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January 2011
Highlight of the Month: Nebraska SAG Youth Member Elected Vice-Chair
- Interview with Cassy Blakely, Nebraska SAG Youth Member and Newly Elected Vice-Chair
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CJJ Leadership News from Nancy Gannon Hornberger, CJJ Executive Director
- CJJ in Response to “Beyond Scared Straight”: Invest in Proven Strategies
- CJJ’s New Web Resource to Improve Outcomes for Youth Charged with Status Offenses
- Call for 2011 Memberships to the State Advisory Groups (SAGs)
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CJJ Government Relations Alert
- Congress Finalizes Leadership for the 112th Session
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CJJ Conference and Training News
- CJJ Annual Spring Conference, Council of SAGs’ Meeting and Hill Day, May 20-24, 2011
- Save the Dates for 2011-2012 CJJ Regional Conferences!
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CJJ Committee and Regional News
- SAG Leadership Update
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National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) News
- NJJN Seeks Youth Stories
- Update on NJJN e-Newsletter
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Resources and Information of Note
- Connecticut State Advisory Group Launches Juvenile Justice System Data Web Site
- Report Presents New Approach to Improve the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs
- Study Finds Unfair Treatment of Non-Heterosexual Youth in Schools and Justice Systems Nationwide
- OJJDP Releases Proposed FY 2011 Program Plan
- Georgetown University Announces Certificate Program for Public Sector Leaders
Read More
In the News
- Federal Lawsuit Reveals Inhumane Conditions at Mississippi For-Profit Youth Facility
- The New York Times Outlines Reform Challenges Ahead for New York’s New Governor
- The Washington Post: Prison Reform A Smart Way to Save Money and Lives
- Assessing Program Outcomes Can Be Tricky
Read More
Share Your News and Feedback with CJJ!
- CJJ Invites You to Share News from Your SAG, State or Region!
Read More
Highlight of the Month: Nebraska SAG Youth Member Elected Vice-Chair
Cassandra “Cassy” Blakely is the newly elected vice-chair of the Nebraska State Advisory Group (SAG). Cassy is the youth engagement coordinator for Project Everlast, a Nebraska Children and Families Foundation’s grassroots initiative that promotes community resources to improve foster youth’s access to necessities such as housing, transportation, and health care. Cassy is also studying toward a Master’s degree in Counseling with emphasis on addictions at Doane College in Lincoln, NE. CJJ caught up with Cassy earlier this month to discuss her new role as vice-chair, her passion for working for youth, and the importance of including youth at the decision-making table.
Cassy, congratulations on being elected vice-chair of your SAG! Tell us a bit about how and why you became involved with the SAG.
Thank you! I was appointed to the SAG as a youth member in 2008. Working with and for youth has always been a passion of mine. I grew up in a less-than-stable environment, with family members struggling with addictions and siblings involved in the juvenile justice system. My personal, firsthand understanding of the kinds of support kids need inspired me to continuously work with and for youth.
What do you see as your unique contribution to the SAG, especially as a youth member?
My contribution to the SAG is my ability to look at the different issues we deal with from both a personal and a professional prism. I see my job as being to ensure inclusion of youth and families in conversations and decisions. I’m a diehard supporter and promoter of the power of youth voice. I make it my business to continuously ask: have we engaged the right people? It is our responsibility as SAG members to make sure we include the youth and families we serve at the decision-making table. We're very fortunate to have state staff and SAG members who share this view and have created an encouraging and inclusive environment.
You’ve also been a CJJ National Youth Committee member since 2009.
Yes, I joined the CJJ National Youth Committee shortly after being appointed to the SAG. Being involved with the committee has proven to be educational and empowering. It has enabled me to meet youth members from all over the country and gain a deeper understanding of my role as a youth member. Communicating with other SAG youth members creates a safe environment to acknowledge that we have a lot to learn. I’m jazzed about the national committee’s growth in the past year, and particularly proud of The CJJ Youth Manual.
The committee has also been a great resource to my SAG, which has been struggling with retaining youth members. I’ve been able to hear from other youth members about what their states are doing to recruit and retain youth members, and bring back suggestions to my SAG. One of the ideas we’ve implemented is an “acronym police”: whenever an acronym is used, whoever is assigned as the acronym police for that meeting will hold up a sign each time an acronym is used, and the person speaking has to stop and explain the acronym. It’s a way to make sure that everyone feels part of the conversation.
What is the Nebraska SAG working on these days, and what are some of your goals as the vice-chair?
We’re working to establish a statewide juvenile diversion case management information system, designed to make counties and systems talk to each other and ensure proper interventions happen -- in the proper order. Also, this February, representatives from the Annie E. Casey Foundation will come back to Nebraska – for the third time – to launch us as an official Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) site. One of the major tasks ahead of us is gathering information for the next Three Year Plan.
As the SAG’s vice-chair, I plan to continue to build youth voice and representation, especially as our SAG is working to develop its next Three Year Plan. I’d like to make sure we include input from youth outside of the SAG, especially system-involved youth.
Tiffany Mullison, Nebraska’s state juvenile justice specialist, adds: “Nebraska’s SAG spoke toward the importance of youth leadership via ballots at the most recent election. Since her appointment in 2008, Cassy has been a committed member of Nebraska’s SAG, has amplified the voice of youth through her involvement with CJJ, and has diligently labored to ensure Nebraska continues to have an active and strong youth presence.”
CJJ Leadership News from Nancy Gannon Hornberger, CJJ Executive Director
CJJ in Response to “Beyond Scared Straight”: Invest in Proven Strategies
On January 12, CJJ issued a public statement to the media, as well as to the cable network A&E, criticizing the new A&E series “Beyond Scared Straight,” scheduled to premiere the next day. CJJ, in consultation with state juvenile justice specialists and the CJJ executive board, issued strong criticism of the show’s potentially damaging messages, highlighting decades of research demonstrating that “scared straight” interventions are ineffective in preventing delinquency, and have been shown to be harmful and associated with increased juvenile offending.
CJJ continues to ask A&E and the show’s producer to offer viewers a more well-rounded perspective by presenting the proven shortcomings of “scared straight” approaches and highlighting evidence-supported interventions that truly meet the needs of youth at risk of delinquency.
Please click here for CJJ’s public statement and appeal to A&E and here for CJJ’s fact sheet debunking “scared straight” approaches.
Additional responses and media coverage:
CJJ’s New Web Resource to Improve Outcomes for Youth Charged with Status Offenses
CJJ has unveiled a new webpage designed to educate and support states seeking effective ways to meet the needs of youth charged with status offenses without the use of locked detention and in ways that limit court involvement. The new webpage supports CJJ’s project addressing “Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders and Other Non-Delinquent Youth” (DSO Project). With funding support from the Public Welfare Foundation and the SAGs, CJJ is implementing a partnership designed to engage SAG members, judicial leaders, practitioners, service providers, policy makers and advocates in implementing strategies that eliminate the use of locked confinement for status offenders and other non-delinquent youth, and connect youth to family- and community-based services and supports to more effectively meet their needs. The webage will feature the latest research and reports, guidance documents, media/news items, as well as other resources.
CJJ’s DSO Project builds on our ongoing leadership to advance deinstitutionalization of status offenders, to support Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) compliance, and to promote detention reform and alternatives to detention.
For more information, please contact CJJ Deputy Executive Director Tara Andrews at 202-467-0864, ext. 109 or andrews@juvjustice.org, or CJJ Research and Policy Analyst Tashira Halyard at 202-467-0864, ext. 113 or halyard@juvjustice.org.
Call for 2011 Memberships to the State Advisory Groups
CJJ’s Executive Board and all of us on the staff are grateful for the steady and growing involvement of State Advisory Groups (SAGs) and SAG members in our member-driven organization. With our call for 2011 SAG memberships, CJJ looks forward to working together to:
- Amplify the voice of the SAGs with the federal administration and the Congress;
- Inform and support juvenile justice system reforms and improvements across the nation;
- Provide strong and valuable recommendations, fact sheets, guidance, training, news and position papers on the salient juvenile justice issues of our time;
- Conduct our annual SAG-member conference and Council of SAGs’ Meeting (see “CJJ Conference and Training News” below for information on upcoming conferences);
- Support our members in revitalizing regional coalitions and youth engagement.
As requested by our members, in 2011, staff will continue to strongly focus on rebuilding CJJ’s relationship with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), advancing the reauthorization of the JJDPA and the Youth PROMISE Act, and strengthening federal juvenile justice appropriations.
Many thanks and special recognition to the states of Florida and North Dakota for being the first two states to renew their 2011 SAG membership in CJJ. We look forward to hearing from all of you.
For additional information about SAG membership and leadership activities, please contact CJJ National Chair, David Schmidt at nmccd@aol.com or Nancy Gannon Hornberger at nancy@juvjustice.org and 202-467-0864, ext. 111.
CJJ Government Relations Alert
Congress Finalizes Leadership for the 112th Session
The 112th session of the U.S. Congress officially convened on January 4, 2011, and will adjourn on or about December 21, 2012. With the new Congress come a number of new committee leadership assignments.
To read more, click here.
CJJ Conference and Training News
CJJ Annual Spring Conference, Council of SAGs’ Meeting and Hill Day, May 20-24, 2011
Please plan now to join CJJ for its 2011 Annual Spring Conference, Council of State Advisory Groups’ (SAGs) Meeting and Hill Day, May 20-24, 2011. This year’s conference will be held at The Liaison Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., steps away from the U.S. Capitol, the National Mall and Union Station.
This year’s conference theme is "Fair and Equal Justice: Alternative Sentences and Sanctions for Youth." The conference will feature speakers, panels and workshops addressing current themes and trends in juvenile justice sentencing reform, such as the needs of status offenders, juvenile life without parole, and more.
The conference will also include:
- Pre-conference skill-building sessions on Friday, May 20;
- Regional coalitions and CJJ leadership committee meetings;
- State juvenile justice specialists and DMC coordinators business meetings;
- CJJ Council of SAGs’ Meeting on Sunday, May 22;
- CJJ Hill Day on Tuesday, May 24.
Location and Room Block: The Liaison Capitol Hill is located at 415 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. CJJ secured a room block rate of $219/night for its conference attendees. To book your room for the conference, please click here, or call/email the hotel’s reservation line at 1-866-233-4642 and reservations@affinia.com (be sure to reference "CJJ Annual Meeting" or reservation ID code CJJ428 when making your reservation.)
Registration will open on the week of February 21. Registration fees will be $300 for CJJ members and $395 for non-members.
For more information or to become involved in the conference planning process, please contact Mark Ferrante, CJJ Director of Leadership and Training Programs, ferrante@juvjustice.org or 202-467-0864, ext. 102.
Save the Dates for 2011-2012 CJJ Regional Conferences!
Mark your calendars for these upcoming CJJ Regional Conferences:
- CJJ Midwest Region Conference, July 8-10, 2011, preceded by a CJJ National Youth Committee Planning Retreat on July 8, on the Campus of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana.
- CJJ Western Region Conference, August 26-28, 2011, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- CJJ Northeast Region Conference, September 30 - October 2, 2011, Manchester, New Hampshire.
- CJJ Southern Region Conference, late January 2012, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
For more information on any of these conferences, please contact Mark Ferrante, CJJ Director of Leadership and Training Programs, at ferrante@juvjustice.org or 202-467-0864, ext. 102.
CJJ Committee and Regional News
SAG Leadership Update
CJJ would like to acknowledge and welcome new SAG chairs from around the country:
- Kevin Appel, Virginia, is an attorney with experience representing juvenile clients, has been a Virginia SAG member since 2005 and also serves on the mid-Atlantic regional board for Phoenix House, the nation's largest substance abuse recovery non-profit.
- Adam Cohen, Utah, joined the Utah SAG as a youth member in 2003, and is Executive Director of the Odyssey House of Utah, a substance abuse treatment, education, and prevention services nonprofit, serving the Salt Lake City area.
- Liz Mueller, Washington, is the Tribal Council Vice Chair of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, and has worked for the Jamestown Tribe for the past 22 years in the capacity of Director of Social/Health Service and Family Service Administrator.
- Nancy Pfaadt, Kentucky, has been a member of the Kentucky SAG since its inception in 1996, and has previously served as the SAG’s vice chair and chair of the grants subcommittee.
CJJ depends on you, our members, to keep our online State and Territory Directory up-to-date. Please send your updates to Jessica Russell Murphy, CJJ’s Conference and Information Services Manager, at muprhy@juvjustice.org.
National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) News
NJJN Seeks Youth Stories
The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) seeks compelling stories of justice-involved youth that either exemplify the problems with the current justice system, or are shining examples of how reforms can lead to wonderfully positive change in the lives of youth. NJJN plans to use selected stories on its new Web site and communications materials to help better convey the experiences of youth in the justice system. Please take a brief moment to share with us a non-identifying story of a youth with whom you or your organization has worked.
- Please send a brief paragraph or two describing a youth's encounter with the justice system and its positive or negative outcomes.
- If your story is selected, the NJJN will contact you to get final details and review the use and final wording of the story.
- These stories will not identify specific youth, although they may be paired with photos of models or more generic photos.
- We are particularly interested in stories that touch on the issues of deinstitutionalization, confidentiality, school-to-prison pipeline, disproportionate minority contact (DMC) and adultification.
- Please email your stories to Annie Balck, NJJN's Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, at balck@juvjustice.org.
Please help NJJN increase its impact through stories of the youth we serve!
Update on NJJN e-Newsletter
Please note that NJJN is currently in the process of retooling its e-newsletter, to make it even more relevant and helpful for NJJN members, partners and allies. As you may already know, NJJN’s e-newsletter contains a variety of information on advances in the field, new research, media of note, upcoming conferences, and funding opportunities (click here to view past e-newsletters). If you already receive NJJN’s e-newsletter, please stay tuned for our new e-newsletter in early 2011! If you would like to sign up for the e-newsletter, please click here.
Resources and Information of Note
Connecticut State Advisory Group Launches Juvenile Justice System Data Web Site
A new Web-based resource, “Facts and Figures on Connecticut’s Juvenile Justice System,” launched by the Connecticut State Advisory Group, provides an overview of the juveniles moving through the state’s justice system, including data on arrest, juvenile court referral, detention centers, juvenile court disposition and residential placements.
Report Presents New Approach to Improve the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs
On December 3, 2010, the Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) released a new report, titled “Improving the Effectiveness of Juvenile Justice Programs: A New Perspective on Evidence-Based Practice.”
The paper, co-authored by Mark W. Lipsey, James C. Howell, Marion R. Kelly, Gabrielle Chapman, and Darin Carver, introduces a comprehensive juvenile justice framework for evidence-based practices designed to allow the vast existing knowledge base to benefit the entire juvenile justice continuum, rather than a handful of programs serving a limited number of youth. The framework suggests that a new tool, developed by Dr. Lipsey, can be used to measure the effectiveness of a variety of existing juvenile justice programs already in use at the state and the local levels, and provide recommendations on how to improve them. Click here to read CJJR’s press release, and here to download the full report.
Study Finds Unfair Treatment of Non-Heterosexual Youth in Schools and Justice Systems Nationwide
Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth are about 40 percent more likely than other teens to receive punishment at the hands of school authorities, police and the courts, according to a new report titled “Criminal Justice and School Sanctions against Nonheterosexual Youth: A National Longitudinal Study.” The report is co-authored by Kathryn E.W. Himmelstein and Hannah Brückner, and published in the January 2011 issue of Pediatrics. Click here to read the report, and here for a recent Washington Post article on the study’s findings.
OJJDP Releases Proposed FY 2011 Program Plan
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) released a Notice of its Proposed Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 in the January 12, Federal Register. The deadline for comments on the Proposed Plan is February 28. Comments can be submitted online or mailed to OJJDP.
Georgetown University Announces Certificate Program for Public Sector Leaders
The Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) announced its 2011 Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Public Sector Leaders, to be held in Washington, D.C., July 15-21, 2011. The program is designed to advance cross systems work to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. During this week-long program, participants will be taught by expert faculty on topics including multi-system integration, developing collaborative leadership skills, effective use of communication strategies, reducing disproportionality in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and more. Following the program, participants will develop a Capstone Project to implement systems reform in their home jurisdiction.
In order to enhance the possibility of implementing cross systems change after returning from the program, CJJR is encouraging applicants from the same jurisdiction to apply as “mini-teams.” Applications are due on March 31, 2011. Click here for more information on the program, and here to apply.
In the News
Federal Lawsuit Reveals Inhumane Conditions at Mississippi For-Profit Youth Facility
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Jackson, MS civil rights attorney Robert B. McDuff recently filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the for-profit operators of Mississippi's Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility. The lawsuit alleges “barbaric, unconstitutional conditions” and describes a culture of excessive force, abuse and exploitation perpetrated by staff against youth in their care. Click here to read SPLC’s news release. Click here to read a January 11 article from The Clarion-Ledger, reporting on testimonies given at a recent Mississippi House Juvenile Justice Committee hearing on this issue.
The New York Times Outlines Reform Challenges Ahead for New York’s New Governor
A January 6 editorial, “A Good Place to Start Cutting,” describes the challenges ahead for New York’s new governor, Andrew Cuomo, in closing expensive and unneeded upstate NY juvenile facilities. The editorial cites a December 2010 analysis (“Time’s Up for New York Prisons”), released by The Correctional Association of New York, which estimates the potential savings for the state at $220 million in the first year.
The Washington Post: Prison Reform A Smart Way to Save Money and Lives
A January 7 op-ed (“Prison reform: A smart way for states to save money and lives,” by Newt Gingrich and Pat Nolan) urges state legislators to “act with courage and creativity” and lead justice system reforms in their states -- reforms proven to cut costs while not compromising public safety. The astronomical cost of U.S. prisons to taxpayers, high rates of recidivism reported in U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics reports, and the availability of alternatives proven to be more effective, led the authors to conclude that the time has come for conservative leaders to “fundamentally rethink how we treat and rehabilitate our prisoners.”
Assessing Program Outcomes Can Be Tricky
In a recent blog post on Reclaiming Future’s blog, Jeffrey A. Butts, executive director of the Research Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, discusses the risk of statistical bias when judging a program’s effectiveness solely on pre/post comparisons of youth outcomes, such as recidivism or drug use before and after treatment.
Share Your News and Feedback with CJJ!
CJJ invites you to share news from your SAG, state or region! Please submit items by email to editor@juvjustice.org. Inclusion and editing of submissions are subject to CJJ editorial guidelines.
The Juvenile Justice e-Monitor is brought to you by staff and volunteer leaders of CJJ, and supported by membership fees paid by CJJ’s State Advisory Group Members, Members at Large and Allies. We are grateful to all for their ongoing support.
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