The Impact of Juvenile Justice System Involvement on the Health and Well-Being of Youth, Families, and Communities of Color Proceedings of a Workshop (2022) / Chapter Skim
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5 Alternatives to Juvenile Detention
5 Alternatives to Juvenile Detention
Pages 43-52
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From page 43... ...
• Tribal justice programs provide an alternative to traditional probation and social service departments, enabling children to stay in communities and out of detention. (Blake)
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From page 44... ...
"I knew how much it meant to my mom that I do well in school, so I was pretty depressed by that." Within 2 weeks of Frankie's expulsion, a friend asked him to help rob a liquor store and he eventually agreed -- "I very much valued my relationships with my friends as brothers." They were caught and sent to juvenile hall for 8 months, after which Guzman was given a 15-year sentence and committed to the youth authority on his first offense. "I've never received an alternative to detention, and never received probation services.
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From page 45... ...
' And that never happened." He went to UCLA School of Law and graduated with a specialization in public interest law and policy. Since then, as a juvenile justice attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, he has worked with the governor to abolish direct file, so prosecutors no longer have the authority to charge children as adults, and now must seek permission from the juvenile court.
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From page 46... ...
In addition, California has allocated $60 million in state funds for pre-arrest diversion programs around the state to give police officers alternatives to the juvenile justice system. "What we need to do is empower communities to do what they have always been able to do until very recently, which is be a community for their own children." SYSTEMIC REFORMS Incarcerating children is immoral and unethical, Guzman said, and it is particularly immoral to incarcerate and punish children in the adult system, which offers very little in the way of developmentally appropriate services.
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From page 47... ...
. and try to bring health and healing to system-impacted communities." AVOIDING INVOLVEMENT WITH THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM Richard Blake, member and chief judge of the Hoopa Valley Tribe1 and contractual chief judge for the Redding Rancheria and Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation Tribal Courts, provided a perspective on the assets of Indian country and how Indian people have worked to make sure that their youth have an opportunity to thrive.
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From page 48... ...
Furthermore, Native American youth from his Yurok community were staying in custody in Humboldt County an average of 7.8 percent longer than any children regardless of race, adding that "we needed to find out ways that we were going to be able to help address this issue." One avenue Blake has particularly explored is alternatives to detention, beginning with diversion at the law enforcement level to keep children out of the juvenile justice system. He also has been involved in the establishment of the California Tribal State Forum, which consists of state and tribal court judges who work with each other to overcome roadblocks to progress.
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From page 49... ...
. My challenge to each of you is to be that champion in your community for these youth, to continue to fight for them, to keep them out of these detention facilities, because it is our responsibility as leaders in our community to make certain that we do everything we can for their future." INVOLVING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS In response to a question about the consequences of involvement with the juvenile justice system, Guzman noted that the system often involves fear but not healing.
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From page 50... ...
Health care professionals should not defer to people who know relatively little about health and public health. "A healthy community doesn't commit crimes, it doesn't hurt each other, but a wounded community does." The greatest harms he has experienced in his life have been at the hands of public safety actors, he said.
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From page 51... ...
ALTERNATIVES TO JUVENILE DETENTION 51 mended a placement for a child in part because a home investigation found that the child shared a bed with a sibling, but sharing beds is "pretty routine for tribal communities." His responsibility, he said, is to "be an educator to my counterparts, to those other people, so that we're able to show them that our tradition may not look like yours, but it works for us."
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