Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/rob-rosenbloom/)
Last night a cross section of The Georgia Juvenile Service Association’s (GJSA) Life Members and long-time professionals flooded the 15th floor of the Desoto Hilton for a Blast from the Past social.
In a room swimming with decades of knowledge, JJIE wanted to know how, and if, the juvenile system in Georgia has improved through the years.
Thanks to a new Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) policy overcrowding is no longer an option in Georgia’s Regional Youth Development Centers (RYDCs). There are concerns, however, that the mandate to maintain a smaller number of kids in facilities could potentially become an expensive logistical nightmare for law enforcement. Now when RYDCs reach the new lowered population levels, law enforcement officers are required to drive the juveniles to the nearest available facility – whether it’s 10 or 100 miles away. “Concerns have been raised that there are going to be longer trips and it’s going to cost more to move kids from one center to the other and to transport them to court, “ said Rob Rosenbloom, DJJ Deputy Commissioner. “It’s a legitimate concern, but our hands are tied due to budget constraints.
It was a chance meeting, but highly impactful. Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Commissioner Garland Hunt struck up what he expected to be a casual conversation on an elevator Tuesday. It turns out the man alongside him worked as a prosecutor in the state and had a lot to say to the newly appointed DJJ chief. “He told me that ‘I know you all want to help out the (incarcerated) kids, but I get to see the victims every day,” says Hunt, who took his post in May. “Don’t forget the victims too.’ I think it was great for me to have that conversation; to be reminded of that fact and to keep that in the forefront of my mind as I make decisions every day.”
Such dialogue – and more importantly creating an opportunity for representatives from various agencies across the state to communicate and collaborate formally and informally – was at the heart of a Juvenile Justice Forum held this week at the Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford.