Oct. 10, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disparities in the nation\u2019s juvenile justice system are prevalent and\nwell-documented. According to Law Street Media, it is estimated that more than<\/a> 61,000 youth in\nthe United States are incarcerated each night. More than 65 percent of those\nare youth of color. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To help address these challenges, Northern Arizona University\u2019s Center for Health\nEquity Research<\/a> (CHER) recently\nhosted a one-day workshop, in partnership with the Roundtable on the\nPromotion of Health Equity of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,\nand Medicine (NASEM), The NARBHA Institute and the Arizona Biomedical Research\nCentre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The event,\n\u201cThe Consequences of Juvenile Justice System Involvement on the Health and\nWell-Being of Adolescents, Families and Communities of Color,\u201d brought 170\npolicymakers and influencers to Flagstaff, including local and national judges, attorneys, social workers,\nprobation officers, health care providers, community members and researchers,\nas well as state, county and city officials, to examine strategies\nfor transforming the nation\u2019s juvenile justice system. More than 250 others attended\nthe event via video conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CHER\ndirector Julie Baldwin<\/strong> and Mark Carroll, chief health officer and\nvice president of discovery and development at The NARBHA Institute, moderated\nthe workshop along with other members of the NASEM Roundtable on the Promotion\nof Health Equity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe see this as a critical launching point for\ndialogue and action around this topic, both locally and nationally,\u201d Baldwin\nsaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keynote\nspeakers at the event were Scott Bales<\/strong>,\nexecutive director of the\nInstitute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) of Denver\nand former Arizona chief justice, and Judge Kathleen<\/strong> Quigley<\/strong>, from the Pima County Juvenile Court and a Northern Arizona\nUniversity alumna. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bales cited compelling statistics,\nsuch as the fact that African-American youth in Arizona are referred to the\njuvenile justice system 3.7 times more often and American Indians are referred\n1.8 times more often than Caucasian youth. About one in five referrals resulted\nin detention; however, youth who are American Indian had a detention rate of two\nand a half times that of white juveniles. He said that African-American youth are\ncharged five times more often and Hispanic youth are charged three times more\noften than white youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quigley said one of the key goals of the Arizona courts\nwas to reduce the number of juveniles in detention and to connect families to\nservices. She focused on positive changes in Arizona for youth in the juvenile\njustice system, such as the state\u2019s recent achievement of reducing admissions\nto detention by 50 percent\u2014in fact, she said, a few Arizona counties have reduced\ntheir numbers so effectively that they were able to close their detention\ncenters and turn them into youth recreation centers. As an example, Quigley noted\none Apache County community in which more than 300 youth have engaged in one of\nthe converted youth centers, representing 95 percent of the students from the\nlocal high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNavajo County and Apache County are leading the way\nand there really have been impressive outcomes,\u201d Quigley said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three\npanels of juvenile justice experts from Arizona and other states participated\nin a series of discussions, \u201cWhat we Know\nabout the Effects of Involvement with the Juvenile Justice System on Health\nOutcomes for Vulnerable Populations,\u201d \u201cAlternatives to Juvenile Detention in\nBuilding Systems of Justice and Equity\u201d and \u201cWhat Do We Still\nNeed to Learn? Where Should We Go in the Future?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout\nthe day, experts discussed challenges in the juvenile justice system,\nespecially for communities of color; they also shared successful, established\nprograms and policies that serve as models for the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A\nspecial group of young adults, counselors and parents also shared their\nexperiences in the juvenile justice system with attendees during a lunch\nsession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The presentations are available on the workshop website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: From left, Judge Kathleen Quigley, an NAU alum, talks with Julie Baldwin and Carly Camplain from the Center for Health Equity Research at the juvenile justice workshop on Sept. 26.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"