CJJ's Virtual Hill Days Are Underway! |
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CJJ and its Government Relations Committee are hosting a series of Virtual Hill Days through April 23rd. It's not too late to join us in letting Congress know how important it is to support our most vulnerable youth.
Congress needs to hear from the juvenile justice community today! Encourage them to:
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Ensure robust federal appropriations for juvenile justice in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget;
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Fully implement the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018; and
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Ensure funding and support for states as they work to address racial and ethnic disparities within the justice system.
To learn more about our key federal asks for 2021 click here.
There are two easy ways to join in CJJ's Spring Virtual Hill Days:
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Schedule a call or video meeting with your Member or their staff. Click here to find your legislators and their contact information.
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Get the word out on social media using #JJDPAMatters.
Can't join us this month? Save the date for our Fall Virtual Hill Days on October 19 through October 22.
If you have any questions about this year's Virtual Hill Days please contact Naomi Smoot Evans at [email protected].
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CJJ's 2021 Virtual Annual Conference |
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All content will be recorded and available for participants to view at their leisure for up to one year after the event.
To register for the conference, click here. A draft of the conference agenda can be viewed here.
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Early Bird Registration
Jan 15 - May 31
$200/ Member
$250/ Non-Member
$95/ Student
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Regular Registration
June 1 - June 8
$250/ Member
$300/ Non-Member
$100/ Student
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Scholarship Opportunity:
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice is excited to offer scholarships to current students and professionals who might not otherwise be able to attend the 2021 Annual Conference. These scholarships are thanks to the contribution of Performance-based Standards.
SELECTION CRITERIA USED TO DETERMINE CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS:
1. Completed scholarship application.
2. Explanation of financial need.
3. Letter of reference.
The recipients will receive a complimentary registration for the 2021 Annual Conference to take place virtually, June 9-11, 2021. All awardees will receive notice and registration information by May 21st. Priority will be given to current State Advisory Group (SAG) members.
The deadline for submission is May 7th. To apply click here.
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Executive Board Nominations:
CJJ is still accepting applications for the Western Regional Representative position on our Executive Board. Elections will be held in May via electronic ballot. Passing of the gavel will take place during the conference's Council of SAGs meeting.
To apply for the Western Regional Representative position, please click here. To learn more about the position, email Naomi Smoot Evans at [email protected].
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Register Now for CJJ's Racial and Ethnic Disparities Conference |
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Registration is Now Open:
To make your hotel reservations click here. To register for the conference click here. To view a draft of the agenda click here.
NOTE: Registration is limited. All registrants will be asked to pre-register for workshops to ensure social distancing.
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Early Bird Registration
Mar 1 - July 31
$295/ Member
$425/ Non-Member
$150/ Student Member
$200/ Student Non-Member
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Regular Registration
Aug 1 - Oct 11
$325/ Member
$455/ Non-Member
$200/ Student Member
$250/ Student Non-Member
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Late Registration
Oct 12 - Nov 1
$355/ Member
$485/ Non-Member
$250/ Student Member
$300/ Student Non-Member
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New R/ED Peer Resource Guide
To view the guide in its entirety click here.
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Second Quarter:
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.
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Third Quarter:
Join us Monday, August 2, 2021 from 3pm-4pm Eastern for a conversation with author Sherri Jefferson about her book, The Houses That Raised 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.
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Engaging Policymakers: How Youth Advocates Are Leading State Juvenile Justice Reform
Thursday, May 13,2021 at 4pm-5pm ET
Engaging policymakers, advocating for legislative changes, and reforming systems can be difficult, especially when there are significant barriers such as incarceration. While at Green Hill School, a state-run detention facility in Washington, a group of young men have played an integral role in state juvenile justice reform. Since March 2018, this group of young men has helped pass bills that extended juvenile court jurisdiction to age 25, removed the auto-decline requirement, phased out the placement of youth charged with status offenses in detention facilities, and increased the use of community-based alternatives and enrichment opportunities in place of confinement.
This legislative season they are focusing on a bill that will extend the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 26.
During this webinar, youth from Green Hill School will present their impressive story of engagement with policymakers in Washington State and how they were able to effect change. Attendees will learn about the importance of advocacy within the juvenile justice system and how State Advisory Groups and adult partners can support youth advocates, especially those currently involved in the system.
Presenter:
Aaron Toleafoa, Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) Chair, Coalition for Juvenile Justice; Member, Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice
Edgar Calixto, Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) Member, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Rodney Strickland, Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) Member, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Ron Ackerson, Emerging Leaders Committee (ELC) Member, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.
To register for this webinar click here.
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Raising the Bar on R/ED Collaborations
Thursday, July 8, 2021 at 3pm-4pm ET
Building local partnerships within the community is an essential part of youth justice. However, awareness around Racial and Ethnic Disparities (R/ED) is limited due to funding and other challenges. Join us on July 8th to discuss innovative solutions to extend local partnerships and further collaborations to advance awareness and reduce R/ED within the justice system.
Presenters:
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.
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Rebuilding Positive Relationships Between Justice System Professionals, Youth, and Communities
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 3pm-4pm ET
Join us for a conversation on the importance of building and maintaining positive relationships between law enforcement, child-serving agency practitioners, youth, and communities. The impact of a positive relationship can serve to eliminate implicit biases in decision making and can foster empathy. This webinar will discuss how rebuilding these relationships can ultimately work towards accomplishing our main goal of keeping youth out of the justice system.
Presenters:
Jill Ruggiero, 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.
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President's Skinny Budget Released
On Friday, April 9th, President Joe Biden released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2022. This budget includes "$1.5 billion, an increase of $554 million, for grants that support efforts to reform State and local criminal justice systems, including funding to support Juvenile Justice Programs, drug courts and alternative court programs, public defenders, and Second Chance Act of 2007 programs."
To view the proposal click here.
The Senate and the House will release their budget proposals next for Fiscal year 2022. To let them know funding for youth justice is important to you click here.
Legislation Introduced to Improve Child Welfare and Youth Justice Collaboration
On March 25th, Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced Senate Bill 1033.
This legislation, similar to the CONNECT Act, which was introduced in the 116th Congress provides competitive grants to increase collaboration between state child welfare and youth justice systems.
The bill was referred to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
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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
- Promising Practices or Program Spotlights
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Member Spotlight: Colorado |
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In May 2018, Colorado, in partnership with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, launched a comprehensive assessment of Colorado’s juvenile justice system. Led by the Improving Outcomes for Youth (IOY) Statewide Task Force, the initiative culminated in consensus-based policy recommendations to strengthen public safety and improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system.
The IOY Task Force recommendations were translated into legislation for the 2019 legislative session and in May 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (SB19-108) into law. Among other things, the bill established the Juvenile Justice Reform Committee (JJRC) to guide and oversee implementation of key provisions of SB19-108 to be implemented across the juvenile justice continuum in Colorado. Key provisions at the diversion decision point included the implementation of a validated risk screening tool to be used to inform the District Attorney's decisions on a young person’s eligibility for, and the intensity and length of, supervision in diversion. In addition, the bill appropriated funding to the Division of Criminal Justice to allocate dollars via a set formula to every Colorado judicial district so that diversion services were available to all youth across the state, regardless of where they live.
The provisions at the detention screening decision point included the adoption and utilization of a research-based detention screening instrument to be used statewide to inform placement of youth in a secure detention facility. The bill limited the use of detention to only those children who pose a substantial risk of serious harm to others or who are a flight risk from prosecution. The bill includes the adoption of a relative information form to be used while screening in order to identify kinship options in the community. The bill also requires the adoption and use of a validated risk and needs assessment to be used by probation to assist in case planning and recommendations to the courts upon sentencing a young person to probation. It also requires the adoption and use of a validated mental health screening tool to be utilized prior to sentencing. Colorado’s State Judicial Department has selected the YLS and the MAYSI 2 as the adopted assessment tools and are currently working on the implementation of these tools statewide.
The Division of Youth Services (DYS) was also mandated to adopt a validated risk and needs assessment and validated mental health screening tool to assist in case planning and placement. The DYS has selected the YASI and the MAYSI 2 as their assessment and screening tools. Across the continuum of juvenile justice services, the bill set out the need to adopt shared outcome measures for service providers serving youth placed on probation and parole, and a shared definition of recidivism for juvenile diversion, probation, and youth services. It also included the requirement for all of the stated agencies to report out on those outcomes annually. Many other provisions across the juvenile justice system were outlined and currently are in the initial implementation stage.
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Other News and Announcements |
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Events and Trainings
Partners In Health (PIH) will hold a webinar entitled, "Covid-19 and the Carceral System: Actions for a Better Tomorrow" on April 30th, at 1pm ET/10am PT. Click here to register.
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New Publications and Resources
The Leadership Conference Education Fund released a "Police Don't Belong in Schools" video and new toolkit.
The National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) and AASA Superintendent Association released a new set of resources entitled, "Futures in the Balance."
Annie E. Casey Foundation released two new 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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