If you would like the network to know about your upcoming events (i.e., rallies, campaigns, conferences, etc.,) email owilliams@burnsinstitute.org and submit the details of your event.

CJNY Recent Activities [back to top of page]

The CJNY is involved in a variety of activities, which are the result of requests, by member organizations to broaden the message and effectiveness of the network. These activities are balanced against the evolving and immediate needs of program members that arise spontaneously or in response to local events. Below is a detailed listing of the activities we are funded to conduct.

Speaker's Bureau:

The speaker's bureau provides a space for the speakers of the community, that work with youth of color on the front lines, to comprehensively inform the nation about the real issues as the people in the trenches see it. The CJNY is committed to making sure that the voices of this movement are heard.

We are developing a speaker's bureau, which involves two types of speaking engagements:

Peer-to-peer speaking engagements involve CJNY members using folks from the network to speak at functions they conduct.
Non-traditional Forums involves sending identified CJNY members to targeted conferences to widen the audience about the CJNY.

Currently 31 people from across the country have signed up for the CJNY Speaker's Bureau.

Over the next year and half, CJNY staff will develop speaking opportunities for network members. The following is a partial list of potential speaking engagements that the CJNY has identified thus far.

Partial list of potential speaking engagements:

LULAC National Conference: July 6-10, 2004
Black Caucus National Conference: December 1-6, 2003
La Raza Annual Conference: June 26-29, 2004
Drug Policy Alliance: November 5-8, 2003
National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges: July 18-21, 2004
National Association of Child Advocates: June 5-8, 2004

If you know of other speaking opportunities for CJNY members please contact us.

Previous CJNY Speaking Engagements:

Key Notes:

Marlene Sanchez, State of California Judicial Conference
Rachel Jackson, Annie E. Casey National Inter-Site Meeting
Lateefah Simon, Illinois Juvenile Justice statewide Conference
Clinton Lacey, Louisiana Juvenile Justice Statewide Conference

Workshops:

Drug Policy Alliance, September 26-28, 2002
"Breaking The Chains" People of Color and the War on Drugs
CJNY Presenters: Chino Hardin, Tshaka Barrows, Rachel Jackson

Justice for DC Youth Conference, February 1, 2003
"Arresting Our Future" Youth Summit Washington, D.C.
CJNY Presenters: Tshaka Barrows, Tracy Benson, Christi Ketchum, Blu Contagallo

California Catholic Conference,March 15, 2003
Symposium on "Crime, Punishment, and the Common Good in California" Los Angeles, CA
CJNY Presenters: Ophelia Williams, Tshaka Barrows, Rachel Jackson

Critical Resistance South Conference, April 4-6, 2003
"Building A Juvenile Justice Movement: Stop The Rail To Jail" Criminalization of Youth of Color, New Orleans, LA
CJNY Presenters: Roscoe Wilson, Tshaka Barrows, Christi Ketchum, Ophelia Williams

Youth Policy Forum

The Youth Policy Forum will be an on-going CJNY activity, which gives youth and young adults the ability to bring their unique perspective to policy issues impacting their lives. Our first forum will examine the question of why large prison-like institutions continue to be used by counties and states although the costs and recidivism rates clearly show that it is a failed model.

We will identify approximately 15 member programs for participation. We have developed a bibliography of materials to read:

Discovery Of The Asylum
America's Institutional System For Youth In Trouble
Conscience And Convenience
A Century In Juvenile Justice
Last One Over The Wall

We will gather budgetary and statistical data outlining costs and recidivism rates of large institutions from the 6 states (Florida, Texas, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan), which detain two thirds of the nation's youth. We will examine the process of the only state in the U.S. to recently deinstitutionalize (Missouri) as well as bring in scholars and practitioners to establish proven viable more effective alternatives.

This information along with the readings will be compiled into one document and sent to participants as preparation materials for the think tank. Participants will then be asked to read all this information and write a one to two page position paper on the information given.

A projected outcome of the forum is the development of an action plan and strategy to challenge the expansion of newly constructed juvenile institutions. Although this think tank is still a work in progress, the CJNY plans to convene the forum sometime during the late part of September 2004.

Interest Area Meetings

CJNY members have also asked us to convene "interest area" meetings. Potential topics include but are not limited to:

Gender Specific Programming, Fundraising, Operating Residential Facilities, Alternative Education, Youth Organizing, Gang Issues, and Immigration etc. The first of several interest area meetings will be around girl's issues and the CJNY will bring together all gender specific programs in the network to begin sharing best practices. The CJNY aims to challenge the current models used for girls in the system by delivering from this meeting a list of transferable recommendations on effective models.

Currently the CJNY is creating a sub-committee of the girls programs to begin organizing the first interest area meeting. The CJNY would like to have this meeting sometime around March of 2004.

Peer-To-Peer Technical Assistance

The CJNY is in the process of hiring a Technical Assistance Coordinator to capture and maintain all the collaborations currently being made through the CJNY. In addition this person will create a model for providing effective TA to CJNY member groups throughout the network.

A job description has been created and approved therefore the next step is posting it. First the CJNY will send out the job description to network members and then go from there. This person will need to have some experience with non-profit organizing, coalition building and person-to-person relationships. The job description is scheduled to be posted December 1, 2003.

Regional Meetings

The CJNY uses the regions as a vehicle to receive input from the member body and to connect local organizations with other organizations in their region. This is also a space where the CJNY members can plan and strategize about how to stay connected and move the CJNY forward based on their individual and/or organizational commitments.

The CJNY currently has four regions and is creating a job description for a CJNY Local Field Organizer that would staff the regions and assure that the CJNY presence remains in the absence of a regional or national gathering. The regions are: the Western Region includes; Washington, Oregon, California and New Mexico, The Southern Region includes; Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida, The Mid-West Region includes; Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and the Northeastern Region includes; Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

For the year 2003, the CJNY has hosted both the Southern Regional and the Mid-West Regional and is moving fast into the Northeast and West.

National Conference

The CJNY hosts a national conference every 18-20 months to bring together all the CJNY member organizations from across the country. This meeting provides trainings and workshops for CJNY member groups and allows for the national body to come together and make decisions about the evolving goals and structure of the network. The CJNY trainings and workshops are often facilitated by CJNY network members and is an opportunity for member groups to exchange expert knowledge in the areas of work they know best.

The CJNY produces three newsletters per year that includes letters, stories and articles written by CJNY member organizations. This is a resource for CJNY members to speak not only to each other but also to the entire country about the issues facing their communities and the actions they are taking against those issues. If you are interested in writing an article or sending some information to the CJNY that you want the entire network to know about please contact Tshaka Barrows tbarrows@burnsinstitute.org

Website

The CJNY has a website that is updated quarterly on member contact information and network activities. The website provides program descriptions of the member organizations and links to some of their websites for easy accessibility. You will also find the CJNY mission and values statement, the content of the previous national conference, a CJNY activities timeline, the contact information for the Organizing Council of the network and a member organization locater map to assist network members in visualizing the vast depth of their CJNY support system. You can visit our website at www.cjny.org if you are interested in providing input for the CJNY website please contact Ophelia Williams owilliams@burnsinstitute.org

CJNY 2003-2004 Timeline [back to top of page]

2003

2004

January | February | March | April | May

*The CJNY Speakers Bureau functions year round in order to connect members of the network with events and conferences for speaking engagements. Staff identifies conferences and other events and various members who have signed up to participate are then contacted for involvement. The CJNY also receives requests for speakers and workshop presenters to address issues of juvenile injustice.

*Technical Assistance (TA) is another ongoing function of the CJNY. Groups in need of assistance sign up or contact the staff to receive TA. The staff then contacts potential providers from within the network and a connection is made in an effort to address the organizational needs.