TeamChild Juvenile Justice Project

Individual Legal Representation

TeamChild is an innovative project that provides individual legal representation to children involved in the juvenile justice system, helping with educational support, special education needs, school discipline and access to mental health care.

A high percentage of juvenile offenders struggle with undiagnosed and untreated mental illness and unsupported educational disabilities. The Center for Children's Advocacy intervenes to secure appropriate support services for these children and youth to help them succeed in school and look forward to a safe and secure future.

The Center's legal advocacy is enhanced by a team of law students and multidisciplinary professionals from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and from Connecticut Children's Medical Center.


Training

Attorneys involved with the Center's TeamChild Juvenile Justice project provide training opportunities for the state's probation officers and for youth, parents and community providers.


Systemic Advocacy

Systemic advocacy in the areas of education and juvenile justice includes work to improve community-based services, conditions of confinement, and re-entry and transition planning for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The Center's systemic work includes legislative advocacy, class action and administrative advocacy, and participation on state task forces created to address juvenile justice issues.

With the support of a national grant, the Center for Children's Advocacy is working to reduce disproportionate minority contact and school expulsions for youth in Connecticut's poorest cities.

Proven success

  • higher rate of successful school re-entry
  • more students receiving necessary mental health services
  • more community-based dispositions
  • higher rate of successful completion of probation
  • lower recidivism

Susan Storey, Connecticut's Chief Public Defender, says, "Children without these all-inclusive juvenile justice, mental health, and educational services often fail to succeed in school and their communities and eventually become casualties of the criminal justice system. The Center for Children's Advocacy has proven to be creative and effective in developing community-based collaborative programs that address the needs of these children."

 

The story of one youth represented by the Center for Children's Advocacy

Jason's academic struggles began long before the day he was arrested at school for a fight in the cafeteria. He's only 13 years old, but has a long history of academic failure . . and in the past school year accrued over 60 unverified absences and over 50 days of outside-school suspension. He lost over half the year of education.

Despite an early diagnosis of depressive disorder, difficulty controlling his anger and his long history of academic failure, Jason had never been evaluated for special education. Teacher reports continually noted severe behavior problems. Jason's grades reflected his struggles, revealing performance significantly below grade level in every subject. 

The school has a legal obligation to refer Jason to special education, but no evaluations were done until the Center for Children's Advocacy became involved. The Center reviewed Jason's
educational records, helped his mother request educational evaluations, and secured a stay of his recent expulsion, pending Jason's placement at a therapeutic school.

Jason's diagnostic evaluations determined a language-based learning disability and the school agreed that Jason should not be expelled. He was found eligible for special education and placed in a therapeutic program. At his new school, Jason receives individualized course work and significant therapeutic supports within a structured behavioral redirection program. He has flourished, both academically and behaviorally, and received an A or B in each of his classes. He was not suspended once during the remainder of the school year. 

Teacher reports indicate a striking difference in Jason in the therapeutic setting, emphasizing his hard work and ownership of his own behavior. The school social worker describes him as a role model for other students. School staff are working with Jason on effective communication to help him develop a mechanism to cope with his emotions, and he will continue to receive educational services and evaluations to insure that his progress continues.

 

 

Education vs. Incarceration: The Real Cost of Failing Our Kids

Produced by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, this important documentary examines the state's alarming incarceration of children.

From the CPTV website: "For the first time in recent history, five states now spend more money on incarceration than education. Connecticut is one of those states. It costs approximately $12,000 per year to keep a student in school in Connecticut. It costs more than $31,000 a year to keep an individual in prison. From 1987 to 2006, Connecticut more than tripled its General Fund spending on corrections, from $193 million $661 million. Over the same period, the state’s General Fund spending on higher education increased far less dramatically, from $557 million to $644 million."

The documentary includes interviews with Martha Stone, Executive Director of the Center for Children’s Advocacy.

 

 

Publications and Resources