National Stakeholders Identify Deficiencies in Education for Youth in the Justice System

Juvenile Law Center,

Above: Deborah Escobedo, Staff Attorney, Youth Law Center, addresses the group

Juvenile Law Center, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and in collaboration with Open Society Foundations, Pennsylvania Academic and Career/Technical Training Alliance, Racial Justice Initiative, and Robert F. Kennedy Juvenile Justice Collaborative, is convening regional meetings in cities including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta to discuss the quality of education for youth in facilities. Leaders in education and juvenile justice from each region will strive to identify promising and effective strategies for improving the quality of education for youth in the juvenile justice system.

The meetings are a direct response to a U.S. Department of Education (DoE) summit held In November 2012.

Juvenile Law Center Supervising Attorney Jessica Feierman and Equal Justice Works Fellow (sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP) Kate Burdick participated in the summit, where discussions focused on how to improve the quality of education in criminal and juvenile justice facilities so that youth exiting the facilities have a better chance of success when re-entering their home schools and communities. DoE held this summit to better inform the development of its comprehensive agenda to improve educational outcomes for youth and adults in the justice system.

A shot of the group in Los Angeles

DoE will convene a follow-up meeting this spring to explore the issue in more detail. Our stakeholder meetings will culminate in a report with findings and recommendations that Juvenile Law Center will provide to DoE.

Stay tuned for more information about this work. View more photos from the event on Flickr. 

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