Violence is inextricably entwined with juvenile justice.
Domestic and neighborhood violence can contribute to future criminal tendencies, and violence is inescapable within the confines of the American jail system. The effect of this violence on children, whether experiencing it or seeing it happen on a daily basis, can be extreme.
Now the Justice department has announced the formation of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence. According to the Justice Department press release it’s mission is as follows:
“Our vision of justice must start with preventing crime before it happens, protecting our children, and ending cycles of violence and victimization. Every young person deserves the opportunity to grow and develop free from fear of violence,” said Associate Attorney General Perrelli. “The task force will develop knowledge and spread awareness about the pervasive problem of exposure for children to violence – this will ultimately improve our homes, cities, towns and communities.”
So how did this start? It all goes back to just over a year ago. Here is the description of it’s origins from that same press release:
Following the release of the compelling findings of the first National Survey on Children Exposed to Violence (2009), Attorney General Eric Holder launched the Defending Childhood initiative in September 2010. The goals of the initiative are to prevent exposure of children to violence as victims and witnesses, reduce the negative effects experienced by children exposed to violence, and develop knowledge about and increase awareness of this issue.
Over the next year, the task force will be amassing data through four hearings that will take place around the nation in Baltimore, Albuquerque, Miami, and Detroit. During those hearings they will be soliciting input and testimony from community members, advocates, policymakers, academics, and practitioners as they try to get a handle on the problem.
The Defending Childhood Task Force is made up of 15 members including:
- Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., Founder of Homeboy Industries
- Professor Sarah Deer, Citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma.
- Thea James, M.D., Director of the Boston Medical Center Massachusetts Violence Intervention Advocacy Program.
- Steven Marans, Ph.D., Director of the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence
- Retired Major General Antonio Taguba, President of TDLS Consulting, LLC, and Chairman of Pan Pacific American Leaders and Mentors (PPALM)
These experts and ten of their peers will be generating both a final report for the attorney general and a series of policy recommendations. Hopefully they will take to heart the findings down in Texas and other places where they are rolling back on juvenille incarceration.
Image Source: Editor B. on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license
