Dear Community Leader,
As a key leader in our community, we are
inviting you to participate in a community dialogue on [insert date,
time, and location] about how Latino and Latina youth are treated in the
juvenile justice system.
This dialogue is part of a national effort to
eliminate the disparate treatment of Latino and Latina youth in the
justice system. According to a new report, “¿Dónde Está La Justicia?”
released by the Building Blocks for Youth initiative, a national
project led by the Youth Law Center to promote a fair and effective
youth justice system, Latino and Latina youth are incarcerated at higher
rates, receive longer sentences and harsher treatment than white youth
even when charged with the same types of offenses. Current data means
for collecting and assessing data are inadequate, resulting in
under-counting and inaccuracies in reporting disproportionate
representation and disparate treatment of Latino and Latina youth in the
U.S justice system. The system fails to provide adequate bilingual
services to Latino and Latina youth and fails to ensure cultural
competency of staff working with Latino and Latina youth in the system.
Consideration of the immigration status of Latino and Latina youth
results in incarceration, deportation and permanent separation from
families. Anti-gang laws result in harsh and unfair consequences for
Latino and Latina youth.
As you may be aware, our program provides
critical services and support to Latino and Latina youth in our
community and assists them in achieving their goals. To increase our
capacity to address the needs of Latino and Latina youth outlined in
this report, we would like to invite you to meet and talk with the youth
we serve and to dialogue with us on how we can work together to
eliminate disparate treatment of Latino and Latina youth in the justice
system; to improve services to Latino and Latina youth; and to increase
our community’s involvement, resources, and assets to support Latino
and Latina youth in the juvenile justice system.
In preparation for this event, we’ve enclosed
a copy of the report, “¿Dónde Está La Justicia?” and a brochure
about our program for your consideration. We will be in touch with you
shortly to follow-up on any questions that you may have and to confirm
your participation. In the meantime, we can be reached at [insert your
phone number].
Thank you for your time and attention. Together,
we can end the disparate treatment of Latino and Latina youth by the
justice system in our community.
Sincerely,
