JDAI Gathers for 16th Inter-Site Conference
More than 500 juvenile detention reformers gathered in Indianapolis, Ind., for the 16th annual JDAI inter-site conference, marking the largest assembly yet of juvenile justice professionals committed to building a better juvenile detention system.
“I have attended every conference since the beginning of JDAI, and I thought this conference was the best,” said William Siffermann, chief probation officer in San Francisco, Calif. “The composition of the workshops was rich in content and presentation. The speakers were terrific.”
“I was with an Iowa delegation attending our very first conference,” said Arthur Gamble, chief judge of Iowa’s 5th Judicial District. “The inter-site conference taught us that we are not alone as we attempt to tackle these difficult issues. The conference inspired us to work together to try and do better by our youth.”
The local Indianapolis JDAI site not only hosted the event – working tirelessly to ensure a successful meeting – but showcased its detention reform successes during a plenary panel that opened the conference.
Marilyn Moores, the presiding judge in Marion County, and Gary Chavers, the chief magistrate in Marion County Superior Court, described how Indianapolis was a system at risk, facing federal intervention primarily due to deplorable conditions of confinement.
But in less than three years, their team reduced detention admissions by 60 percent, cut probation violations by 25 percent and shrunk the average daily population of the local detention center by 40 percent.
The conference also featured 79 workshops – covering such topics as the fundamentals of JDAI; racial and ethnic disparities; and innovative strategies for targeted populations – and a host of prominent speakers. (For your review, the conference agenda, workshop descriptions and related PowerPoint presentations are posted on the JDAI Help Desk.)
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| Father Greg Boyle, S.J. |
In his annual address, Bart Lubow, director of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s programs for high-risk youth, outlined the state of the initiative in 2008 and detailed his plans for the future. Read the speech here.
The Rev. Greg Boyle, executive director of Homeboy Industries and nationally renowned for his innovative work with gangs and youth employment programs, implored his audience to respect and honor the needs of young people in the juvenile justice system. His stories about gang members in his Los Angeles parish elicited both laughter and tears.
Former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, chief architect and primary sponsor of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, provided inspiration, memories and hope in a speech to a luncheon crowd.
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| Gail D. Mumford, senior associate at the Casey Foundation; Bart Lubow, director of programs for high-risk youth at the Casey Foundation; Birch Evans Bayh II, former U.S. senator from Indiana; and Gael Deppert, JDAI coordinator for Indianapolis. |
In her rousing introduction of Bayh, Indianapolis JDAI coordinator Gael Deppart brought juvenile justice professionals to their feet as she recited the protections and mandates contained in the only federal juvenile justice legislation.
“We are living, breathing manifestations of the life work of our special guest, visible symbols of the legacy of this extraordinary man,” Deppart said.
Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, a national research institute advancing economic and social equity, urged listeners to ensure that questions of equity receive the highest priority in addressing major policy issues like juvenile justice.
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| Angela Blackwell |
“There is a crisis engulfing millions of young men and boys of color,” Blackwell said. “Too many African Americans, Latinos and Asians are starting out life at a tremendous disadvantage.”
Each year JDAI honors the special contributions made by community organizations to the detention reform movement.
In recognition of its Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, Mississippi Youth Justice Project, Alabama Youth Justice Coalition and yet-to-be-named counterpart in Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center received the 2008 Gloria J. Jenkins Award.
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| Rhonda Brownstein, Legal Director, Southern Poverty Law Center |
The award is named for the one-time leader of the Westside Association for Community Action in Chicago, Ill. Until her death in 2006, Gloria epitomized the powerful efforts routinely made by often unheralded community organizations and community activists.
“I know that JDAI would not have the presence in the deep south that it now has without the leadership and efforts of SPLC and these state-based juvenile justice reform organizations,” Lubow said.
“And I have every reason to believe that the notorious Tallullah Youth Corrections Center would still be open in Louisiana, that girls would still be shackled to their beds in a dangerous and unnecessary training school in Mississippi, and that Alabama’s youth corrections system would still be overflowing with low-risk youth were it not for these community-based organizing and advocacy projects.”
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| Dr. William Barton, School of Social Work, Indiana University |
A second award, named for Natalie Bimel and given each year to an outstanding community leader, was presented to Dr. William Barton, professor at Indiana University’s School of Social Work.
For three decades until her death in 2002, Natalie was a criminal justice reformer. In addition to directing the JDAI documentary These are Our Kids, she established a number of highly regarded community programs that served to reduce reliance on incarceration and to help former prisoners successfully transition to community life.
Working as a volunteer, Barton brought his many years of experience with detention reform to bear in Indianapolis, providing technical assistance in the design and testing of a new risk-assessment instrument and the tracking of the instrument’s results.
Barton’s work not only resulted in reductions in the number of youth in secure detention and the closing of two detention units, Moores said.
“Because of Bill, we came to see – at the start of our efforts – that we could redesign a system which protected public safety and which was more fair and less discriminatory,” she said. “Whatever cost might be attached to technical assistance and data analyses he has donated, the inspiration he has given us is priceless.”
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