increased presence of cameras and police inside schools; and is critical of the lack of accountability and public information about arrests and discipline in each school building.

“Our purpose in writing this report is to ensure that the public is informed about the scope and extent of policing in Chicago Public Schools,” the report states. “We hope that this will galvanize educators, parents, students, policymakers and community members to advocate for a dramatic decrease of CPS’s reliance on law enforcement to address school discipline issues.

“Instead, we would like to see an increase in the use of restorative justice, which is an effective approach, to respond to student misbehavior in our schools,” according to the report authored by Mariam Kaba, founding director of Project NIA, and Frank Edwards, a researcher and volunteer with Project NIA.

Other findings and from the report:

Mirroring the general trend of disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile justice system, Black youth accounted for 74 percent of school-based arrests, and 22.5 percent of youth arrested were Latino. The enrollment of Chicago schools in was 45 percent Black and 41 percent Latino.

About 27 percent of the school-based arrests of those under age 20 were for simple battery was the leading category for arrests, suggesting a significant number of students were arrested for fighting.

New York City’s “Student Safety Act,” which requires increased accountability and transparency about police activity in schools should be replicated in Chicago and CPS should be required to report more information to the public about arrests and how discipline is enforced in each school.

Student privacy should be protected, and law enforcement agencies and schools should not be required to exchange more information about individual students with discipline issues or who come in contact with police.

Project NIA is a non-profit with a long-term goal of ending youth incarceration and promotes the use of restorative and transformative practices with an emphasis on community-based alternatives to incarceration.

For more information about Project NIA, go to: http://www.project-nia.org/home.php

Download “Policing Chicago Public Schools: A Gateway to the School-to-Prison Pipeline” here: http://policeinschools.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/policing-chicago-public-schools-final2.pdf

Landmark Study Offers Glimpse at Previously Ignored Youth Population

01/27/2012 10:20 AM

Jan 27, 2012 | Washington State Models for Change | REFORM PROGRESS

Landmark Study Offers Glimpse at Previously Ignored Youth Population

Youth with Both Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice History Studied

A study out of King County is the first of its kind in Washington state to bring together data sets from different agencies to address challenges facing youth in the juvenile justice system today.

Uniting for Youth, a King County-based multi-system collaboration, funded in part by Models for Change, worked with the National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) and the Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts to produce “Doorways to Delinquency: Multi-System Involvement of Delinquent Youth in King County, ” authored by Gregory Halemba and Gene Siegel of NCJJ. The study looks at cross-over youth, those who have had previous experience in the child-welfare system before their contact with the juvenile justice system. Researchers looked at data sets from 2006 to 2008 from both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

“We wanted to get an idea of the kinds of challenges we were facing with cross-over youth,” said Marcus Stubblefield, King County’s Systems Integration Coordinator. “The numbers were shocking.”

While researchers expected that cross-over youth would experience worse outcomes, no one predicted the striking differences in rates of contact with the juvenile justice system. Some key findings include:

Youth with multi-system involvement begin their delinquent activity earlier, around 13 years of age, and are detained more frequently for longer periods of time.
There is a strong correlation between recidivism and a history of child welfare involvement.
Cross-over youth experience frequent placement changes, which is expensive: over the study period, the preliminary estimate of placement costs for one cross over youth is $38,000.
Female and minority youth who have contact with the juvenile justice system tend to have more extensive history with the child welfare system than white males.

This examination of data concerning cross-over youth is the first of its kind in Washington state. “Systems don’t talk to each other,” said Stubblefield. “The challenge was getting someone who could look at both child welfare and juvenile justice data sets and compare the two. NCJJ was there to support that.”

Uniting for Youth will be continuing conversations between the two systems and working to create prevention and early engagement programs to reduce recidivism, disproportionate minority contact and the costs of youth placement. Stubblefield hopes that regular and routine studies will help King County deliver the best interventions possible to the youth they serve.

The results of the study inspire reflection for Stubblefield and his colleagues. “This study allows us to take a look back and ask ourselves what we could have done differently,” Stubblefield said. “The information from the study is helping us to improve interventions for a better coordinated service delivery system.”

Profile for Change: Dr. Mick Moore

01/27/2012 09:57 AM

Jan 27, 2012 | Washington Models for Change | REFORM PROGRESS

Dr. Mick Moore is a powerful voice for reform. He bridges the education and juvenile justice systems, leading interagency changes from the education side. As Assistant to the Superintendent for Interagency Relations with the Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD), he seeks out partners from different agencies to tackle problems, like rising drop-out rates and inadequate alternatives to suspension, whether that means creating a new program, reallocating funding or garnering attention at the legislative level. He’s a bridge builder with more than 40 years of public education to his name, one of the few in a position who can step back and look at the entire nature of the educational community, how it intersects with juvenile justice, and work on systems change and integration.

PSESD created the position for Dr. Moore after he demonstrated success in creating interagency connections as the Executive Director for Special Services, developing relationships with mental health and social service agencies. The benefits of collaboration he saw were invaluable—greater accountability, cost savings and reduction in duplication of services. While these were advantageous to the systems involved, the outcomes for youth were even greater.

Dr. Moore becomes aware of the “school to jail pipeline”

In his work, Dr. Moore became more involved with juvenile justice services. As he observed how the system worked and intersected with education, he realized there can be no juvenile justice reform without education reform. “It’s a thought I’ve always had,” he said. “Maybe a motto.”

Dr. Moore learned about the virtual pipeline of dropouts going from schools to the juvenile justice system. “Too many kids are dropping out of school and getting involved in the juvenile justice system. This leads to a reduction in our workforce and is draining our human and financial resources. It was a shock to learn that 70 percent of youth in detention and on probation in King County had either dropped out of school or had so few credits that graduation was unattainable … and 75 percent of adult inmates never finished high school. There’s this term, the ‘school to jail pipeline.’ That pipeline needs to be shut down.”

With the connection between lack of education and criminal tendencies made clear to him, Dr. Moore and his colleagues started a committee devoted to building reengagement opportunities and robust onramps for drop-out youth.

A dedicated committee puts youth from the juvenile justice system in touch with an education

The committee worked for 10 years without funding, leveraging relationships in both the education and juvenile justice systems in order to push for policy reform at the state level. But at the time, legislators were more concerned with state testing scores than drop-out rates, and policy reform went nowhere.

Dr. Moore and his colleagues kept pushing, bringing up the issue whenever possible. The committee’s numbers waxed and waned, but the committee’s core remained strong. Five years ago, as part of the King County Systems Integration Initiative, Uniting for Youth was institutionalized as the PathNet Steering Committee. It began pushing for legislation to create statewide reengagement programs, while simultaneously creating a model called PathNet: A Networked Reengagement System—a reengagement pilot project in King County funded by Models for Change. Things finally began to take off.

The PathNet model creates connections between school districts and community colleges, technical schools and other organizations for youth who have no reasonable chance of completing a high school diploma and need an alternative pathway toward a living wage job and career. Youth take part in opportunities for basic skills remediation, work and college readiness classes, GED completion, high school credit recovery options and pre-apprenticeship skill development. When youth participate in the pilot, they are guided by a connection coordinator, who helps navigate the multiple systems and pathways to educational and vocational success.

Dr. Moore attributes the success of PathNet to the dedication and hard work of his colleagues and partners. They recently saw the passage of House Bill 1418, which will establish a statewide dropout reengagement program. Dr. Moore has a few words for those working in his field with similar dreams of legislative action: “Focus on the people who will help you [achieve your goals]. You’re not alone in this issue. Find genuine partners that can carry that message beyond your voice.”

He also says PathNet owes a great deal to the MacArthur Foundation and Models for Change. “The Foundation really stepped up to the plate and believed in the potential of the PathNet initiative, and gave me a stepping stone and platform through the pilot to have greater impact locally and nationally. PathNet is going to accelerate because of MacArthur Foundation.”

Dr. Moore is taking PathNet to the national stage

Dr. Moore will be moving to a consultant role in June, 2012, a “hop off the eight to five merry-go-round,” as he puts it. His career has seen many successes, one of them being bringing education to the table with juvenile justice reform. The question is what to do now that education is part of the conversation.

“I feel the calling to make education an equal partner,” he said. Dr. Moore will begin with replicating the PathNet model, first in other jurisdictions in Washington state, and then to other states. He has been working with a state legislator in Nebraska who introduced a bill similar to HB 1418. “I realized [drop-out reengagement programs] need to go national. Certainly I’m hoping that other foundations and funders who have seen this kind of work will agree that there is a need to do this.”

A career of helping others continues to motivate

As a child, Dr. Moore was a stutterer. He eventually overcame this barrier through speech therapy, and later in life found he had tremendous empathy for those with speech disorders and related struggles. He entered the field of speech therapy and audiology and found extreme satisfaction in helping others.

This thread of helping others has followed him throughout his career, and continues to motivate his work. “That internal reward of helping others has inspired me to reach out to youth with disabilities and others who are disenfranchised and at-risk to fail,” he says. “It just feels good. The effort is not always easy, but the end product is always satisfying.”

2011 Champions for Change

01/18/2012 10:21 AM

Dec 6, 2011 | Models for Change | REFORM PROGRESS

Champions for Change are individuals working with Models for Change in their states who have positively affected the lives of justice-involved youth, their families, and communities in ways that provide pathways away from delinquencyand re-offending, and that increase their potential to lead successful lives and build positive relationships.

Each of the 2011 Champions for Change has distinguished themself not only by alongtime commitment to creating change on behalf of youth, but because of theirinnovative and creative use of resources provided by Models for Change. These resources were adapted to local conditions and used to extend available capabilities to achieve deeper insights, more evidence-based practices and policies better suited to the needs of justice-involved youth.

Champions are nominated by their peers from each of the Models for Change Core States and from each of the three Models for Change Action Networks.

You can download the full program from the Awards Reception here.

Read about each of our Champions and see a short tribute video by clicking on the links below:

Joshua Dohan, Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network Champion for Change
Director, Youth Advocacy Department– Committee for Public Counsel Services
Roxbury, Massachusetts

Catherine Foley Geib, Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Action Network Champion for Change
Manager of Clinical & Educational Services Court Support Services Division, Connecticut Judicial Branch
Wethersfield, Connecticut

Mark Masterson, Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Action Network Champion for Change
Director, Sedgwick County Department of Corrections
Wichita, Kansas

Carl McCurley, Washington Champion for Change
Director, Administrative Office of the Courts/Washington State Center for Court Research
Olympia, Washington

Dane R. Bolin, Louisiana Champion for Change
Director, Calcasieu Parish Office of Juvenile Justice Services
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Toni Irving, Illinois Champion for Change
Deputy Chief of Staff, State of Illinois, Office of the Governor
Chicago, Illinois

Robert L. Listenbee, Pennsylvania Champion for Change
Chief of the Juvenile Unit, Defender Association of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Robert L. Listenbee: Juvenile Defenders Must Become the Change

01/18/2012 09:59 AM

Dec 6, 2011 | REFORM PROGRESS

Robert L. Listenbee, Pennsylvania Champion for Change

Chief of the Juvenile Unit, Defender Association of Philadelphia

One of Robert Listenbee’s favorite quotations is from Mahatma Gandhi, “You must become the change you wish to see in the world.” He uses this phrase when training attorneys to represent young people in court. It is also an apt summation of his own career as a public defender and advocate for changing the lives of kids in the juvenile justice system.

Listenbee is Chief of the Juvenile Unit at the Defender Association of Philadelphia and has been a major contributor to Models for Change initiatives in Pennsylvania, participating in both the Juvenile Indigent Defense and DMC Action Networks. In addition to his work with Defenders in his unit, Listenbee is dedicated to improving the system and works closely with non-traditional partners to accomplish these goals including the Deputy District Attorney for Family Court in Philadelphia and top police officials in five branches of Philadelphia law enforcement.

“As Chief of the Juvenile Unit, Bob has never wavered from his commitment to improving the quality of defender representation in Philadelphia,” said Rhonda McKitten, Defender Association of Philadelphia. “He has incorporated team leaders and mentoring into attorney assignments, created a specialized unit to deal with juvenile sexual assault cases and been instrumental in developing three specialty court programs that divert youth out of the juvenile justice system and reduce their risk of residential placement.”

Even with those accomplishments, Listenbee works with his staff to continue to improve ways to represent juveniles in court. He believes that juvenile defenders have a responsibility to be agents of change in the juvenile justice system and that defenders in large, well-resourced offices should assist defenders in smaller offices that do not have access to the same resources.

“Throughout all of his work as part of the MfC team, Bob has brought tremendous energy, enthusiasm, humor and a willingness to collaborate,” said Robert Schwartz, Executive Director, Juvenile Law Center. “These aspects of his leadership style are a major reason that he has been able to secure cooperation from so many different stakeholders. His commitment to youth, personal integrity and seemingly limitless energy have been invaluable in inspiring others to contribute to our reform initiatives.”

Listenbee worked with juvenile defenders across Pennsylvania to create the Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania (JDAP), the first organization in the Commonwealth to create a community of juvenile defenders to focus on the interests of juvenile practitioners. He was also the only juvenile defense attorney selected to be part of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, to respond to the Luzerne County scandal by recommending changes to ensure that a similar injustice did not occur again. Listenbee advocates for the rights of juveniles and improvements to juvenile indigent defense as a member of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee and as a new member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice.

Robert Listenbee consistently encourages young defenders in his office and throughout the state to pursue juvenile justice as a specialty—both through direct service and policy reform efforts. More important than encouragement, he serves as an incredible role model of what it means to be an advocate for youth, both in and out of the courtroom.

Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice

01/13/2012 01:17 PM

Mar 1, 2012, 8:30 am–5:00 pm | Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, Washington DC (Map) | CALENDAR

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps are pleased to invite you to a one-day symposium on Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 8:30am to 5:00pm (continental breakfast and registration begin at 8:00am) at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center in Washington, DC. The symposium, Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice, will bring together practitioners, policymakers, consumers, researchers, advocates, foundation program officers, and students from across the country interested in learning about and adopting policies and practices designed to better address the needs of youth known to multiple-systems, particularly the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

The symposium, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative, will feature presentations on policies, programs, and practices that have successfully prevented youth from crossing between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, reduced the placement of youth in the child welfare system in out of home care (particularly congregate care), and enhanced the role of education in achieving improved outcomes for youth at risk of or who have “crossed over.” Presenters will also highlight ways that the child welfare, juvenile justice and related systems can work together more broadly to best serve youth once they have “crossed over.” These strategies include joint case assessment processes, coordinated case planning and management, the pooling of resources across systems, and enhanced efforts to maintain connections for these youth with their families and achieve greater levels of stability and permanence in their lives.

This symposium will also coincide with the release of a paper of the same title, Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice. The paper will provide a framework for jurisdictions to utilize in their efforts to prevent youth from crossing over between systems and ensure that all youth who are served by both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems experience them with fairness and equity, and in a manner that helps to provide for their safety, well being and permanence, while also protecting public safety. The paper is authored by:

Denise Herz, Professor, California State University Los Angeles
Phil Lee, President, Results Leadership Group, LLC
Lorrie Lutz, President, L3P Associates, LLC
Macon Stewart, Program Manager, Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
John Tuell, Co-Director, MacArthur Foundation Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice Initiative, Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps
Janet Wiig, Co-Director, MacArthur Foundation Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice Initiative, Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps

The authors of the paper, along with Edward Kelley, President and CEO of RFK Children’s Action Corps, and Shay Bilchik, Director of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, will present at the symposium with the following confirmed panelists:

Frances Allegra, Chief Executive Officer, Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Inc.
Sara Boylan, Director, Denver Collaborative Partnership
Judge Darlene Byrne, of the 126th District Court in Austin, Texas
Maryam Fatemi, Deputy Director, Department of Children and Family Services for Los Angeles County
Carla Guenthner, Chief Magistrate, Hamilton County Juvenile Court
Bruce Knutson, Director, Juvenile Court Services, King County Superior Court
Mick Moore, Assistant Superintendent for Interagency Relations, Puget Sound Educational Service District

We very much hope that you will be able to participate in this symposium. Please RSVP by January 31, 2012, by going to http://multisystemsymposium.eventbrite.com. Please note that there is no attendance fee for the symposium. Please register early because space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Once the capacity of the venue has been met, everyone who registers will be placed on a waiting list and will be notified of their status. Therefore, please do not make travel arrangements until you receive a confirmation or waitlist email from Sorrel Concodora, Program Manager at the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. Any questions should be directed to Sorrel Concodora at sac234@georgetown.edu.

If you are traveling from out of town, we have reserved a small room block at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center (http://www.acc-guhotelandconferencecenter.com/) for the night of February 29 at a rate of $159/night plus tax. To make a reservation, please call 1-888-902-1606 and identify yourself as part of the CJJR Systems Integration Symposium. The room block will be released on February 6, so please make your reservations early.

We look forward to initiating this dialogue with you and to working together to achieve better outcomes for America’s at-risk children, youth, and families.

DMC e-News: Mark Masterson of Sedgwick County, KS Named Champion for Change

01/05/2012 10:32 AM

Jan 4, 2012 | DMC Action Network | PUBLICATIONS

The November/December issue features news from the Models for Change 6th Annual Working Conference and the presentation of the Champions for Change award to Mark Masterson of Sedgewick County, KS:

"Sedgwick County Department of Corrections Director Mark Masterson is no stranger to work to reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Before joining the DMC Action Network in 2007, officials in his jurisdiction were already hard at work on improving data capacity and developing community based-alternatives to detention.

However, Mark wanted Sedgwick County to do more. As a DMC Action Network site, Sedgwick County seized the opportunities available through the Network to reduce school-based arrests and arrests for low-level offenses, create alternatives to detention for youth of color, and leverage funding to explore the needs of youth involved in both the juvenile justice and child welfare systems."

Download the PDF to read more.

Download publication (pdf, 199 KB)

Counting Latino Youth in the Illinois Juvenile Justice System

12/16/2011 11:00 AM

Dec 9, 2011 | National Council of La Raza | PUBLICATIONS

The report details the inadequacy of information on Hispanic youth, who constitute one of the fastest-growing segments of the population, and highlights this lack of data as a major barrier to developing strategies and policies that can effectively prevent young Latinos from becoming caught up in the justice system.

Download publication (pdf, 297 KB)

An Executive Summary: Rethinking Juvenile Justice

12/01/2011 01:49 PM

Dec 1, 2011 | Models for Change Research Initiative | PUBLICATIONS

Elizabeth S. Scott and Laurence Steinberg, leading figures in juvenile law and adolescentdevelopmental psychology, have brought their disciplines together to define a newapproach to juvenile crime. In their book, Rethinking Juvenile Justice (Harvard UniversityPress, 2008), they argue that advances in science, evolving public attitudes, andskyrocketing costs make this a prime moment for reform of the juvenile justice system.They outline a new developmental model that is complex, nuanced, and grounded inscientific evidence. It recognizes adolescents’ immaturity but also holds them accountablefor their actions, and it offers solutions that allow them to grow into responsible adults.In the end, the authors contend, this approach would better serve the interests of justiceand public safety, and be less wasteful of money and lives, than either the traditionalrehabilitation model or the punitive policies of the past generation.

This brief is one in a series describing new knowledge and innovations emerging from Models for Change, a multi-state juvenile justice initiative. Models for Change is accelerating movement toward a more effective, fair, and developmentally sound juvenile justice system by creating replicable models that protect community safety, use resources wisely, and improve outcomes for youths. The briefs are intended to inform professionals in juvenile justice and related fields, and to contribute to a new national wave of juvenile justice reform.

Download publication (pdf, 304 KB)

Knowledge Brief: How Can We Know If Juvenile Justice Reforms Are Worth the Cost?

12/01/2011 01:45 PM

Dec 1, 2011 | Models for Change Research Initiative | PUBLICATIONS

With governments at every level facing grim budget forecasts, policymakers need to knowas much as possible about what juvenile justice activities yield the greatest social good fora given level of spending. This is the very question benefit-cost analysis seeks to answer.This policy brief summarizes the benefit-cost analysis of a set of reforms intended tomake juvenile detention more developmentally productive: residential centers that provideyouths with group-based cognitive behavior therapy. The researchers found preliminaryevidence that this program may decrease recidivism rates in the 15 months followingrelease, and that the minimal costs of the program (a few hundred dollars per youth perdetention spell) may be outweighed by the monetized benefits of reduced crime andpunishment. Their hunch is that progress is most likely to come from the cumulative effectof relatively inexpensive changes like this one, each generating benefits in excess of costsand reducing recidivism incrementally.

Download publication (pdf, 327 KB)

Knowledge Brief: Harnessing the Capacity for Change

12/01/2011 01:42 PM

Dec 1, 2011 | Models for Change Research Initiative | PUBLICATIONS

Organizational change requires more than good ideas. Organizations must also have thecapacity and resources necessary to reach the desired goals. In this project, the researchersinterviewed and surveyed organizations involved in Models for Change to assess theircapacity to implement and sustain change. They sought to understand what resourcescontribute to having capacity, how capacity is used, and the ways in which differentdimensions of capacity work together. From the study they identified five major dimensionsof capacity—finances, human resources, technology, stakeholder commitment, andcollaboration—and developed a model of how these dimensions interact, build on oneanother, and ultimately contribute to change. The more concrete capacities such as finances,human resources, and technology, the researchers found, can predict an organization’s abilityto collaborate with others to effect change.

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Department of Justice, MacArthur Foundation Provide $2 Million to Support Juvenile Justice Reform

01/27/2012 08:57 AM

Jan 26, 2012 | Department of Justice, MacArthur Foundation | NEWSROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Office of Justice Programs (OJP) January 26, 2012 (202) 307-0703 www.ojp.gov Contact: Starr Stepp DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, MACARTHUR FOUNDATION PROVIDE $2 MILLION TO SUPPORT JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM WASHINGTON– In…

Youth Advocacy Department Director Joshua Dohan Named Champion for Change in Juvenile Justice Reform

01/06/2012 12:21 PM

Dec 5, 2011 | Rey Cheatham Banks | NEWSROOM

ROXBURY, MA – Joshua Dohan, Director of the Youth Advocacy Department of the Committee for Public Counsel Services was honored at a national conference of juvenile justice leaders in Washington, DC for his lifetime of work on behalf of indigent court involved youth in Massachusetts Colleagues involved in the Models for Change Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network nominated Dohan for the award. Models for Change is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s 16-state…

Change Makers 2012: James Bell, W. Haywood Burns Institute

01/04/2012 09:46 AM

Jan 1, 2012 | Jessica Lum | San Francisco Chronicle | NEWSROOM

Founder and executive director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute, James Bell is dedicated to examining and addressing the ethnic disparity in institutions such as the juvenile justice system. Bell was born in a segregated South Carolina hospital where black doctors weren't allowed to deliver babies. Growing up, Bell said he played a part in the civil rights movement, helping desegregate lunch counters and swimming pools around his community. He eventually moved to San Francisco to attend law…

Editorial: Non-Violent Juveniles Should not be Locked Up

01/03/2012 09:33 AM

Jan 3, 2012 | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

Illinois has long been a pioneer in juvenile justice, creating the nation’s first juvenile court as long ago as 1899. But in recent years, Illinois hasn’t looked so much like a pioneer anymore. The wooden wheels have been coming off the covered wagon. A recent report indicates that more than half the youths incarcerated by the Illinois Department of Justice wind up back behind bars. If the original pioneers failed at that rate, they never would have made it west of the…

New Illinois Law Will Require Judges To Consider Sentencing Juvenile Offenders To Treatment In Their Communities

12/21/2011 08:49 AM

Dec 20, 2011 | Juvenile Justice Initiative | NEWSROOM

CHICAGO – Beginning January 1, Illinois judges considering committing juvenile offenders to incarceration in a state juvenile prison must first ensure that commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is necessary and that secure confinement is the least restrictive alternative available. Before sentencing, juvenile court judges must examine evidence that efforts were made to locate less restrictive placements – and review why those efforts were unsuccessful. This…