New Rochelle’s new “Youth Justice & Equity Team” plans to keep young people out of court through education, training, and community support.

In the fall of 2020, New Rochelle City Court Judge Jared Rice created the Opportunity Youth Part (OYP) to provide young people facing criminal charges with a chance to have a more favorable legal outcome and to connect with  the community.  This program, designed for “emerging adults” aged 16-24, matches individuals facing misdemeanor or felony charges to community organizations that provide critical, immediate interventions to steer them away from the criminal justice system and onto a better path.  These justice-involved young people often have little school or family support, are often unemployed or underemployed, and have the highest rate of re-arrest of any age group.

After two years, of 220 young people referred to the OYP, 41 had completed the 12-18 month program with favorable disposition of their cases, and 79 remained engaged and receiving services.  Most were young men of color.  Forty-two stakeholder organizations and agencies are  providing services and support, along with 54 volunteer mentors.  Interventions have included case management, mentoring, substance abuse counseling, workforce development, job placement, education support, and restorative justice.

But what leads young people to become involved with the court system, and what can be done to prevent them from ever needing the OYP?

David Peters saw the need for earlier, more “upstream” intervention, and an opportunity to make it happen.  Peters, a social worker, longtime community activist, and trustee of the New Rochelle Board of Education, had participated in a fellowship program with the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University in 2019, when he was Executive Director for Equity Strategies at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services.  This year, he learned that CJJR was offering a certificate program on “Advancing Racial Justice and Equity in Youth Legal Systems” to help local jurisdictions reduce racial and ethnic disparities in their systems of care, particularly the youth legal system.  He saw this as an opportunity to develop a “two-generation (or more) service delivery system” that would intervene to support both young people at risk and their parents and families.

With the support of City Council member Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Peters assembled a team of local stakeholders reflecting many of the agencies engaged in juvenile justice or providing services that might help keep young people out of the system.  The team, led by Judge Rice, applied for the Georgetown program, was accepted to participate, and spent a week in Washington, D.C., receiving training on the roots of inequities in juvenile justice and refining a “capstone project” that will aim to reduce youth involvement in the criminal and family legal systems in New Rochelle through education, training, and community support.

In addition to Judge Rice and. Peters, the team includes Maria Almonte-Weston, Deputy Director of Court Reform for the Center for Justice Innovation; Becky Mazzanobile, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle; Detective Rob Johnson of the New Rochelle Police Department; Charles Fauntleroy of the Westchester Department of Probation; Nate Adams, the Coordinator of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) New Rochelle; and Kevin Brickle, a graduate of the OYP and a youth peer advocate.

The team, now known as “The Youth Justice & Equity Team of New Rochelle” (YJET), presented its plan at a meeting at City Court on June 2 attended by an array of community leaders, including Mayor Noam Bramson, City Manager Kathleen Gill, Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola, State Senator Shelley Mayer, County Legislator Damon Maher, School Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and his designated successor, Dr. Corey Reynolds, and many others. 

The team’s goals include:

·        Providing preventive measures and positive interventions tailored to the 10-17-year-old age group in order to effectively reduce the risk of contact with the legal system

·        Implementing services leading to positive outcomes for individuals in violation of probation or involved in Person in Need of Supervision (PINS) and diversion programs

·        Reducing out-of-home placements via discharge community plans for individuals at the Woodfield Detention Center and Children’s Village

·        Providing support, vocational training, and educational opportunities to prevent the cycle of institutionalization and create pathways for success.

Through the involvement of a broad range of community partners, the team plans to:

·        Focus on  6^th– 8^th graders for prevention programs to equip them with the tools necessary to make positive choices

·        Provide parent support for all participants, including information on positive, prosocial activities for both participants and their families

·        Empower youth facing school disciplinary issues through after-hours peer support groups and mentors

·        Provide enrichment programs and services at an early age through collaboration with the Boys &  Girls Club of New Rochelle

·        Offer counseling services focused on transformative justice and addressing intergenerational trauma

·        Improve the relationship between law enforcement and the community

·        Provide professional development trainings and vocational trainings

·        Make healing circles available to address trauma

·        Offer college enrollment services.

Key partners include the NYS Unified Court System, the New Rochelle Police Department and Youth Bureau, the New Rochelle City School District (including MBK New Rochelle), the Boys &  Girls Club of New Rochelle, the Westchester County Department of Probation, Choice of NY, the Guidance Center of Westchester, the Lexington Center for Recovery, Sun River Community Health, Nonprofit Westchester, and the Community Policing Partnership Board.  Children’s Village will collect data on the factors influencing youth engagement, and the Center for Justice Innovation and Aperio will assist with data analysis.

The YJET team appealed for broad community collaboration to support young people in New Rochelle who are at risk.  “Through our collective efforts,” YJET stated, “we aim to create a more equitable and just future for the youth of New Rochelle, supporting their growth, success, and well-being.”