Reforming Youth Justice: The Next Frontier

Photo by picturexv via Flickr

Young People in Peril

Reporting on the Impact of Today’s Health, Economic and Social Crises on Youth Justice Reform

An five-part webinar series October 22-November 12, 2020

At-a- glance program schedule can be downloaded here.

Download agenda  here.

Click here for bios of Oct 22-23 speakers.

Until February 2020, youth justice reformers could claim impressive victories across the country, and were already gearing up to tackle some of the harder systemic challenges. But in the space of just a few months, COVID-19 transformed the environment in unpredictable ways.

While it accelerated the movement for disbanding institutional juvenile detention, comparatively few young people were actually released. The economic crisis caused by the nationwide lockdown has left justice-involved youth especially vulnerable to shortfalls in social services and family stress. In many respects, the special needs of justice-involved youth were sidelined by the attention paid to the plight of at-risk incarcerated adults.

Similarly, the intensified debate about racism following George Floyd’s killing sidetracked media attention from the needs of poor youth—particularly youth of color–who were most likely to be the victims of implicit bias.  But there are some promising currents as well. Will the attention to implicit bias in policing and courts translate into more equitable treatment for young people of color? Is the nation ready to address the “next frontier” of juvenile justice reform?

The current situation has posed a special challenge to justice journalists. What do journalists need to know keep the momentum for change in the juvenile justice system relevant to their readers and listeners, especially as the nation experiences a tendentious political campaign?

These questions were addressed in five webinars : Oct 22,  Oct. 23, Oct. 29,  Nov. 5, and Nov. 12 .

Click here for bios of  Oct 22-23 speakers.

For questions about the webinar series, please contact Stephen Handelman, director of the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College, at shandelman@jjay.cuny.edu; or journalism coordinator Joe Domanick at jdomanick@jjay.cuny.edu

The CMCJ thanks the following organizations for their support: The Tow Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

USEFUL RESEARCH/RESOURCES

• • • • ACLU Lawsuit Ms. L vs. ICE
      • Restorative Justice for Oakland
      • Borrar, Amy  Protecting the Rights and Health of Youth, (PowerPoint) ,National Juvenile Defender Center  
      • Feierman, Jessica   Youth Justice Transformation (Power Point) 
      • Harvell, Samantha Continuum of Care (Power Point), Urban Institute
      • National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform’s Neighborhood Opportunity & Accountability Board
      • Justice Policy Institute, Report: $588 per day to incarcerate a young person, 
      • Pai-Espinosa, Jeannette,  One Girl, Many Systems (Powerpoint)  
      • Pathways to Desistance: A study of serious adolescent offenders as they transition to adulthood and out of crime, University of Pittsburgh
      • Rovner, Josh, School to Prison Pipeline (PowerPoint) The Sentencing Project
      • Ryan, Liz,  Covering Youth Justice: Perspectives of Youth Leaders
      • Schindler, Marc and Walker, Tyrone, Youth Prisons: Why Are We Paying to be Less Safe? Justice Policy Institute, The Crime Report
      • Teigen, Anne  National Trends in Juvenile Justice Reform (Powerpoint) National Conference of State Legislatures
      • Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
      • UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative  The Latinx Data Gap in the Youth Justice System
      • Urban Institute, Report on youth incarceration in Connecticut
      • Urban Institute  Community-Based Continuum of Care (.pdf )
      • Vincent, Gina M. (and Viljoen, Jody L.) Racist Algorithms or Systemic Problems?

ARCHIVE COVERAGE

NPR Poll: Pain From Coronavirus Much Worse Than Expected

Report Ranks States for ‘Best Human Rights’ Protections for Kids

VIDEO RECORDINGS

Tackling Racial Disparity Called Key to Youth Justice Reform

How Juvenile Probation Lands More Youths in Jail

School-to-Prison Pipeline Still Functions During Pandemic, Advocates Warn

Mistreatment of Children ‘Pervasive’ in Youth Justice System, Advocates Charge

Will Squeeze on State Budgets Drive More Youth Justice Reforms?

Child Welfare System Fuels ‘Criminalization’ of Youth, Webinar Told