On Monday July 9, 2012 I co-presented with my colleague Gerald Miller on criminal justice policy and reform efforts to a group of college students from throughout Northern California. The students were participating in the Bay Area Urban Project , a 6‑week urban immersion program that explores the major issues affecting lower-income communities in cities through a theological lens. The students in this program study immigration policy, education disparities, human trafficking, and other…
Last month, members of CJCJ’s Wraparound team had the honor of presenting to juvenile justice leaders from select California counties at the Sierra Health Foundation’s Positive Youth Justice Initiative (PYJI) Speaker Series. Juvenile Justice Clinical Supervisor, Margaret Hitchcock and Wrap Rehabilitation Counselor, Randell Lewis, were joined by CJCJ’s Executive Director, Daniel Macallair, San Francisco Deputy Director of Juvenile Probation, Allison Magee, and Statewide expert on EPSDT and…
Just days after the deadline, the Governor signed the $92 billion 2012 – 13 California budget into law on June 27th. The budget includes some of the most significant reforms in state juvenile justice policy since the passage of Senate Bill 81 in 2007. In his May 14th revised budget proposal, Governor Brown had retracted his plan to close the state’s youth correctional facilities, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF), under intense and well-coordinated law enforcement and county pressure. …
Blog Jul 3, 2012
Slavery’s legacy alive and well in Louisiana
Douglas Blackmon’s best-selling book Slavery by Another Name dispels one myth after another as he reveals the continuing of a system of slavery under a different name: convict leasing. This was a system whereby former black slaves were routinely rounded up on minor charges (or no charges at all) like vagrancy, placed in local county or town jails, brought to court and fined a small amount ($25 or $50). Since they could not pay the money (as they were too poor and were traveling from town to…
Blog Jun 29, 2012
No cookie cutter approach for justice-involved youth
The Sierra Health Foundation (SHF) in partnership with The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) and The California Endowment (TCE) has launched the first of its kind statewide Positive Youth Justice Initiative (PYJI). SHF is offering various invited counties throughout California the opportunity to collaboratively improve upon or develop wraparound services for cross-over youth, utilizing strengths-based approaches with an emphasis on trauma-informed care. SHF will provide awarded counties…