DMC and DSO are Priorities for GA

By |

Disproportionate minority contact and detention of status offenders are the core issues for Georgia’s juvenile justice system, according to Joseph Vignati, Justice Programs Coordinator at the Governor’s Office for Children and Families.  Vignati will testify at a hearing on reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in Washington D.C. this week.  He speaks with a loud voice, because he’s also the National Juvenile Justice Specialist for the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, representing 56 states and territories. Vignati says the JJDP Act requires states to focus on four core issues:

Removing juvenile offenders from adult jails
Separating juveniles from adults if they are held in the same lockup
Disproportionate minority contact
Minimizing the detention of status offenders

He believes the first two issues are less significant now than they were 20 years ago, because Georgia and other states have laws against housing children with adults, and separate detention centers for kids.  Vignati points out, “In FY 2009 we had only 23 juveniles locked up as adults across the state, and 20 of them lied about their age.

Hall Co.Targets At-Risk Kids

By |

A multi-agency program focused on reading, self esteem and leadership skills for high school students is in the works in Hall County.  Juvenile Court, the Local Interagency Planning Team and the Family Connection Network are working with community groups to create the Hall System of Care. The free program will target juvenile offenders, truants, teen parents, foster children and other kids considered at-risk.  Funding is coming from a $94,317 grant from the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. Read more here.

Georgia Race Statistic

By |

Black teenagers who get arrested are 5.5 times more likely than white teenagers to end up in adult courts in Georgia. They are also 2.3 times more likely to be arrested. These numbers are compiled by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families which monitors disproportionate minority contact. The latest statistics available are from 2007. www.children.georgia.gov