In an Op-ed published recently, juvenile justice-involved teenagers were referred to as “enterprising and energetic, wild and out of control.” While you’d expect to hear that from a member of Jeff Sessions’ Department of Justice, this came from Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane in the Hartford Courant.
juvenile justice
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A new approach to Connecticut juvenile justice — with better results
At any given time many children are in the care of Connecticut’s juvenile justice system. Everyone agrees their personal stories are troublesome, but it is also important to understand each story can be turned in a more positive direction if we as adults commit to helping each child based on their individual needs. This is the premise behind a series of recommendations the Children’s League of Connecticut (CLOC) has presented to the state Department of Children and Families(DCF), legislators and other policy-makers.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut getting smart on juvenile justice
You don’t teach trigonometry to third graders or spend time helping high school sophomores learn their colors. Educators have always understood that curriculum needs to be appropriate to the student’s development. If the juvenile justice system aims to teach better ways of interacting with the world, the system needs to be built around developmental stages, as several initiatives in Connecticut propose.
Posted inJustice
Malloy’s new pitch for bail and juvenile justice reforms
A year after legislators rebuffed him, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is back with revised versions of proposals that would reform Connecticut’s bail system and expand the jurisdiction of its juvenile courts, issues that have edged closer to the mainstream of criminal-justice thinking in the U.S.
Posted inEducation, Justice
DCF pivots to a new strategy to keep juveniles out of jail
The new strategy aims to keep youths – unless they are deemed a risk to the public – out of juvenile jail and in a less-restrictive group home or with their families, with appropriate support services.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Is this justice for Aymir Holland?
Nearly all of the ways that the judicial system serves justice are unfair, and it is the poor, underprivileged citizens who are suffering.
According to NAACP.org, “African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million people incarcerated population. African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites.” Seeing those statistics, I can’t help assume that the justice system seems to have a bias that black people are all the same: that they’re all agitators of civilization. This bias isn’t the truth and is displayed by many African Americans including 17-year-old Aymir Holland.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Restore a common sense plan to Connecticut Juvenile Justice
The CTMirror story Juvenile Justice in CT: “What’s left after all the cuts” rings loudly in the ears of those of us working in the deep end of the system. The Connecticut Juvenile Training School, and the Walter G. Cady School educational component have been forced to operate with insufficient programming for the youth both within and outside the facility.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Time for adult responsibility at Connecticut Juvenile Training School
At the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS), workers compensation claims are soaring, mostly because staff is frequently injured putting youth in physical restraints. The Department of Children and Families and union officials told The Connecticut Mirror that restraints are necessary because youth at the facility are so difficult. They point to recent policies that removed many young people from CJTS, leaving only the most challenging youth at the facility. This reaction is disturbing on several levels and underlines the need to work toward closing CJTS.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Better outcomes in CT juvenile justice — and potentially savings, too
With the state’s new fiscal reality as background, the Children’s League of Connecticut has offered a number of policy based solutions meant to improve the quality of life for youth and families served by the Connecticut juvenile justice system. In many cases these concepts will result in lower costs to taxpayers and in all cases we believe our suggestions will result in better outcomes for youth and their families — which should be everyone’s goal.
Posted inJustice
At CT’s juvenile jail, a spike in staff injuries
Updated at 7:30 a.m.
The number of youth incarcerated at the state’s controversial jail for juvenile offenders may have reached a record low, but the number of staff being injured in assaults or while physically restraining residents has shot up.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Legislative witnesses hold forth on how old a juvenile should be
After stalling out during the regular legislative season, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposal for a Second Chance Society is awaiting action by the General Assembly later this week. Among other things, the governor asked for the elimination of bail bonds for misdemeanor offenses and that 18- to 20-years be tried as juveniles — an idea that engendered both support and opposition. The governor has now dropped the age adjustment idea as a political compromise, but a long list of witnesses provided testimony both for and against the idea during a Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this year. Here are some excerpts from witnesses on the age issue and the bail legislation as well:
Posted inJustice, Politics
Malloy zings GOP on bail reform, gets counter from Fasano
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut leader of the NAACP pushed back Monday at Republican opposition to Malloy’s proposed bail reforms, casting them as an overdue blow for racial and economic equality. One GOP leader said Malloy was playing the race card, while another made a counter offer.
Posted inJustice
Malloy launches a last try for ‘Second Chance 2.0’ in 2016
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stepped up efforts Monday to promote bail and juvenile justice reforms that the administration is struggling to pass in special session, while House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, warned that Malloy still needs to win over House members.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Juvenile justice reform in CT: 5 things to know
A tidal wave of change is headed for the state’s juvenile justice system. Here are 5 things to know about the coming changes.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
CJTS teachers lament ‘inhumanity’ of sudden staff layoffs
The following are three statements made by Connecticut Juvenile Training School employees at last week’s press conference following layoffs of about one third the staff at the facility.