Credible Messenger Mentoring is a promising practice to divert youth from the juvenile justice system.
Credible Messenger Mentoring
A Movement Poised to Transform Juvenile Justice
Transformative Justice
During January and February 2022, Shared Justice ran a series on Transformative Justice. This series explores one of the most urgent areas for reform within the juvenile justice system: juvenile probation. Focusing on promising practices in diversion and prevention, including Credible Messenger Mentoring, the series highlights opportunities for government and civil society to create a juvenile justice system that is more equitable, effective, and restorative.
Exploring Transformative Justice
- Building Community Capacity to Support Justice-Involved Youth: An Interview with Belinda Ramos
- Transformative Justice: A Conversation with Bishop Darren Ferguson
- Leading Justice Reform with Compassion: An Interview with Pastor Angel Maldonado
- Credible Messenger Mentoring: A Movement Poised to Transform Juvenile Justice
- Qualified Immunity and the Absence of Accountability in Policing
Articles
Young adults, particularly those aged 18 to 25, face unique challenges within the criminal justice system, often overlooked in policymaking due to their age. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Thrive by 25” initiative aims to change that by focusing on strengthening communities for children and youth transitioning into adulthood.
In a nation grappling with the consequences of the decades-old “war on drugs,” a startling reality emerges: youth with substance use disorders (SUDs) are caught in a cycle of addiction, crime, and incarceration. The justice system, ill-equipped for rehabilitation, perpetuates this cycle, with SUD sufferers four times more likely to reoffend upon release.
What this cautionary tale of separate and unequal education ought to teach us is that without careful forethought and attention, parents and schools can knowingly (or unknowingly) foment education inequities. However, when carefully crafted public policy includes a call for a pluralistic education system that is grounded in the diversity found within the American public, and also importantly, in freedom of conscience, school choice policies can provide better education options for every child.