Centinela Youth Services, Inc. has been named the recipient of the $1 million 2012 Everychild Foundation grant. The funds will launch and sustain a restorative justice center across the street from three Los Angeles juvenile courts over a three-year period. Specifically, the grant will be used to create and operate the center, including the funding of dedicated staff and partner agencies for services provided there. Everychild’s grant will provide the remaining 60 percent of the $1.6-million total program cost. Everychild, founded in 1999 by Palisadian Jaqueline Caster, continues to work toward its mission to assist children who suffer from disease, disability, abuse, neglect or poverty. The foundation funds its annual $1 million grants through member dues’$5,000 per member. The new juvenile justice center will be named the Everychild Restorative Justice Center (ECRJC) and will operate under the principals of restorative justice, a framework that engages victims, offenders, families and the community in repairing the harm caused by crime. This framework has proven effective in reducing recidivism and has been shown to improve school attendance and decrease drug use, truancy and school suspensions. ‘The primary goal of the program is to keep teens from being incarcerated or ending up at a juvenile detention camp where, sadly, outcomes are dismal,’ said Caster, now the nonprofit’s president. The Everychild Restorative Justice Center will focus on 1,200 vulnerable, high-risk minority teens by diverting them from the juvenile justice system into the center’s programs, including mediation between teen offenders, their victims, and their family members; family counseling to open and reach agreement on improved behavior at school and a more cooperative home environment; educational assistance to encourage teens to reenroll in school; employment services; and referrals to mental health providers. Referrals to the program will be divided into two tiers. Tier I will include 750 teens referred by schools and local police for offenses such as truancy, runaway, defiance and curfew violations. Those teens agreeing to enter the program will be required to complete assigned services in lieu of school detention, suspension or fines to parents. Tier II will include 450 teens’both first and second time offenders’ referred by the courts, the District Attorney, and the Probation Department for more serious misdemeanor offenses such as petty theft, vandalism and assault. These teens will be placed under the supervision of a probation officer and assigned to receive services prior to trial. Services will be provided as long as the teens participate as scheduled, complete required activities, and do not re-offend or are not re-arrested during program participation. Upon satisfactory completion of services provided by the program, charges may be dropped or cases dismissed, records may be sealed, and fees and penalties may be waived. Senior judges in Los Angeles are committed to replicating ECJRC in other Los Angeles County juvenile courts. Choosing which agency to fund every year is a time-consuming process, taking more than a year. Beginning in September, the Grant Outreach Committee invites qualifying agencies to submit a letter of inquiry for review. The grant screening board reviews the letters and requests documentation from those agencies they feel meet the Everychild criteria. Applicant documents are reviewed and site visits arranged. In June, the GSB votes on which two agencies will be asked to submit final proposals and make a presentation to the entire Everychild membership in October. After the presentation, Everychild members conduct a secret ballot vote by mail and the winner is announced in November. Now into its second decade, Everychild has expanded its public policy work to have an impact on policies and legislation reaching a greater number of children. The foundation was recognized for its efforts in passing AB 12, the California bill that will allow foster youth the option to remain in care until 21. For more information, go to everychildfoundation.org.
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