Transformative Justice

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Eradicating Juvenile Delinquency

Requires a Multi-Disciplinary Approach

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The Justice system is incredibly overloaded, and Solutions-Based programs are woefully underfunded.  Many people, therefore, both young and adult, particularly people of color, often get the “swift” version of justice whenever they come into contact with the law.

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Projections for building prison facilities are often based on elementary school test results, and our country incarcerates more of its young than any other nation on earth.  So we at the Foundation labor to pull our young people out of the “school to prison” pipeline, and we then coordinate the efforts of the legal, psychological, governmental and educational professionals needed to bring an end to delinquency.

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We also educate families, police, local businesses, elected officials, clergy, schools and other stakeholders about transforming whole communities, and we labor to change their thinking about the causes of delinquency with the goal of helping them embrace the idea of restoration for the young people in our care who demonstrate repentance for their mistakes.

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The way we accomplish this is a follows:

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1.         We vigorously advocate for charges reductions wherever possible in the adjudicatory (court) process, with the ultimate goal of             expungement or pardon in order to maximize the chances for our clients to graduate high school and progress into college,                 military service or the workforce without the stigma of a prison record;

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2.         We then enroll each young person into an Evidence-Based, Data-Driven Restorative Justice program designed to facilitate                   their rehabilitation and subsequent reintegration back into their home communities;

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3.         While those projects are operating, we conduct a wide variety of ComeUnity-ReEngineering seminars and workshops on                       topics ranging from Juvenile Justice to Parental Rights, to Domestic issues to Police friendly contacts, to CBO and FBO                       accountability and compliance;

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4.         Throughout the process, we encourage and maintain frequent personal contact between all parties;

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5.         Throughout the process we conduct a continuum of events and fundraisers designed to facilitate collaboration among                          professionals and community stakeholders; and finally

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6.        We disseminate Quarterly publications, like our e-Advocate series Newsletter and our e-Advocate Quarterly electronic                          Magazine to all monthly donors in order to facilitate a lifelong learning process on the ever-evolving developments in the                      Justice system.

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And in addition to the help we provide for our young clients and their families, we also facilitate Community Engagement through the Restorative Justice process, thereby balancing the interesrs of local businesses, schools, clergy, elected officials, police, and all interested stakeholders. Through these efforts, relationships are rebuilt & strengthened, local businesses and communities are enhanced & protected from victimization, young careers are developed, and our precious young people are kept out of the prison pipeline. [1]

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This is a massive undertaking, and we need all the help and financial support you can give! We are seeking to help 75 young persons per quarter-year (a total of 250 per year) in each jurisdiction we serve) at an average cost of under $2,500 per client, per year.*

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Thank you in advance for your support!

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 * FYI:

 

1.         The national average cost to taxpayers for minimum-security youth incarceration, is around $43,000.00 per child, per year. 

 

2.         The average annual cost to taxpayers for maximum-security youth incarceration is well over $148,000.00 per child, per year.

                     

- (US News and World Report, December 9, 2014)

 

3.         In every jurisdiction in the nation, the Plea Bargain rate is above 99%.

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The Judicial system engages in a tri-partite balancing task in every single one of these matters, seeking to balance Rehabilitative Justice with Community Protection and Judicial Economy, and, although the practitioners work very hard to achieve positive outcomes, the scales are nowhere near balanced where people of color are involved.

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We must reverse this trend, which is right now working very much against the best interests of our young.

Our young people do not belong behind bars.

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     - Jack Johnson

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          [1] In addition to supporting our world-class programming and support services, all monthly donors receive our Quarterly e-Newsletter (The e-Advocate),

            as well as The e-Advocate Quarterly Magazine.

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