Seattle trip recap NCJFCJ

Well, I wasn’t sleepless in Seattle but the jet lag coming back to the east coast might make it feel like it just a little bit. I mentioned last week  that I would be at the NCJFCJ conference and I had a great time. I would like to extend my thanks to all of the conference organizers and Judges who work so hard at making a positive impact on our troubled youths and families.

Some of the highlights of the conference included getting to learn about the issues surrounding military families and the trauma associated with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as getting a clearer picture of the need for systematic data collection to inform Judges of the circumstances surrounding each child, which can vary greatly from one to the next.

There was a journalist who does some amazing photography that really brings home the article I wrote last week. His name is Richard Ross and you can take a look at his website, http://www.juvenile-in-justice.com/ to get a look into his very personal look at the state of juvenile incarceration.

I got to meet with and talk to a number of people from Georgia about the initiative in Jonesboro GA, which is drastically reducing the number of children who were being referred from the school system to the courts and also reducing rates of recidivism and increasing the effectiveness of the School Resource Officers.

It’s my hope that here at Pride we will find a way to help the community of Juvenile and Family Court Judges better understand their systems and the children and families who come before them.

Jay Gleaton