Georgetown Law: The Intersection of Juvenile Justice and Poverty

The Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, American Constitution Society for Law & Policy, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, Georgetown University, and Georgetown Law Center Juvenile Justice Clinic will present a symposium: The Intersection of Juvenile Justice and Poverty, Thursday, March 26, 2009, from 1:00 – 5:30 pm with a reception to follow.

It is widely recognized that the conditions of poverty affecting many children across the United States are a significant factor in juvenile offending, but there has been little scholarship on the ways that juvenile justice and poverty interrelate.  On March 26, 2009, the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy, the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University, and the Georgetown Law Center Juvenile Justice Clinic are co-sponsoring a symposium that explores this theme from several angles.  Three panels and a keynote address will examine how the social factors that often accompany low socio-economic status can fuel patterns of offending and reoffending, how youth with different levels of wealth frequently have very different experiences within the juvenile justice system, and what strategies can be employed both within and outside the juvenile justice system to break the cycle of offending and poverty.  The symposium will feature presentations by the authors of forthcoming articles that will be published in the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, as well as discussion among these authors and other experts on various dimensions of the intersection of juvenile justice and poverty.

Agenda:

1:00 pm  Opening Remarks - Peter Edelman, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center

1:15 pm Keynote Address:  “The Paradox of Juvenile Justice and Poverty” Robert Schwartz, Exec. Dir., Juvenile Law Ctr

1:45 - 3:00 pm   Panel One: Supports for At-Risk Youth:  Education, Health, and Housing

·   Moderator: James Forman, Professor, Georgetown University Law Center

·   “Addressing the Unintended Consequences of No Child Left Behind and Zero Tolerance” - Deborah Gordon Klehr, Staff Attorney, Education Law Center

·   “The Impact of Health Care for the Juvenile Justice Population” - Dr. Catherine A. Gallagher, Associate Professor, Justice, Law and Crime Policy Program, George Mason University

·   “Knock on Any Door: The Intersection of Housing and the Juvenile Justice System” - Judge Michael A. Corriero, Executive Director, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NY City

3:15 - 4:15 pm   Panel Two: Poverty and Equity in the Juvenile Justice System

·   Moderator:  Mai Fernandez, Legal and Strategy Director, Latin American Youth Center

·   “The Cost of Justice: How Low-Income Youth Pay the Price of Failing Indigent Defense Systems” - Katayoon Majd, Senior Staff Attorney, National Juvenile Defender Center

·   “Lasting Economic Consequences of Transfer Policies for Youth and Communities of Color” - Neelum Arya, Director, Research & Policy, Campaign for Youth Justice

4:30 - 5:30 pm Panel Three: Strategies for Breaking the Cycle of Offending and Poverty

·   Moderator:  Carol Chodroff, US Program Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch

·   “Reentry and Aftercare for Incarcerated Youth” - Dr. David Altschuler, Principal Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies

·   “Juvenile Justice: Lessons for a New Era” - Mark Soler, Executive Director, Center for Children’s Law and Policy, and Marc Schindler, Chief of Staff, DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services

5:30 - 6:30 pm Reception, Thursday, March 26, 2009, Georgetown University Law Center, Gewirz Building 12th floor, 600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001

Register for the symposium online. This event is free and open to the public.  Please contact Kate Rhudy at with any questions about the symposium. -jl