Urban Child Symposium, April 12
April 6, 2012
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
Few systems have a greater impact on the lives of children and on society than does the juvenile justice system. Urban youth enter this system during an extremely vulnerable time in their lives, when their still-developing brains and the personality characteristics common to adolescents expose them to unique risks. The stakes are high.
The University of Baltimore Center for Families, Children and the Courts' fourth annual Urban Child Symposium, "The Beginning or the End? The Urban Child's Experience in the Juvenile Justice System," will take place at UB on Thursday, April 12. Panelists will address the importance of balancing public safety with the unique needs of urban children in the juvenile justice system and will also explore how society should address those needs in its approach to juvenile criminal behavior. The event is free and open to the public, although space is limited. An R.S.V.P. is required for all attendees; details below.
The symposium will take place in the Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room at the school's John and Frances Angelos Law Center, 1415 Maryland Ave. Following is the agenda (subject to change) for this one-day event:
8:30-9 a.m.: Registration; a continental breakfast will be served in the lobby of the law center for attendees.
9-9:15 a.m.: Welcome and opening remarks by Robert L. Bogomolny, president of the University of Baltimore; F. Michael Higginbotham, interim dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law; and Barbara A. Babb, associate professor of law and director of the Center for Families, Children and the Courts
9:15-10 a.m.: Overview: The Juvenile Justice System, with Bernardine Dohrn, clinical associate professor and immediate past director and founder of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law.
10-10:15 a.m.: Break.
10:15-11:45 a.m.: Panel One: The Juvenile and His/Her Needs. There is an ongoing debate regarding the most effective way to deal with juvenile offenders. Some policymakers and judicial leaders promote measures that "get tough" on juvenile crime, such as laws that make it easier to try juveniles as adults. Others believe that juvenile offenders should be treated as adolescents with distinct needs and that a less adversarial and more therapeutic approach is most effective in addressing delinquency. The panel will examine issues that help us gain a better understanding of how and why youth become involved in the juvenile justice system; the psychological, social, and emotional characteristics of juveniles; whether juveniles can and/or should be tried as adults; and the impact of juveniles' needs on advocacy within the judicial system. Panelists include: Dana Shoenberg, deputy director of the Center for Children’s Law and Policy; Odeana Neal, associate professor, University of Baltimore School of Law; Baltimore City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein; and Gloria Reeves, assistant professor of psychiatry in the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Babb will moderate.
11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.: Lunch will be served in the lobby of the law center for attendees.
1-2:45 p.m.: Panel Two: Courts and the Juvenile Justice Process. This panel covers issues regarding the various stages of the juvenile justice system. At each stage, important decisions are made by a complex network of agencies and individuals about how to handle a delinquency case. Collaboration across systems and among organizations is the key, according to many experts, to improve the treatment of youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Panelists will discuss representation and judging of children, the different stages and agencies involved in the juvenile justice process, whether due process has served children in the juvenile justice system, zero tolerance policies, racial disparities/disproportionate minority representation, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Panelists include Sam Abed, secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services; the Hon. David Young of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City; Nick Moroney, director of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit; Patricia Puritz, executive director of the National Juvenile Defender Center; George Simms, III, assistant state's attorney for Montgomery County. Gloria Danziger, senior fellow with the Center for Families, Children and the Courts, will moderate.
2:45-3 p.m.: Break.
3-4:30 p.m.: Panel Three: Promising Practices in Juvenile Justice. This panel will review strength-based juvenile justice programs and practices that may be replicated on a broader scale. Panelists will discuss desired outcomes for emerging juvenile justice programs, including whether or not youth are integrated into the community, school, and work force; recidivism; prevention and intervention; diversion and other alternatives to incarceration; programs for special populations; service delivery; wraparound programs; and program evaluation. Panelists include Bart Lubow, director of programs for high risk youth at the Annie E. Casey Foundation; Kimberly Armstrong, parent advocate and president of Diamond Development, Inc.; Neelum Arya, research and policy director of the Campaign for Youth Justice; and Timothy R. Fowles, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Delaware. Odeana Neal, associate professor in the University of Baltimore School of Law, will serve as moderator.
4:30-4:45 p.m.: Closing remarks, collection of evaluations, and thanks.
To R.S.V.P. for this event, go here.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.