In this issue:
- Cameo House upgrade project will bring CJCJ programs together
- New CJCJ Fact Sheet finds local juvenile facilities can absorb state system
- CJCJ youth joins peers for San Francisco’s Youth Advocacy Day at City Hall
Cameo House upgrade project will bring CJCJ programs together
CJCJ transitions into a permanent home in San Francisco’s Mission District in order to continue providing community-based direct services.
CJCJ Program Directors together in the Cameo House backyard.
CJCJ’s direct service and policy programs are currently divided across multiple office locations. As an agency that thrives in its ability to collaborate across programs, this can pose challenges as we plan and implement vital community supports.
This spring, CJCJ’s Cameo House is being upgraded to become a centralized location in which direct service and policy staff members can come together! Cameo House, which is in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, will provide a permanent, sustainable home to CJCJ programs and allow for us to reinvest rent expenses directly into our services for clients.
CJCJ’s team is working together to meet the diverse needs of its clients and programs by renovating Cameo House’s basement into an office space, and upgrading the resident families’ backyard. We invite you to make a donation to support CJCJ’s transition to Cameo House today.
Donate today to support CJCJ’s new home »
New CJCJ fact sheet finds local juvenile facilities can absorb state system
CJCJ finds that California’s county-level juvenile facilities, running at only 35 percent capacity, could accommodate all youth confined in state-run facilities.
A new fact sheet authored by CJCJ Policy Analyst, Maureen Washburn, investigates the use of juvenile facilities by California’s 58 counties. Youth arrests have declined across the state since 2007, reaching record-setting lows each year. These declines have been accompanied by declining rates of youth confinement at both the state- and county-level.
The fact sheet finds that while California’s confined youth population has declined by 73 percent, the capacity of county-run juvenile facilities has grown by 14 percent, over the past eighteen years. This has left approximately 8,200 empty beds in county-run juvenile facilities.
Additionally, counties’ juvenile facilities are operating at just 35 percent of their design capacity, and state juvenile facilities run by California’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) are running at 36 percent. Ultimately, available bed space at county-level facilities is enough to absorb more than 13 times the number of youth at DJJ. California can safely reduce the number of youth sent far away from home to DJJ facilities by returning youth to local juvenile halls, camps, and ranches for rehabilitation.
Learn more about CJCJ’s Policy Analysis »
CJCJ youth joins peers for San Francisco’s Youth Advocacy Day at City Hall
Youth involved in CJCJ’s Detention Diversion Advocacy Program makes their voice heard by city officials as part of this historic day of civic engagement.
Youth participates in justice panel | Trang Nguyen
The San Francisco Youth Empowerment Fund hosted its 9th-annual Youth Advocacy Day last week. A young woman involved in CJCJ’s Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP) joined her peers in this youth-led effort for civic engagement. Youth who took part in this inspiring experience joined together to make their voices heard at San Francisco’s City Hall.
Hundreds of young San Franciscans turned out for the event, where they participated in youth-led workshops and a resource fair to connect youth to services and opportunities throughout the city. Further, youth met directly with city officials to discuss their ideas, concerns, and questions about important issues ranging from housing to education.
Civic engagement is particularly empowering for youth who have experienced justice-involvement like those served through DDAP. By connecting with peers and using their voices to influence their communities, justice-involved young people can build their confidence by learning new skills and recognizing their assets.
Find out more about CJCJ’s youth services »
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