Hawai’i Juvenile Justice Project - Public Forum to Address Youth Facility Overcrowding - 2004 - News

Hawai’i Juvenile Justice Project - Public Forum to Address Youth Facility Overcrowding
February 11, 2004

Honolulu - The Hawai’i Juvenile Justice Project is holding a public forum on March 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Blaisdell Center to address the problem of overcrowding and other problems at the Hawai’i Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF). National juvenile justice experts Sue Burrell of the Youth Law Center and Dan Macallair of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice will be joined by local speakers (in formation). The forum is co-sponsored by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The forum is the first of several which will be held statewide to raise awareness about the juvenile justice system.

The Project formed last fall in response to findings of overcrowding and other system-wide problems at the HYCF. A working group was started of government, private sector and community members who want to improve Hawai’i’s juvenile justice system. The goal is to increase statewide community support for the appropriate community placement of children who should not be detained at the HYCF. The Project also wants to contact families of youth who are or have been incarcerated or in community placement.

Project co-chair Gail Gnazzo of Maui Youth and Family Services, Inc. said, "A good number of youth need not be detained at HYCF but would be better served by increased use of appropriate community placement. This would result in successfully reuniting more youth with their families and communities without jeopardizing public safety."

The Project has received financial and in-kind commitments from the Hawai’i Community Foundation, Kamehameha Schools and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to support its work.

Project co-chair Vanessa Chong of the local ACLU said, "We have also started a hotline so the public can contact us about their concerns. Hopefully, they will also get involved. Positive reform will only be possible if all the moving parts of the system that deal with children work together. "

The cost is $5.00 per adult and children under age 18 are free. Scholarships are available. For reservations, contact the Project hotline at 522-5906 (Honolulu) List of Hawai’i Juvenile Justice Project Members (in formation):

ACLU of Hawai’i/Jory Watland, Vanessa Chong
Blueprint for Change/Lydia Hardie
Bobby Benson Center/Catherine Bruns
Catholic Charities Hawai’i/Ana Rosal
Child and Family Service/Suzanne McNulty
Community Alliance on Prisons/Kat Brady
Hale Kipa /Punky Pletan-Cross
Hale ‘Opio Kaua’i, Inc. /Mary Lou Barela
Hawai’i Families as Allies/Vicky Followell
Hawai’i Foster Youth Coalition/Rhonda Nichols
Hawai’i Intergenerational Network/Mae Mendelson
Hawai’i Psychiatric Medical Association/Lydia Hardie
Hawai’i Youth Services Network /Judith Clark
Hina Mauka /Andy Anderson
Kamehameha Schools/Kalei Kailihiwa
Learning Disabilities Assoc. of Hawai’i/Josie Mullis
Maui Youth and Family Services, Inc. /Gail Gnazzo
Marimed Foundation /Kimberly Day
National Association of Social Workers, Hawai’i Chapter/Debbie Shimizu
Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center/Susan Wada
Sisters Offering Support/Adina Stevens
The Interfaith Alliance of Hawai’i/Sam Cox
Volunteer Legal Services Hawai’i -Na Keiki Law Center /Annabel Murray
(national) Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice/Dan Macallair
(national) Legal Services for Children/Abigail Trillin
(national) Pacific Juvenile Defender Center - A Project of ABA Juvenile Justice Center/Abigail Trillin
(national) Youth Law Center/Sue Burrell
Sesnita Moepono
Buddy Summers, Pastor (Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Divison/Christina Donkervoet
Office of Prosecuting Attorney/Jay Kimura, Hilo
Office of Prosecuting Attorney/Michael Soong, Kaua’i
Office of Hawaiian Affairs/Trustee Oswald Stender
Office of Public Defender/Carolyn Brown

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