Juvenile corrections presents its own unique issues. High concentrations of mental illness and childhood trauma, low education, and youths’ identity and brain development all complicate behavior control and programming needs. Systems put heavy emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation.
But striking the balance between rehabilitation and management demands a lot of staff. Programming is expensive and there are a lot of eyes on whether it is done well. And when staff intend to shape youth for the better, they can fall afoul of due process by slipping into preemptive or indefinite incarcerations.
Ginny Morrison brings her problem-solving approach to agencies housing juveniles and supervising them on parole. As a Special Master, Ginny worked alongside California’s Division of Juvenile Justice and juveniles’ attorneys as they designed and implemented a fair system of parole revocation and successfully ended federal court supervision.
LH v. Brown, requiring due process protections during parole revocation and alternatives to incarceration decisions for California juvenile parolees
Farrell v. Brown, a conditions lawsuit in California’s juvenile facilities instituting or improving systems for safety and welfare, use of force, medical, mental health, dental, education, disability, and sex offender treatment
- Multiple methods for field and headquarters oversight using well-designed information technology
- Revocations based only on violation behavior demonstrated by evidence
- Attorney representation for all hearings
- Alternatives to incarceration considered at each step and granted in more than half of the violation actions
- Disability screening, tracking and accommodations
- Proceedings give attention to notice, meaningful participation, opportunity to be heard and present evidence and to confront adverse evidence
- Definite revocation terms assigned according to
a schedule - Appeals process
