News
NEW MACARTHUR ACTION NETWORK TO ADDRESS LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR INDIGENT JUVENILES
Chicago, April 4, 2008 – The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which is investing $100 million in Models for Change, an initiative to support and accelerate promising models of juvenile justice reform, today announced the creation of a new national action network to help ensure young people receive the legal protections to which they are constitutionally entitled by improving the juvenile indigent defense system. The Foundation is inviting states, local jurisdictions, or organizations interested in joining to apply to become members of the new Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network.
The Network will respond to the critical need to build the capacity of the juvenile defense bar and to improve access to counsel and quality of representation for youth involved in the justice system. Assessments done in states across the country reveal serious systemic problems and deficiencies that include crippling caseloads; untimely appointment of counsel; inadequate access to experts and investigative resources; and inappropriate waiver of counsel and use of plea bargaining. This issue was selected because it is among the biggest challenges in developing a more fair and effective juvenile justice system.
“Every day, thousands of children find themselves involved in the juvenile court system unprotected,” said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton. “It has been documented in some jurisdictions that as many as 80 to 90 percent of youth waive their right to counsel. As a result, young people may proceed through hearings where serious determinations are made, without adequate access to qualified counsel, often resulting in decisions that can have unfortunate lifelong consequences. That is why MacArthur has chosen to invest heavily in this area of juvenile justice reform.”
Participating sites in the new Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network, which will be selected in June through an open application process, will work with leading national experts in the field to address the critical problems common to juvenile indigent defense systems across the country by –
• Identifying and implementing new strategies and solutions to common problems;
• Collaborating with local, state, and national partners on defining best practices;
• Building capacity for high-quality indigent defender systems that understand and support the defender's responsibilities and
ethical obligation; and
• Providing national leadership on improving juvenile indigent defense policy and practice.
The Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network will be coordinated through the National Juvenile Defender Center, a non-partisan organization created to respond to the critical need to build the capacity of the juvenile defense bar and to improve access to counsel and quality of representation for children in the justice system. States, local jurisdictions or organizations interested in applying to become members of the Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network should contact Rey Banks at the Center at rbanks@njdc.info or 202.452.0010, ext. 107. Applications must be submitted no later than June 6, 2008.
The new Network joins two existing action networks that focus on (1) reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, and (2) addressing the mental health needs of juvenile justice involved youth. MacArthur will invest up to $15 million in juvenile justice action networks, with each network receiving over $1 million a year for the next three years.
MacArthur supports the development of successful and sustainable models of juvenile justice reform through targeted investments in key states and has already committed $10 million each to reform efforts in Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Washington through its Models for Change initiative. The Foundation has invested in eight additional states by creating networks linking new states with the four core Models for Change states to promote juvenile justice reform across the country. Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas participate in the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Action Network. Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, and Wisconsin participate in the Disproportionate Minority Contact Action Network.
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About Models for Change
MacArthur’s Models for Change initiative supports a juvenile justice system that is rational, effective, and developmentally sound by creating reform models to hold young offenders accountable for their actions, provide for their rehabilitation, protect them from harm, increase their life chances, and manage the risk they pose to themselves and to public safety. The initiative seeks to develop and support replicable, system-wide change that can serve as models for reform elsewhere. More information is available at www.modelsforchange.net.
About the MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows, we work to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. With assets of $6.8 billion, the Foundation makes approximately $260 million in grants annually. More information is available at www.macfound.org. Press Contact: Jennifer Humke, 312.726.8000, jhumke@macfound.org.
CCLP HOSTS 1ST ANNUAL DMC ACTION NETWORK MEETING
The DMC Action Network held its first annual meeting in Washington, DC on October 24th and October 25th. The meeting was attended by approximately 75 people including juvenile justice advocates, defense attorneys, judges, prosecutors, community members and others working most closely to address DMC at the local level.
The DMC Action Network is a national platform designed to expand the work of state and local jurisdictions to achieve sustainable reductions in racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The Network is a component of the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change juvenile justice reform initiative, in which DMC is a targeted area of improvement.
This first annual meeting provided an opportunity for the 12 DMC Action Network sites across the country to convene and discuss the many successful DMC reduction strategies in each of the sites, and to learn from their Network counterparts and other national DMC and juvenile justice experts. The 12 Network sites include Berks County, PA; Allegheny County, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Peoria, IL; Jefferson Parish, LA; Rapides Parish, LA; Pierce County, WA; Benton and Franklin Counties, WA; Baltimore City, MD; Rock County, WI; Sedgwick County, KS; and Union County, NC.
The meeting featured a series of workshops and presentations on six strategic innovations to effectively reduce DMC, such as data-driven practices, alternative programs and diversion services, cultural competence and community responsiveness, ethnicity and language data collection, post-disposition DMC issues, and risk screening tools. Each Network site will select and implement at least one strategic innovation during Year 1 of its participation in the DMC Action Network. Presentations are available online. To access them please click here.
For more information, please contact Lisa Garry, DMC Policy Director at (202) 637-0377 ext. 103 or by e-mail at lgarry@cclp.org.
CCLP DEPLORES RACIAL ANTAGONISMS IN JENA, LOUISIANA;
ENCOURAGES PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES
Chicago, April 4, 2008 – The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which is investing $100 million in Models for Change, an initiative to support and accelerate promising models of juvenile justice reform, today announced the creation of a new national action network to help ensure young people receive the legal protections to which they are constitutionally entitled by improving the juvenile indigent defense system. The Foundation is inviting states, local jurisdictions, or organizations interested in joining to apply to become members of the new Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network.
The Network will respond to the critical need to build the capacity of the juvenile defense bar and to improve access to counsel and quality of representation for youth involved in the justice system. Assessments done in states across the country reveal serious systemic problems and deficiencies that include crippling caseloads; untimely appointment of counsel; inadequate access to experts and investigative resources; and inappropriate waiver of counsel and use of plea bargaining. This issue was selected because it is among the biggest challenges in developing a more fair and effective juvenile justice system.
“Every day, thousands of children find themselves involved in the juvenile court system unprotected,” said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton. “It has been documented in some jurisdictions that as many as 80 to 90 percent of youth waive their right to counsel. As a result, young people may proceed through hearings where serious determinations are made, without adequate access to qualified counsel, often resulting in decisions that can have unfortunate lifelong consequences. That is why MacArthur has chosen to invest heavily in this area of juvenile justice reform.”
Participating sites in the new Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network, which will be selected in June through an open application process, will work with leading national experts in the field to address the critical problems common to juvenile indigent defense systems across the country by –
• Identifying and implementing new strategies and solutions to common problems;
• Collaborating with local, state, and national partners on defining best practices;
• Building capacity for high-quality indigent defender systems that understand and support the defender's responsibilities and
ethical obligation; and
• Providing national leadership on improving juvenile indigent defense policy and practice.
The Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network will be coordinated through the National Juvenile Defender Center, a non-partisan organization created to respond to the critical need to build the capacity of the juvenile defense bar and to improve access to counsel and quality of representation for children in the justice system. States, local jurisdictions or organizations interested in applying to become members of the Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network should contact Rey Banks at the Center at rbanks@njdc.info or 202.452.0010, ext. 107. Applications must be submitted no later than June 6, 2008.
The new Network joins two existing action networks that focus on (1) reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system, and (2) addressing the mental health needs of juvenile justice involved youth. MacArthur will invest up to $15 million in juvenile justice action networks, with each network receiving over $1 million a year for the next three years.
MacArthur supports the development of successful and sustainable models of juvenile justice reform through targeted investments in key states and has already committed $10 million each to reform efforts in Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Washington through its Models for Change initiative. The Foundation has invested in eight additional states by creating networks linking new states with the four core Models for Change states to promote juvenile justice reform across the country. Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas participate in the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Action Network. Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, and Wisconsin participate in the Disproportionate Minority Contact Action Network.
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About Models for Change
MacArthur’s Models for Change initiative supports a juvenile justice system that is rational, effective, and developmentally sound by creating reform models to hold young offenders accountable for their actions, provide for their rehabilitation, protect them from harm, increase their life chances, and manage the risk they pose to themselves and to public safety. The initiative seeks to develop and support replicable, system-wide change that can serve as models for reform elsewhere. More information is available at www.modelsforchange.net.
About the MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows, we work to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society. With assets of $6.8 billion, the Foundation makes approximately $260 million in grants annually. More information is available at www.macfound.org. Press Contact: Jennifer Humke, 312.726.8000, jhumke@macfound.org.
CCLP HOSTS 1ST ANNUAL DMC ACTION NETWORK MEETING
The DMC Action Network held its first annual meeting in Washington, DC on October 24th and October 25th. The meeting was attended by approximately 75 people including juvenile justice advocates, defense attorneys, judges, prosecutors, community members and others working most closely to address DMC at the local level.
The DMC Action Network is a national platform designed to expand the work of state and local jurisdictions to achieve sustainable reductions in racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The Network is a component of the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change juvenile justice reform initiative, in which DMC is a targeted area of improvement.
This first annual meeting provided an opportunity for the 12 DMC Action Network sites across the country to convene and discuss the many successful DMC reduction strategies in each of the sites, and to learn from their Network counterparts and other national DMC and juvenile justice experts. The 12 Network sites include Berks County, PA; Allegheny County, PA; Philadelphia, PA; Peoria, IL; Jefferson Parish, LA; Rapides Parish, LA; Pierce County, WA; Benton and Franklin Counties, WA; Baltimore City, MD; Rock County, WI; Sedgwick County, KS; and Union County, NC.
The meeting featured a series of workshops and presentations on six strategic innovations to effectively reduce DMC, such as data-driven practices, alternative programs and diversion services, cultural competence and community responsiveness, ethnicity and language data collection, post-disposition DMC issues, and risk screening tools. Each Network site will select and implement at least one strategic innovation during Year 1 of its participation in the DMC Action Network. Presentations are available online. To access them please click here.
For more information, please contact Lisa Garry, DMC Policy Director at (202) 637-0377 ext. 103 or by e-mail at lgarry@cclp.org.
CCLP DEPLORES RACIAL ANTAGONISMS IN JENA, LOUISIANA;
ENCOURAGES PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND COMMUNITIES TO ADDRESS RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES
The Center for Children’s Law and Policy deplores the racial polarization in the justice system in Jena, Louisiana. CCLP urges all parties there, and communities across the country, to provide fair and effective treatment for all youth who have contact with the juvenile justice and adult criminal systems.
The news media have extensively reported on the developments in Jena. While there are conflicting reports on some events, several points are clear. There have been significant racial tensions at Jena High School for some time, including threats and physical confrontations between white and African-American students. On September 1, 2006, some white students hung several nooses – symbols of racism, lynching, and the Jim Crow era – from a tree in front of Jena High School. The students received three-day suspensions from school.
Tensions increased and there were additional threats and confrontations. African- American students held a peaceful protest under the tree. On September 6, 2006, parish district attorney J. Reed Walters appeared at a school assembly to discuss the situation, but his statements exacerbated racial tensions. A white student reportedly broke a beer bottle over the head of an African-American student at an off-campus party. Several months later the white student was charged with misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to probation.
On December 4, 2006, six African-American students allegedly assaulted a white student, Justin Barker. Five of the students were initially charged with attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy. The prosecutor charged one as a juvenile because he was 14 years old at the time. One of the students, Mychal Bell, had a trial in criminal court before an all-white jury. On the first day of trial, District Attorney Walters reduced the charges to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated second degree battery. The charge of aggravated battery requires the use of a “deadly weapon.” Walters argued that the tennis shoes that Bell wore when he allegedly kicked Barker were “deadly weapons.” Bell’s public defender did not call any witnesses. Bell was convicted on both counts. Bell appealed and the Third District Court vacated the convictions on the ground that the District Attorney should not have charged Bell as an adult on the charge of aggravated second-degree battery. Bell was incarcerated in the county jail for months until he was released on bail. The other students have not yet gone to trial.
The Center for Children’s Law and Policy works around the country to reduce disparate treatment affecting youth of color in the justice system. National research demonstrates that in many jurisdictions, youth of color receive harsher treatment than white youth at key points throughout the justice system, even when charged with the same category of offenses. This disparate treatment of youth of color, particularly African-American and Latino males, typically increases at each juvenile justice decision point, including admission to secure detention, formal charging, adjudication, commitment, and out-of-home placement. Disparities in the administration of justice for youth of color can trigger and exacerbate achievement gaps in academics, job skills and employment development, and other key areas of youth development.
Justice systems should be fair and effective. Fair and effective justice systems acknowledge the differences in maturity and behavior between juveniles and adults. They hold youth appropriately accountable for their misbehavior. They provide sanctions that are proportionate to the seriousness of the offense, and rehabilitative treatment when needed. And they provide equal justice regardless of whether youth are black or white. The justice system in Jena fell far short of these principles.
CCLP works closely with leading foundations and nonprofit organizations to reduce the negative impact of race and ethnicity in the justice system, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, through its Models for Change initiative; the Annie E. Casey Foundation, through its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative; the W. Haywood Burns Institute; the National Council of La Raza; and many others. Our core mission is to promote reforms in juvenile justice toward greater equity, effectiveness, and improved life outcomes for youth, regardless of race or ethnicity.
We at CCLP encourage those who are outraged by the events in Jena not only to seek reform of the discrimination and misguided decision-making that have occurred there, but also to examine their own justice systems for evidence of racial and ethnic disparities. We and the above-listed organizations welcome inquiries and requests for assistance in such pursuits.
For more information regarding CCLP or this statement, please contact info@cclp.org.