PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 10, 2020) – The Justice Resource Institute; the Office of the Attorney General of Texas; a judge from the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court; the Travis County chief juvenile public defender; the executive director of the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc., the Thurgood Marshall School of Law; the chairman of the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues; The Excellence and Advancement Foundation, an organization combating the school-to-prison pipeline; and the executive director of Dallas County Juvenile Department – these are a few of the entities participating in the 13th Annual Royce West Forum & Lecture Series at Prairie View A&M University Feb. 11–12.

This is the first year for Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center (TJCPC) research scientist Terrence Allen, Ph.D., to organize the forum. His goal is to expand and clarify the concept of “juvenile justice.”

“Most people have a superficial understanding of juvenile justice,” explained Allen. “When people think about ‘juvenile justice,’ they generally think about adjudicated youth and how they will or should be punished. Well, that’s a misleading notion of juvenile justice. Juvenile justice is a policy construct that is narrowly defined so as to provide a framework of how to judge children who come to the attention of the court for matters of delinquency or dependency, such as abuse and neglect. When children are removed from the care and custody of their parents for issues of abandonment or physical or sexual abuse, the court must act on behalf of the child and do what is in his or her best interest. At the same time, when children are taken into custody for acts against the community, the court must make available to them programs and services that will rehabilitate them or provide the treatment that will allow them to return to the community as productive citizens. In both instances, the age classification, juvenile, is the deciding factor on how the person will be treated. That said, the simple definition of juvenile justice is ‘the fair treatment of children.’”

Allen’s drive to clarify the concept of justice led to the theme for this year’s forum: “Juvenile Justice Crossroads: Redefining the Treatment of Children.” Allen joined others in the TJCPC, which is housed in the College of Juvenile Justice & Psychology (COJJP) at PVAMU, to secure the right mix of panelists who are in the throes of the juvenile justice process and who could help redefine its reality. TJCPC Associate Director Attorney Grady Paris joined Allen in assembling the well-informed group of panelists.

“We’re looking at it from the perspective of the individuals who have contact with or provide direct services to juveniles and their families,” Paris said. “That would include social service providers, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement, judges, and prosecuting and defense attorneys, along with behavioral health professionals such as Jeannette Callahan, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a practicing physician. She has a special interest in the use of complementary medicine in the treatment of autism and attention deficit disorder. Dr. Callahan is the medical director of the Justice Resource Institute Northeast Health Service Unit and provides care to detained and committed youth in the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.”

Callahan will be on the panel “The State of Juvenile Justice,” which will also include Texas Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr., of Houston; Sharon Pruitt, the assistant attorney general with Juvenile Crime Intervention; Darryl Beatty, the executive director of the Dallas County Juvenile Department; attorney Kameron Johnson, public defender for Travis County in Austin, Texas; Lt. Patrick M. Murray, Houston Police Department Juvenile Division; Charles Rotramel, the CEO of reVision Houston, a nonprofit that works to break the cycle of isolation among the most profoundly disconnected youth, most of whom are involved in the juvenile justice system; and Austin-based Courtney Robinson, Ph.D., who is the founder of Excellence and Advancement Foundation, which combats the school-to-prison pipeline of juveniles.

Attorney Sarah R. Guidry, the executive director of Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy, Inc., will serve as moderator for the panel.

“Terrence and I were strategic in selecting the panel to include those agencies or entities that have contact with a child or the child’s family from the point of being taken into custody, on through adjudication, disposition, placement, and services,” Paris said about the forum. “This year is going to be exciting. It’s always been a one-day event, but this year it’s two days.”

The second day will focus on judges with the topic “A View from the Bench.” New Orleans-area Judge Ernestine Steward Gray will be the keynote speaker, followed by an afternoon session for students interested in pursuing a career in juvenile law. “I want her to talk about the intent of juvenile court and how the court has evolved over the past 120 years,” Allen said. “I want that discussion to be focused on the challenges of combining the principles of jurisprudence and child welfare to establish what is in the best interest of the child.”

“The Royce West Forum & Lecture Series first began in 2007 primarily as a means of recognizing the senator and other lawmakers on both sides of the Texas Statehouse for their efforts to pass the bill leading to the creation of the Texas Juvenile Crime Prevention Center,”  Paris explained.

The TJCPC is also making this year’s forum very community-focused. They have invited students from their Prairie View-Haverstock Venture project to attend the conference.

Aldine Independent School District will bring some of their high school students to the event on both days. The forum organizers intend to make this a full college experience for them, including a campus tour, a meeting with admissions counselors, and providing a glimpse of college life.

“We’ve invited people from across the state as well as our local community and the PVAMU family,” Allen said. “I want people to know how and why juvenile court is distinguished from criminal court because they are not the same. It’s very, very complicated. The decisions in juvenile court that juvenile judges have to make are very complicated, and the ramifications for families are monumental.”

To reserve a ticket to the free 2020 Royce West Forum & Lecture Series, click this link.

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By Michael Douglas