Juvenile Justice Reform: Judges Train Judges on Reclaiming Futures and Judicial Leadership

• Should judges in the juvenile justice system use their position and influence to get people to come to meetings?

• Is it the judge’s obligation to take direct action – outside the courtroom – to fill gaps in the service continuum? 

Judges from eight Reclaiming Futures sites debated the ethics of these statements last week, at a workshop on August 28th in Greensboro, NC.
 
Being good jurists, they paid close attention to the wording of the statements, and disputed the idea that judges “should” get people to come to meetings, or were “obligated” to take “direct action” – and what was meant by “direct” action, by the way?

 
Then one of the workshop leaders, Judge Willard “Bud” Martin of New Hampshire (seen in photo above - click image for larger view) shared Resolution 22 of the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators acknowleging the need for "judicial leadership" to support “problem-solving courts." He also shared the 2006 California Rules of Court, which, among other things, encouraged judges to “actively lead the development of resources.” These revelations sparked some interesting discussion among the attendees about the implications for their own work. 
 
The day-long workshop was driven by a curriculum created by the judges from Reclaiming Futures’ first ten pilot sites. First delivered at a two-day meeting in New Hampshire two years ago, the judicial faculty refined and trimmed it to one day; the Greensboro meeting was the first time the shorter version had been delivered.
 
In this case, it was team-taught by four experienced Reclaiming Futures judges, seen at left. Clockwise from left: Professor Dan Merrigan, facilitator of the Reclaiming Futures Judicial Fellowship, Judge Anthony Capizzi (Dayton, OH), Judge Laura Inveen (Seattle, WA), Master Bill Hitchcock (Anchorage, AK), and Judge Willard "Bud" Martin from New Hampshire. (Click image for larger view.)
 
The training was divided into three modules: (1) the need for a different approach in addressing juveniles with alcohol and drug problems who are in trouble with the law, and an overview of Reclaiming Futures; (2) convening community members to improve the system; and (3) engaging the community in systems change. (A fourth module on sustaining the effort had to be cut in order to fit the training into one day.)
 
Judge Reingold, of Reclaiming Futures in Forsyth County, NC, said afterward, “The training reinforced something that I’ve always believed – that bringing community stakeholders in as investors and planning participants on projects is critical to creating lasting systemic change.”
 
And Judge Martin was pleased with the day as well. “The most significant thing,” he said, “is seeing the ripple effect. Reclaiming Futures is now up to 23 sites and will be up to 26 sites by the year-end. That showed me the sustainability of the movement. While I realize sustainability is dependent on funding, I think Reclaiming Futures has got such ‘legs’ now that it’s going to be successful on a large scale.”
 
Interested in more information about the role judges play in Reclaiming Futures and similar juvenile justice reforms? Check out A Model for Judicial Leadership: Community Responses to Juvenile Substance Abuse, a monograph developed by judges from Reclaiming Futures original 10 pilot sites.