6 minute read
JUVENILE LAW
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Juvenile Court
By The Honorable Helen C. Wallace Co-Chair Juvenile Law Section Montgomery County Juvenile Court
Advertisement
Everyone is different, yet the same. We all have unique life experiences. My life has shaped who I am and what kind of judge I am learning to become.
I was born in South Africa under apartheid. Apartheid was institutionalized, systemic segregation that existed from 1948 until the 1990’s. I was born in 1972, and lived under that regime until we left for the United States in 1979. My early life experiences taught me that people can be relegated to a life of poverty and servitude by the happenstance of their birth and the color of their skin. The irony is South Africa is a diverse country, with people of all different persuasions. There are 11 official languages in South Africa today. I grew up with sights and smells and languages and laughter of all different kinds of loving people. We ate Indian curry, American burgers, British scones, African bobotie (lamb casserole) and biltong (dried beef ).
South Africa’s previous government’s reaction to diversity is what triggered its downfall. Differences were not celebrated nor honored. Instead, people were arbitrarily ranked for privilege with the only determining factor being the color of one’s skin.
I witnessed my parents try and change apartheid from small individual actions to more systemic ones. Eventually, as many others before them had, they decided the United States was the best place to raise their four daughters, and we arrived in Ohio in 1979. Eight years later we obtained our legal United States citizenship. Not many people realize that the process then was not too different from that described in the hallways of Ellis Island. I remember being tested for all kinds of medical conditions that could prevent us from being granted citizenship. I felt so lucky and privileged to be healthy and qualify as a United States citizen. It is something, like many other things that we fight hard for in life, which I will never take for granted.
I am proud to be an American. I love our country and believe what makes us great is our diversity and constant striving for equity and equality. When I was elected as Montgomery County’s first female Juvenile Court Judge, it felt like life had been preparing me for this opportunity all along.
I came to the bench with a very real understanding that all children do not get an equal education. From my own personal experiences as an immigrant and a mother, to those as a prosecutor and a guardian ad litem when I was a practicing private attorney, I learned that many children are unable to proficiently read. Some don’t have any books at home, or an adult who can teach them to read.
I have the ability to create programs to try and change this lack of equity. One of my early initiatives was to build “book nooks” in several areas of the Court. These book nooks are filled with donated children’s books that can be taken home by any person. We have found our generous Dayton community to be a never-ending source of free books for our children. All I did was put a resource together with a need. I aim to keep making these connections for our children and families as often as possible.
Following my suggestion, our Court now offers children neuropsychological evaluations to help determine what may be preventing a child from progressing in school and engaging in positive social behaviors. Many of our children are four to five grade levels behind in reading. Of the 184 youth attending the Court school during 2018, three out of four youth (or 75%) tested between a third and seventh grade reading level. The average age of the students, however, is around 16, or tenth to eleventh grade.
JUVENILE LAW: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Juvenile Court continued from page 26
How is a child going to be successful and stay out of trouble if they are not engaged in school or positive activities and only read at a third grade level?
The Court now receives recommendations from a neuropsychologist on how best to deliver educational and behavioral interventions to help our children learn and thrive. The Court views these endeavors as investing long-term in our youth by helping to identify and remove barriers related to academic success, thereby also reducing recidivism, delinquent behavior, long-term adult crime and unemployment. We are recommending trade schools to a lot of the children who may otherwise turn to crime. I hope our initiatives will create a foundation for all children to have a successful, productive future as positive members of our society.
Over the course of my life, I observed that truancy is often a symptom of a larger problem. Many barriers, such as lack of transportation, unstable housing, substance abuse and mental health issues, are preventing children from attending school. Research shows that chronic absence from school correlates with lower grades, dropping out of high school, and trouble with the law. Knowing these things, I completely restructured the Court’s school absentee dockets. The Court now front-loads services to meet the needs of families and children through a multidisciplinary team that includes local housing and mental health agencies. We hope that by addressing the needs of children and families in crisis as soon as possible, we can remove barriers to education and prevent further truancy and future official Court involvement.
During my past experience as a guardian ad litem, I witnessed many children leave foster care with no structured support. Children were sometimes unaware of the resources and programs available to help them transition to independent adulthood. I’ve instituted policies that require that an emancipating child is educated about all resources available to them before custody from Children Services can be terminated. I have the honor of working with Ohio’s Bridges Program. Bridges is a voluntary program available to young adults who left foster care in Ohio at ages 18, 19 or 20, and who are in school and/or employed and working towards a positive future. The program provides guidance and emotional and financial support for young adults as they transition to adulthood.
Being a judge allows me to make a difference in lives each and every day. My diverse experiences facilitate my insight into each child and family I encounter, and I believe the community benefits from my unique perspective. I am so fortunate to have had such a varied background from which to learn. This past year, I have learned exponentially more by being on the bench than in all my prior years. Being open to learning, changing and growing is how we will continue to build a diverse and inclusive bar, and I look forward to being a part of it for many years to come.
DAYTON Bar Association
HERBERT M. EIKENBARY Trust
Advertiser Index
Daily Court Reporter.....................15 Eikenbary Trust............................27 Ferneding Insurance....................22 LCNB Bank...................................11 OBLIC...............................back cover R.L. Emmons & Associates...............9 Rogers McNay Insurance...............17 Trisha M. Duff - Mediations.............9
W
s T E T us ?
The late Herbert M. Eikenbary granted the bulk of his estate to fund Grants and Loans to lawyers under the age of 35 who practice/reside in Montgomery County. These Grants and Loans are to aid young, deserving lawyers who are in need of financial assistance.
Individual loans, are available up to $6,000 at 4% interest, while grants up to $4,000 are also available.
There's plenty of CLE Online!
Get Your CLE ONLINE 24-7! DAYBAR.CE.21.COM
