RELIEF FOR THE HAITIAN PEOPLE
Many faith communities have come to the aid of the men, women and children of Haiti who are suffering from the devastation brought by the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. The following is an interfaith list of faith communities who are responding to their needs. You may contact them to find out how you can help. If your faith tradition is involved in rendering aid, please let us know, and we will post the necessary contact information.
JUVENILE JUSTICE MATTERS: A NEW JUVENILE CODE FOR GEORGIA
UPCOMING REGIONAL MEETINGS
Friday, February 5, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Word of Faith Family Worship Center
212 Riverside Parkway
Austell, GA 30168
Tuesday, February 9, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Memorial University Medical Center
Medical Education Auditorium
4700 Waters Avenue
Savannah, GA 31404
Tuesday, February 16
Americus, GA
Time and Location (TBA)
SAVE THE DATE!
JUSTGeorgia/CASA Day at the Capitol
Tuesday, February 23, 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
The Freight Depot, Blue Room
65 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Atlanta GA 30334
JUVENILE JUSTICE MATTERS: A NEW JUVENILE CODE FOR GEORGIA
SB 292 - New Article for Juvenile Code: Children in Need of Services (CHINS)
Senate Bill 292 - The Child Protection and Public Safety Act, which was introduced in the latter part of the 2009 session by Senator Bill Hamrick (R-30th), is the result of the diligence and hard work of the JUSTGeorgia coalition. This legislation is the beginning of the overdue reform needed in Georgia's juvenile justice system. It proposes a Juvenile Code that--
• provides for fair and equal justice for all children;
• makes the law clear for judges, attorneys and parents; and
• provides for intervention and prevention services that help children.
In 2008, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice reported that it processed 50,594 intake cases. One of the 21st century approaches to prevention, intervention and rehabilitation in this proposed juvenile code revision is a new article Children in Need of Services (CHINS).
"The proposed Children In Need of Services (CHINS) article of Senate Bill 292 - The Child Protection and Public Safety Act will provide more immediate support services and intervention to at-risk children and their families, without formal court involvement. By doing so, these children can be treated in a non-punitive, non-criminalizing way. The purpose is to recognize that a child may not always be responsible for problematic behaviors. By providing appropriate service-focused interventions, a child is more likely to be deterred from future delinquency and involvement in the juvenile and criminal justice systems," reported Julia Neighbors, project manager for JUSTGeorgia."
ICM sees the measures included in the CHINS article as necessary and logical steps to building stronger families and reducing the overwhelming number of Georgia's children entering the juvenile justice system. As a member of the JUSTGeorgia coalition, ICM will continue to travel across Georgia to encourage faith communities to become informed and educated about the proposed juvenile code legislation and the state of Georgia's children in the juvenile justice system and to help faith communities get engaged in becoming part of the solution.
Use this link to find a summary of the key objectives of this legislation: SB 292 Key Objectives.
Read Senator Hamrick's editorial in the June issue of waveLength, the Voices for Georgia's Children newsletter.
Read Georgia Appleseed's: Common Wisdom: Making the Case for a New Georgia Juvenile Code