Juvenile Law Center Plays Leadership Role at the 2012 Models for Change National Conference

Above: Juvenile Law Center Deputy Director Marsha Levick and Edward Mulvey, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Law and Psychiatry Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, participate on a plenary panel at the Models for Change conference

Juvenile Law Center’s Bob Schwartz, Marsha Levick and Lourdes Rosado recently played leadership roles at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change conference in Washington, DC, participating as moderators and panelists to help further juvenile justice reform in the United States.

Models for Change supports a network of government and court officials, legal advocates, educators, community leaders, and families working together to ensure that kids who make mistakes are held accountable and treated fairly throughout the juvenile justice process.  Juvenile Law Center is part of the Models for Change National Resource Bank, a group of 16 leading national juvenile justice research, reform, and advocacy organizations that provide expert advice, training, and technical assistance to the core states and action network sites.  Juvenile Law Center has also been the lead entity for Pennsylvania Models for Change initiatives since 2004.

During this year’s conference, Executive Director Bob Schwartz facilitated a workshop entitled Education and Career Development of Delinquent Youth, in which panelists shared their experiences in developing best practices to provide better opportunities for delinquent youth to learn marketable skills.  Successful job training and skill building is an effective method to reduce recidivism at any age, but especially for youth with juvenile justice involvement.  Panelists included Candace Putter, director of the Pennsylvania Academic and Career Technical Training Alliance (PACTT) and Sharon Guy-Hornsby, Campus Dean, and Karolyn Pinsel Harrell, Criminal Justice Project Coordinator, of the Northshore Technical Community College, Florida Parishes Campus in Louisiana.  Panelists discussed efforts in Pennsylvania and Louisiana to train youth who were in institutions or on probation in their communities.  Panelists discussed how to create these programs, what they do, and how to overcome barriers to their success. 

Associate Director Lourdes Rosado facilitated a workshop entitled Getting Smart on Crime: Improving Juvenile Diversion Decisions on the Front Line.  Participants received practical guidance on the implementation and improvement of pre-adjudication diversion programs by applying the “Sixteen Steps” identified in the Models for Change Juvenile Diversion Guidelines and heard from stakeholders about their experiences in enhancing diversion in their respective jurisdictions.

Deputy Director and Chief Counsel Marsha Levick participated on a plenary panel facilitated by Laurie Garduque, Director for Justice Reform at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation entitled A New Paradigm – The United States Supreme Court, Adolescent Development and Neuroscience.  Marsha was joined by Elizabeth E. Cauffman, Professor and Chancellor’s Fellow, University of California – Irvine, Edward P. Mulvey, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Law and Psychiatry Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and  Laurence D. Steinberg, Distinguished University Professor and Laura H. Carnell Professor, Psychology, Temple University.  Nearly 400 people from 40 states attended this year’s conference.

 Juvenile Law Center will continue to work closely with the MacArthur Foundation to further efforts to reform juvenile justice in the United States.