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TeamChild is a collaboration between the Center for
Children's Advocacy and the Hartford Juvenile Public Defender's
Office. The attorney from the Center teams with the defense attorney
to improve the outcome for the child in the juvenile justice system.
The TeamChild attorney handles the child's legal issues in the civil
arena to secure needed services through community agencies or the
school system.
The Center's attorney represents the child on educational
issues, including special education, §504 and expulsions, status
offenses, and access to mental health treatment, which may be at
the root of the child's court involvement.
Information
and History of TeamChild Juvenile Justice Project
Proven successes for TeamChild include:
- a higher rate of successful
school re-entry
- more students receiving
necessary mental health services
- more community-based
dispositions
- a much higher rate
of successful completion of probation
- lower recidivism
The TeamChild attorney uses the information gleaned
through the representation of individual clients to identify systemic
issues in education, mental health, and juvenile justice. Through
meetings with state and local education and juvenile justice agencies
as well as the introduction of legislation, TeamChild works to implement
systemic changes that provide the maximum benefit to children.
According to Susan O. Storey, Deputy Chief Public
Defender, "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
and the TeamChild program have proven to be creative and effective
in developing community-based collaborative programs that address
the needs of these children."
Publications
What
Are My Rights?
Know your Legal Rights in Detention.
This question and answer handbook was developed
by the Center for Children's Advocacy in collaboration with the
Connecticut Judicial Branch and with funding from the Connecticut
Bar Foundation. The book answers questions that youth In detention
may have about their legal rights and about the responsibilities
of the detention center, and encourages youth to speak up to ask
for the services they need.
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