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JJ Monitor
December 2020
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Join CJJ's Emerging Leaders Committee |
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The ELC is a partnership between CJJ and young people in the field of juvenile justice, many of whom bring lived expertise to their work. Anyone ages 16 to 24 who is passionate about reforming the juvenile justice system can become a member of the ELC. Youth with lived expertise, including those who are still involved with the system and those who are currently incarcerated are strongly encouraged to apply. Youth members of State Advisory Groups are also strongly encouraged to submit applications.
Applications are due Friday December 18th. To complete the application, including a resume and an optional letter of recommendation, here. If you are unable to submit online, please download the application here and submit to Kristen Powell at [email protected].
The ELC meets remotely by phone once a month with opportunities for additional involvement with specific projects. As an initiative for membership, all ELC members are paid hourly for a maximum of six hours a month.
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SAVE THE DATE:
Join Us for Our 2021 Conferences
CJJ's 2021 Annual Conference, which will be held virtually Wednesday, June 9th through Friday, June 11th.
Plan now to join us in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday, November 1st through Thursday, November 4th for our 2021 Racial & Ethnical Disparities Conference.
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Recap of CJJ's 2020 Annual Conference
CJJ's 2020 Virtual Annual Conference, "Dreaming Big Together: Youth Justice Reimagined" took place Wednesday, November 18th through Friday, November 20th. Despite the conference being 100% virtual due to the effects of Covid-19, it was a huge success!
With over 750 registraints, CJJ doubled through the number of participants at previous conferences making this year's Annual Conference the biggest one yet! During the conference, participants learned about changes within our juvenile justice system across various states. One of our sponsors, the Annie E. Casey Foundation hosted a workshop on Probation Transformation which highlighted ways jurisdictions can and are fundamentally shifting their approach to juvenile probation. The Optional Lunch and Learn Book Club provided feedback on various topics around race, ethnicity, criminalization, and juvenile prisons. CJJ also recognized the 2020 awardees: Ken Schatz, winner of the A.L. Carlisle Child Advocacy Award; Jessica Wheeler, winner of the Tony Gobar Outstanding National Juvenile Justice Specialist Award; Ezequiel Vasquez, winner of the National Spirit of Youth Award; and Anna Lopez, winner of the Andrew Smith Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator Award.
CJJ want to thank all who presented and attended this year's conference. If you weren't able to join us live, all workshops were recorded and are available to all registrants for the next 12 months on the conference webpage.
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A Call to Join
CJJ for 2021
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Building Brighter Tomorrows: A Vision for Youth Justice in 2021 and Beyond
Thursday, January 21, 2021 3pm-4pm ET
As we move into a new year, a new Congress, and a new Administration, join us for a conversation about top priorities in youth advocacy for 2021 and beyond. Learn how advocates are hoping to reshape and improve service provision for young people in the justice system, child welfare system, and those experiencing homelessness.
Presenters:
Naomi Smoot Evans, Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice
This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.
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A Healing-Centered Vision for Youth, Families, and Communities
Wednesday, March 10th at 3:00 PM Eastern
Healing ourselves emotionally and mentally is not as easy as it sounds, and at times we neglect to acknowledge the importance of incorporating a healing approach in our everyday lives (school, work, home, etc.). The healing-centered vision, adopted by Healing Ninjas, allows us to come to terms with events and circumstances which have occurred in our lives, and to overcome the barriers of mental illness--one person, one family, and one community at a time.
Healing Ninjas is an online community platform highlighting the stories of individuals who are seeking to master the art of healing. Join us on October 28th at 3 pm to learn more about the healing-centered vision and how, as individuals and professionals, we can influence those we work with to become a person who excels in a particular skill or activity--in other words, to become a HEALING NINJA.
Presenters:
Iliana Pujols, Director of Community Connections, Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance
Abdul Ali, Community Organizer, Maine Youth Justice
This webinar is free for CJJ members. To become a member click here.
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CJJ's Top Priorities for 2021
The Council of SAGs voted on each policy November 20th and a finalized version of each policy is currently underway. These platforms include actions at the federal, state, and local levels to address and end racial inequities within our youth justice system.
To view the policy platforms visit CJJ's website.
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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: District of Columbia |
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The Juvenile Justice Advisory Group (JJAG) is the state advisory group (SAG) in the District of Columbia and operates as an advisory commission to the Mayor of the District of Columbia and other stakeholders on matters relevant to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. Over the past year and a half, JJAG set out to identify ways in which the juvenile justice system could continue to shift toward strength-based approaches that connect youth and families to meaningful opportunities and supports while still fulfilling its obligation to maintain public safety. In the wake of a major juvenile justice reform bill passed locally in the District in 2016 that included provisions prohibiting secure detention of status offenders, the JJAG and other justice stakeholders undertook a review of the of best practices for responding to status offenses, and ultimately, developed a set of recommendations for the District to responsibly remove Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS) (a.k.a. status offenses) from the juvenile justice system.
In February 2020, JJAG produced the report Create New Opportunities for “Persons In Need of Supervision” (PINS) to Succeed Without Legal System Intervention: District of Columbia Juvenile Justice Advisory Group Recommendation to Mayor Bowser. The report examines the District’s current response to status offenses, identifies gaps and assets in the District’s systems of care, explores opportunities for cross-system alignment, and enumerates the JJAG’s key recommendations.
The JJAG report proposes removing the juvenile justice system as a possible response to PINS behaviors and strengthening a community-based set of responses to meet the needs of youth and families. The JJAG identified key principles central to its recommended alternative, provided concrete ideas for how to implement a continuum of recommended responses to PINS behaviors, and outlined outstanding questions crucial to successful implementation in the report.
Since February, the JJAG has furthered this effort by partnering with additional government and community stakeholders outside of the juvenile justice system to include education partners, health and human service partners and child welfare partners to answer remaining key questions on what assets and gaps exist in our current continuum of care, to identify short-term and long-term goals, and to lay a foundation for implementation planning.
In addition to these efforts, the JJAG recently embarked on a new project to develop a set of recommendations around reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the District’s juvenile justice system. A subcommittee was created, gathering partners from government agencies, non-profit organizations, community members, local universities, and youth to support the JJAG in the process of reviewing local data and learning about local and national best practices for reducing disparities. Similar to JJAG’s report on status offense reform, JJAG intends to create and submit a report to the Mayor that includes goals, key principles, and strategy recommendations for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.
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Other News and Announcements |
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New Publications and Resources
The Youth First Team released the No Kids In Prison report with data on Racial Disparities of Incarcerated Youth.
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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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