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JUVENILE
JUSTICE
MAGIC
believes that the juvenile justice system has a larger obligation to
youth, their families and the community than simply punishing illegal
behavior. Arrest and juvenile
detention are often life-changing experiences, which stigmatize and harden a
young person, limiting future education and job opportunities and imposing
increased future costs to the community. MAGIC supports and will advocate
for effective juvenile justice outcomes that avoid detention and rely
heavily upon community-based diversion programs.
Young people caught up in the juvenile justice system must receive
the highest quality legal representation, social support and intervention at
the earliest stages of the court proceedings.
Community-based intervention services, opportunity, rehabilitation and
education (C.O.R.E.) are the four cornerstones of any responsive juvenile
justice process, and especially in Bayview Hunters Point, where nearly
one-third of the juvenile law violations and 20% of the total Juvenile Hall
detention referrals in San Francisco originate.
We know from experience, in San Francisco and in cities nationwide,
of specific juvenile strategies that have been widely successful:
Intake/Referral
·
Where
the child and the family agree to seek counseling, a case should be referred
to the Community Assessment Referral Center (CARC), and diverted from the
juvenile justice system prior to filing.
·
Aggressive
representation is also needed to divert appropriate cases out of the
juvenile justice system, to mental health, education or voluntary probation
options.
·
Youth
should be directed, as early as possible, to effective neighborhood-based
services, including wraparound services through multiple agencies, and
participation in community alternative dispute resolution and mediation.
·
Referrals
should be made to neighborhood-based agencies as available, with sensitivity
to "turf and territorial" issues based on information from youth,
community, agency and other information sources.
·
Referrals
should include and involve families, with services and progress monitored
over time to address issues of family dynamics and, ultimately, to
stabilize, preserve and strengthen families.
·
Quality
placement services are critical for minors who lack safe and stable living
conditions;
·
Youth
who have been victimized should have ready access to treatment and support
from appropriate agencies and services;
Longer
Term Policy
·
School
officials should refer appropriate cases within their jurisdiction to
in-house youth counselors who have an established trust relationship with
the student, or to community-based intervention services where available,
instead of turning first to a law enforcement solution.
·
Probation
officials, social service agencies and the San Francisco Unified School
District must cooperate in providing safety transfers from specific schools
in order to protect youth and public safety when necessary;
·
A
special youth advocate for girls is vital and must be retained, to work with
young women upon initial entry at Youth Guidance Center and provide
intensive case plan and supervision throughout the probation period.
·
In
some instances, dedicated neighborhood youth advocates can be valuable as a
first contact with youth from a particular community such as BVHP, who are
at risk of entering or already in the juvenile justice system, to identify
and assess child and family needs; develop release and case treatment plans;
connect the youth with culturally sensitive and community-based agencies as
part of individual treatment plans; and monitor treatment from pre- to
post-adjudication and if necessary, throughout the period of probation;
Follow-up
·
Develop
family re-unification, emancipation and after-care plans upon graduation
from out-of-home placements, Log Cabin Ranch School, and termination of
wardship.
·
Establish
a re-entry program to assist youth who are returning to the community from
incarceration at the Youth Guidance Center, Log Cabin Ranch or the
California Youth Authority.
·
Help
minors to expedite sealing of juvenile records after they have successfully
completed probation in securing felony charge reductions, and expand the Clean Slate Program in Bayview Hunters Point to
include sealing of juvenile records, so youth can apply for jobs, the
military and Job Corps.
·
Enlist
stakeholder support in helping the Juvenile Detention Alternatives
Initiative (JDAI) collect and monitor accurate, current data on the number
of youths arrested and detained, ethnic backgrounds, gender, schools, ages,
neighborhoods and referring agencies;
·
Support
ongoing collaboration between the Trial Courts, Juvenile Probation
Department and the Public Defender Squires Program, which holds one-day
workshops where youth share experiences with San Quentin prisoners serving
life sentences; and explore opportunities for a similar community based
program working with ex-felons.
Identifying
problems early, connecting with youth and their families to build a
relationship of trust, and diverting appropriate cases to wraparound
services offering important public benefits – recovered lives, stronger
families, better schools and reductions in crime, all at reduced economic
and social costs to the community.
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