EVENTS OF GENERAL INTEREST BEING PRESENTED BY OTHER BAY AREA LEAGUES. EVENTS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST TO OUR MEMBERS THAT ARE SPONSORED BY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALSO INCLUDED. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THESE EVENTS, PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE OF THE ORGANIZATION SPONSORING THE EVENT.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 12 + 2 pm
Juvenile Justice: Must It Be a Pipeline to Prison?
in the Edith Stone Room of the Albany Library, Sponsored by the LWVBAE.
Years ago, after conducting a study on juvenile justice issues, LWVBAE and other Alameda County Leagues adopted support positions which allow us, in the name of LWV, to take action to improve public policy with respect to juvenile justice. Experienced Leaguers have been monitoring agencies and policies involved in these issues. Please read The Hidden Costs (below) in preparation for the April 6 Conversation with Leaguers, friends and others who are concerned about juvenile justice.
The Hidden Costs of Cuts in Services to Our Most Vulnerable Youth
The boy with a single, struggling mom, living in East Oakland's danger zone, trying to stay alive, sees a gang as a way out. The young girl, abused as a small child, chooses to be in the thrall of a pimp. Other youngsters have a parent on drugs or in prison. All are left to their own devices + to deal with hunger, poor schooling, mental health issues. These children need the attention and support of caring adults.
Yet many only receive that attention once they have fallen afoul of the law. While some youngsters are referred to services that help them + without their being detained or in jail + others end up at the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center, awaiting a judge's decision as to their disposition. The young person may be in custody for only a month, but it is a very important month: for the first time in their lives they receive proper educational, health and mental-health assessments. Some say it is the first time that they have ever felt safe.
It is this time + during their detention period + that is a critical moment in the lives of these youngsters: this is the time when positive intervention can start them on the path toward literacy, mental health treatment and a reassessment of their lives. Yet our County Probation Department is being forced to cut back some of the programs in the Center that help these youth the most.
And even good programs in the Center can do little if the youth are simply sent back to their communities without coordinated assistance to help them to stay on track. Cutbacks mean fewer probation officers who can act as case managers. Cutbacks also mean that an increased number of young people will have irregular supervision; many youngsters will receive no supervision at all.
What will happen to these young people? In all probability they will only get into more trouble, they will commit more serious crimes and will recycle back into detention. The more they recycle, the deeper they will be sucked into the pipeline to prison. It costs upwards of $150,000 a year to maintain a youngster in a state juvenile prison, and most of them exit worse off than when they entered. For only a small fraction of this sum we can provide the supervision, teaching, help and support to turn that young person's life into a healthy and constructive one. The State and County share policy and funding responsibilities for these youth.
Join Pat Kuhi and Lois Brubeck for an update and a Conversation at the Albany Public Library on Tuesday, April 6. Please note that you may bring your lunch, but water is the only beverage allowed on the Library premises.
Tuesday, March 23, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
17th Annual Cesar Chavez Commemorative Celebration "EMBRACING OUR CHALLENGES". Keynote speaker will be Jane Garcia, Executive Director of La Clinica de la Raza. Youth Hall of Fame Awards will be presented. The event will also feature traditional mariachi music.
Location: Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors' Chambers
651 Pine Street, Room 107, Martinez
Sunday, March 7, 11:30AM
Transition Albany is showing the movie "The Age of Stupid", the powerful docu-drama about climate change, at the Albany Twin Theater,1115 Solano Ave in Albany. (Transition Albany is one of many "Transition Towns" that ave organized to mitigate climate change on the local level.} Tickets are $8 at the theatebr.
Saturday, January 23
LWV of Diablo Valley will sponsor a program on "Proposals for Delta Water: Who Will Benefit? Who Will Pay?" A moderated panel of experts will discuss the perspectives of water exporters, agribusiness, environmental issues, legislative and financial impacts
10 AM - 1 PM at the Antioch Historical Society Hall, 1500 W. Fourth Street, Antioch, CA 94509-1046
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