Are the Kids Alright? COVID-19 & Youth Forum Issue Brief

ISSUE BRIEF

SEPTEMBER 2020

CONTENTS PAGE 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PAGE 5 INTRODUCTION

PAGE 9 OPENING REMARKS Dr. Giza Lopes

PAGE 15 THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC & YOUTH ENVIRONMENTS

PAGE 17 COVID-19 & HOMES Collaborating for Child and Family Safety

PAGE 23 COVID-19 & EDUCATION Equity and Access to Learning and Vital Supports

PAGE 33 COVID-19 & COMMUNITIES Positively Engaging and Supporting Youth and Families

PAGE 33 COVID-19 & JUSTICE SYSTEMS I & II Youth Support, Safety, and Accountability Innovations

PAGE 41 COVID-19 & OUT-OF-HOME SETTINGS

PAGE 46 RESEARCH & FUNDING Setting an EvidenceDriven Agenda for the Impact and Aftermath of COVID-19 on Youth Justice

PAGE 51 KEYNOTE ADDRESS Professor john powell

PAGE 53 PLENARY ADDRESS Michael Umpierre

PAGE 55

GUIDANCE INTO THE NEW NORMAL Research and Practice Questions

PAGE 60 MOVING FORWARD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This issue brief was prepared by the following NYS Youth Justice Institute staff: Avery Irons, Alysha Gagnon, Samahria Alpern, Brian Rainey, and Giza Lopes.

The YJI would like to thank staff from the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, and the University at Albany, for their invaluable support in the planning and development of the forum.

We are also grateful to the NYS Juvenile Justice Advisory Group and to the YJI Executive Committee members for their continued support for the Institute and this event.

Several individuals were key thought-partners in this initiative. We express our thanks to Diane Sierpina (Tow Foundation), Distinguished Professor Bill Pridemore (University at Albany's School of Criminal Justice), Distinguished Professor Alan Lizotte (University at Albany's School of Criminal Justice), Professor Megan Kurlychek (Pennsylvania State University), Vince Delio (University at Albany's Division for Research), Dr. Nina Aledort (OCFS), and Greg Owens (DCJS).

Our many thanks also to each of the forum's speakers and moderators, whose expertise guided us all in exploring what the next normal may bring. Finally, we thank Angelique McAlpine for shaping the take-away points from each presentation into works of art.

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INTRODUCTION The NYS Youth Justice Institute’s (YJI) key mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of localities around the state to adopt evidence-informed youth justice practices. We carry out this mission by disseminating information, assisting with implementation and assessing efficacy in existing youth justice programs, and by conducting cutting-edge research to advance the science and practice of evidencebased initiatives. As New York emerged as the first U.S. epicenter of the pandemic in March 2020, the YJI, like the rest of the world, pivoted to this new, mostly virtual reality. As we considered ways we could support the youth justice field in New York and nationally, we wanted to understand the pandemic’s impacts on youth and young adults.

The result was the forum “Are the Kids Alright? Research. Policy. Practice. Advocacy.”

In choosing the title, we willingly accepted the misnomer, as the question really encompassed the experiences of “kids” at all developmental stages including children, teens, and emerging adults. We envisioned a national, cross-stakeholder conversation that would look holistically at the pandemic’s impacts on youth involved with (or at risk for involvement) in the justice system, as well as the ways this global catastrophe was impacting already vulnerable and historically oppressed youth populations. We included in the term vulnerable populations youth of color, LGBTQIA+ youth, youth who are immigrants or from immigrant families, and youth with behavioral health needs. To these ends, the forum contained six environmentfocused panels on homes, communities, education, justice systems, and out-of-home settings. The event concluded with an agenda-setting discussion between funders and researchers.

With the goal of expanding the conversation beyond the common professional and geographic silos, the panels contained a mixture of practitioners, researchers, advocates, and individuals with lived experience. The YJI selected participating experts via a national search and through recommendations from experts in childand family-focused fields. In the end, the experts hailed from 12 US states, Washington DC, and Nigeria. The breadth of the panelists’ contributions included, but was not limited to, expertise in the experiences of urban and rural youth, vulnerable youth populations, education, family support, trauma, youth engagement, behavioral health, healthcare access, and justice systems.

PAGE 5 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

As we neared the forum’s June 2-5 run dates, the global kaleidoscope shifted again with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Mr. Floyd’s death and the ensuing protests forced a national reflection on and conversation about police violence against communities of color, racial and ethnicity disparities in the justice system, and the economic and health disparities so glaringly highlighted during the pandemic.

Racial and ethnic disparities and systemic inequities were already key components of the forum’s planned conversations; however, these events sharpened the questions we asked of ourselves and one another. Also, the events, like the pandemic, created an urgency to explore innovations and transformations that can propel youth justice reform forward at even more acute angles. The YJI staff offers its gratitude and esteem to the panelists,

moderators, speakers, and audience for holding space with us and taking the conversation where it needed to go – to truly support movement toward justice for youth, their families, and communities.

Answering the Question, Are the Kids Alright?

The forum title “Are the Kids Alright?” forced participants to assess a complex situation with a question that allowed only for a “yes” or “no” answer. If constraining ourselves within this dichotomy, and upon review of the 15 hours of forum conversation, the most honest answer is “no.” However, if we allow ourselves a more nuanced response, then keynote speaker Professor john powell proposed the most appropriate answer—some kids are more alright than others. As child psychology professor Dr. Yo Jackson explained during the Homes panel, a family’s pre-pandemic state is likely a good indicator of how they have fared during the pandemic. Youth and families living in struggle—whether that struggle be based on economics, health, or community disenfranchisement—have likely continued to struggle. Those with more economic security and access to resources and supports have generally fared bettered.

As many vulnerable youth touch multiple systems, the themes in Box A, below, echoed across all of the forum’s conversations. As the themes wove themselves throughout the discussions, points of alignment in thought, action, and analysis for many of the panelists were clarified. They are summarized in Box B.

Forum panelists and moderators hailed from 12 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Nigeria.

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BOX A - KEY FORUM THEMES

Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities Actualizing Youth and Family Leadership Supporting Mental Health and Healing Implementing Community-Guided solutions Ensuring Fiscal Accountability Across Systems Ensuring Stakeholder Accountability Overcoming Barriers to Tech Access Increasing Community-Focused Supports

BOX B - FORWARD MOVEMENT IN YOUTH JUSTICE...

Calls upon stakeholders across disciplines and geographies to enact change that is transformative; commits the evolution of youth justice toward community-based and communityguided solutions for meeting the needs of youth and families; ensures that the health and success of youth and families are the paramount goals of our modern society; and this must all be built upon the foundation of a real, sustained, structural, and appropriately financed commitment to equity and the building of communities as opposed to systems.

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The Forum reached a global audience, with over 3,500 registered attendees from the U.S, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, etc.

This issue brief captures in written form the essence of these powerful conversations and is intentionally frozen in the historical moment in which the forum occurred. The panelists provide a wealth of knowledge on the pandemic’s immediate impacts on youth and families, and also some information on system-level adaptations and emerging innovations around the country. They also offered thoughts and concerns as the youth justice field moves forward into the “next normal� and ways that we can best understand and respond to the needs of youth and families in contact with the justice system.

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

For a complete list of speakers and their biographies, as well as to access recordings of all the panels, please visit the Covid-19 & Youth microsite.

OPENING REMARKS

Giza Lopes, PhD

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NYS Youth Justice Institute at the University at Albany

Following a brief greeting by Institute staff, Giza Lopes, YJI’s Executive Director, welcomed online participants and panelists and set the context for the Forum’s sessions. In Dr. Lopes’ words:

"Let us work to ensure that the 'new normal' whatever that is we are aspiring to achieve - doesn't bring with it the ugly vestiges of centuries past."

This forum is designed to bring together insights from multiple disciplines and from diverse professional fields to discuss three big questions: 1. What are the current impacts of the pandemic on youth?

2. What are the foreseeable impacts of this crisis on this population long-term?

3. What practice and policy innovations have emerged out of this situation that might lend themselves to sustainable efforts moving forward?

While children, teens, and young adults are not the "face of this crisis," a recent report

PAGE 9 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

MEET THE

SUMMER 2020

m m a a ttee by the United Nations points out that they "risk being among its biggest victims."

Everywhere, the report states, "youth are being affected especially by the socioeconomic impacts [of the pandemic]" [1]. Just in the past few months, an entire generation of children have had their education upended; teens considering college this fall might have to change their plans to help unemployed parents; young adults graduating college now, face a dire economic crisis.

We know, the report continues, from “previous health emergencies that children are at heightened risk of exploitation, violence and abuse when schools are closed, social services are interrupted, and movement is restricted” [1]. And throughout all of this,

members of marginalized groups are most seriously affected.

This is a global crisis and, for many, the impact will be lifelong. It is imperative that we try and assess the long-term consequences this situation may have over the life-course of youth and especially youth involved in the justice system. Yet, as the old maxim says, “necessity is the mother of invention”. Now more than ever we are offered the opportunity to rise to the occasion and engage creatively in problem-solving. We have much to learn from the kids themselves in this area. Just think about the 10-year-old girl in California who created a plastic curtain designed to hug her grandparents while keeping them safe from infection. Or the teen in Seattle whose covid-tracking website has

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Previous page: 1 2 3 4 5

BRIAN RAINEY, RESEARCH ASSISTANT JEEWON RYU, YJI SCHOLAR SASHA BORODA, YJI SCHOLAR PAUL WHITE, YJI SCHOLAR ALYSHA GAGNON, RESEARCH ASSISTANT

8

This page: 6 7 8 9 10

become a crucial resource worldwide. New policies and practices are emerging everywhere; it’s in our interest to learn about them and assess their efficacy and sustainability.

As much of the world begins to reopen, we invite you to collectively imagine with us the future of youth and justice post-Covid. As we do so, let’s remain critical, let’s avoid romanticizing the past. The world as we knew it, pre-pandemic, was far from perfect. Even amidst a dystopian worldwide crisis, racism in the justice system has still found a way to rear its head, as the events in Minnesota and nationwide in the past few days made clear.

Let us work to ensure that the “new normal” we are aspiring to achieve doesn’t

SAMAHRIA ALPERN, YJI SCHOLAR KALPITA DAPKEKAR, YJI SCHOLAR JUSTINE DICIO, YJI SCHOLAR JOHN GREEN, OFFICE ASSISTANT AVERY IRONS, JD, ASSOCIATE FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

bring with it the ugly vestiges of centuriespast.

We are absolutely honored to have a stellar roster of experts lead these discussions over the next few days and help us get closer to answers that will guide our collective work moving forward. My many thanks to the panelists, moderators, our Plenary and Keynote Speakers, Michael Umpierre and Prof. john powell, who will be guiding us in exploring these questions between now and Friday.

This pandemic has made us all acutely aware of how connected we all are in the world. If a crisis like this can ever have a silver lining, I’d offer that this pandemic has instilled in

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While the YJI is physically located in Draper Hall (left) in the Downtown Campus of the University at Albany, we have been operating online since Spring 2020. The YJI's team comprises several undegraduate and graduate students from SUNY and beyond.

The Forum took place just as students everywhere, including at the University at Albany, had to find new, virtual ways to celebrate their graduations and other milestones. (Go Great Danes!)

YJI Scholars, before the campus shutdown during the early months of the pandemic in New York State.

most of us a deep sense of collective responsibility, and has illustrated the critical role that data can play in policy-making. For that reason, in organizing this event, we wanted to go beyond the local and weave together national and global expertise in these areas to capitalize on what we can learn from each other. We are pleased to see that this effort has translated into an equally diverse audience: many of you come from local and state governments all over the country, as well as universities, non-profits, and research centers from near and far. Thank you very much for being “here� today.

It only remains for me to thank the staff and scholars of the YJI and especially Alysha Gagnon, Avery Irons, and Brian Rainey. Behind the scenes we have an army of incredible college

PAGE 12 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

students making sure everything is running smoothly: Samahria Alpern, Sasha Boroda, Paul White, Justine Dicio and JeeWon Ryu. Without all of you this wouldn’t be possible.

The YJI results from a partnership between the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, and SUNY Albany. My thanks to our partners, to the YJI’s Executive Board, and to the NYS Juvenile Justice Advisory Group for their support to the Institute. We are also grateful to SUNY Distinguished Professors Bill Pridemore and Alan Lizotte, to Prof. Megan Kurlychek at Penn State University, to staff of the Division for Research at SUNY, and to Diane Sierpina from the Tow Foundation for all their help.

Let’s get started!

SOURCE:

[1] United Nations. Policy Brief: The Impact of Covid-19 on Children. April 15 2020. Available from https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/policy_brief_on _covid_impact_on_children_16_april_2020.pdf

A few of the Forum speakers during warm-up tech-checks in advance of the Forum's start. From left to right: Amanda Oren, Nina Aledort, Alysha Gagnon, Eddie Fergus, Paul Taylor, Lynette Tannis, Judge Steven Teske, Kelli Caseman, Chris Wildeman, Daphnne Brown, Dina Thompson, Rashaad Porter, Amore Alvarenga, Yo Jackson, Yamanda Wright, Eddie Ellis, Stephen Goldmeier, Audrey Hickert, Christy Crawford, Judge Edwina Mendelson, Mma Ekeruche, Josh Rovner, Dan Mistak, Michi Soyer, J. Gayle Beck, Greg Owens, Laura Tinajero, and Corey Whichard.

PAGE 13 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

THE

Covid-19

PANDEMIC & YOUTH ENVIRONMENTS The YJI designed the forum to provide participants a multi-dimensional analysis of the pandemic’s impact on youth and young adults. Six of the seven panels focused on five environments: homes, education, communities, justice systems, and out-of-home settings. The last panel convened researchers and funders for an agenda-setting discussion. Along with other environment-specific questions, all panelist were asked to speak to the pandemic’s current impacts and foreseeable lasting impacts on youth as well as stakeholder innovations developed in response to the crisis. The following sections discuss some of the key takeaways from each panel. Given the difficulty of BOX C - BY THE NUMBERS

48,000

youth are incarcerated in the United States on any given day.

In 2018, there were roughly

678,000 child abuse and neglect victims and over referrals to child protective services in the U.S.

4.3 million Also in 2018, about

one third

of the homeless population in the U.S. comprised families with children and over

4 million And in the 2017-18 academic year

30%

Sources cited within text.

children did not have health insurance in this country. of schools reported school incidents to police.

reflecting two-hour conversations in a short, written summation, the YJI encourages readers to view the panels in their entirety on the Are the Kids Alright? Forum microsite.

Where applicable, the summations also include panelist recommendations or emerging innovations.

Life Before the Pandemic The panelists were first asked to speak about their pre-pandemic work and the state of youth and families through their specific lens of expertise. In their remarks some panelists focused on statistics while others told the stories about the common experiences of the youth, young adults, and families in the communities they serve. The statistics in Box C extrapolate to

PAGE 15 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

the national level many of the commonalities discussed throughout the forum. On any given day, over 48,000 youth are incarcerated in the United States.[1] In 2018, there were approximately 678,000 child abuse and neglect victims and over 4.3 million referrals to child protective services involving 7.8 million children.[2] In the same year, families with children (56,342 families) accounted for one-third of the United States’ homeless population.[3] Four million children in the U.S. did not have health insurance. And during the 2017-2018 school year, over 30 % of schools reported school incidents to the police.[4] The pandemic, many panelists argued, laid bare the impacts of the deficiencies of the United States’ safety net for youth. Most glaring, they said, were the plain realities clarified about racial and ethnic inequities, with youth of color and poor youth (rural and urban) disproportionately falling through gaping holes in this net. Many states and localities had ongoing reform efforts, many of them integrating trauma-responsive services, healing based frameworks, better youth and family engagement practices, and crosssector partnerships. However, as researcher and Communities panelist Yamanda Wright noted, reforms are never applied uniformly across communities, and communities with a history of state-based violence and inequity in particular are excluded from the benefits of reform that other communities reap.

Judge Steven Teske, a Justice Systems panelist, explained that people working in the juvenile justice system and related systems may have good intentions to support children, but broken systems lead to broken decisions and broken outcomes.

SOURCES [1] Sawyer, W. (2019) Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie 2019. Prison Policy Initiative.https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/yo uth2019.html.

[2] U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2020). Child Maltreatment 2018. Available from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-datatechnology /statistics-research/childmaltreatment.

[3] U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. (2018). The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) Report to Congress.

Available from https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/docume nts/2018-AHAR-Part-1.pdf [4] National Center for Education Statistics.

(2019). Digest of Education Statistics. Available from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/ dt19_229.40.asp. Accessed 13 Aug. 2020

PAGE 16 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

Yo Jackson, PhD

Penn State Child Maltreatment Solutions Network

J. Gayle Beck, PhD

Athena Project, University of Memphis

COVID-19 &

HOMES: Collaborating for Daphnne Brown

Families Together in NYS

child and family safety

Amanda Oren

Monroe County Law Department

PAGE 17 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

COVID-19 & HOMES: Collaborating

for

child

and

family

safety

Current and Foreseeable Lasting Impacts on Youth and Families For many youth and families, home has become the epicenter of their pandemic experience. The strengths and weaknesses evidenced in the other environments (e.g. schools and communities) impact the home arena most significantly. The panelists reported that the compounding stresses of this moment, including uncertainty about the future, loss of livelihoods, reduced contact with extended families and social support systems, loss of loved ones, and disruptions to vital services, are causing families across

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED: Mental health risks/risk mitigation, interpersonal violence, community-guided solutions, individualized and culturally-relevant interventions, equitable access to services for non-digital families the nation high levels of stress, anxiety, fear, and grief. However, as with all crises and disasters, many are finding that the experience has also brought their families closer together, that they are getting to know

one another on a deeper level, becoming better attuned to their individual and collective needs, and learning to coexist in new ways.

Pre-COVID Family Functioning and Service Disruptions As noted earlier in this brief, panelist Dr. Yo Jackson emphasized the importance of connecting the pre-COVID functioning of a youth’s family and extended support system to efforts to better understand how families and individuals have adapted during the pandemic. It is likely that many families that were already operating at capacity and struggling to access needed services will experience these challenges at heightened levels during the pandemic, especially since the pandemic has disrupted key support systems and created new barriers to accessing critical resources and services.

“I don’t think any of us wants to spend time jumping in and developing services that we think a community needs only to find to out it’s not at all what the community needs or wants...we need to start with an open dialogue."

-Gayle Beck At the systems level, services for families have been severely disrupted and, in some instances, halted. These disruptions have strained service providers’ resources and capacities, including those of shelters, food

banks, housing services, and behavioral health services. Many providers have transitioned to online service provision which has presented both opportunities and obstacles. On a positive note, Dr. Beck noted that the options for tele-mental health services have increased access and usage of such services among LGBTQIA+ community members in Memphis. Daphnne Brown noted that in New York, wraparound service providers have seen an increase in engagement and greater comfortability for families during the switch to online services.

However, there is a learning curve to the technology access which has placed a higher degree of burden on the youth in families to advocate for their own care. There are also privacy concerns with regard to where a person can go within their living environment to have a private conversation with a service provider. In some cases, families or individuals disconnect mid-session, though it is unclear whether this is due to technology difficulties or because they want to ‘walk out’ of the session. Also, only time and further evaluation will provide insights into the efficacy of offering traditionally in-person services in the digital space.

The panelists emphasized that digital solutions are a beginning step in our striving to meet the needs of families in this moment, but that our creative solutions must move beyond merely providing a version of previously in-person services on a digital platform. Such a singular focus would serve to further exacerbate the access issues associated with the digital divide, including access to information, education, and physical

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and mental health services. As the nation moves into the “next” normal, the panelists urged systems and providers to recognize and act on the long voiced and seldom implemented belief that families deserve meaningful opportunities to decide what services they need and should have a say in how they receive these services. For those services that do shift to digital spaces in the long-term, providers must also work to increase their youth and families’ comfortability navigating online services and processes.

Supporting Caregivers to Best Support Youth While it is intuitive for youth-serving agencies and organizations to focus on youth support efforts during the pandemic, the panelists explained that these entities must also focus on providing services to parents and

caregivers to best position them to care for their children. Caregivers must also receive sufficient support so they can cope with and respond to this moment’s unprecedent challenges.

Across fields, stakeholders are concerned about the compounding pandemic-related stressors leading to increases in child maltreatment and intimate partner violence (IPV) during the pandemic. The isolation of youth and families makes it simultaneously difficult for those traditionally in mandated reporter roles (such as school personnel) to monitor the safety of children, and for victims of violence in the home to find ways to report abuse or find safety. The experience of or exposure to violence has long-term impacts on the health and well-being of children [1] and [2]. Children in chronically high-stress and low-resource situations may develop unhealthy fight-or-flight methods of coping which can negatively impact their current

PAGE 20 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

and future interpersonal relationships and physical health. Also, research has shown that children who are exposed to parental IPV have a greater likelihood of experiencing IPV in adulthood.

Dr. Jackson encouraged practitioners to consider children’s situations when interpreting their behavior. The uncertainty that the pandemic has caused and its disruption to routine and consistency could lead to higher mental health risks. Youth involved with systems are at a particularly high risk, as their already-limited access to resources has drastically decreased during the pandemic. Dr. Jackson further called “Children are not resilient. That is into question society’s reliance on the probably one of the most dangerous children’s resiliency in times of crisis; she sayings…they are actually really stated: “Children are not resilient. That is absorbent." probably one of the most dangerous sayings…

- Dr. Yo Jackson this idea that children are superheroes and are made of rubber and are resilient in some way.

They are not…they are actually really absorbent. That's not to suggest that children can't overcome things—they don't do it alone. And that's the dangerous part of that saying, it suggests that it doesn't take a community of people to make that child strong. Children need supports . . . we don't want to get comfortable with the idea that t[he child] seems fine . . .".

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

PANELIST RECOMMENDATIONS: Support family choice in service selection and access; ensure that families are not overburdened Build sustainable mental health service networks Conduct community-level needs assessment and follow this with relevant training and grant seeking  Build open communication with non-mental health providers in the community including the faith community, hairdressers, barbers, et cetera Rethink service infrastructures with a specific focus on cultural context and familial needs Conduct community-based online outreach to families with information on COVID Develop innovative service solutions that do not rely on internet access Increase funding to create non-digital safe spaces to avoid disenfranchising large groups of people

See all visual notes on our microsite or watch the artist's process in our YouTube channel.

SOURCES [1] Felitti et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine 14:4 p. 245-258.

[2] Mueller, I., & Tronick, E. (2019). Early life exposure to violence: Developmental consequences on brain and behavior. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 13 p. 156.

PAGE 22 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

Christy Crawford

New York City Department of Education

Eddie Fergus

Temple University, College of Education, Urban Education and Policy

COVID-19 & EDUCATION: Equity and access

Kelli Caseman

Think Kids

Lynette Tannis, PhD

Harvard Graduate School of Education

PAGE 23 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

to learning and vital supports

COVID-19 & EDUCATION: Equity

and

access

to

learning

and

vital

supports

Current and Foreseeable Lasting Impacts The Centrality of Schools The pandemic has erased any doubts about the centrality of the education system to the nation’s functioning. Almost overnight in midMarch, young adults, families, educators, and other systems stakeholders were thrust into an education paradigm and paradox for which there was no chance to prepare. School systems quickly pivoted to remote learning processes with many communities unable to provide the additional technology supports

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED: Technology access barriers, creative teaching methods, policy flexibility, reentry support, reinvesting funds, schoolhealthcare intersection, educating incarcerated youth

necessary to ensure that all families could access education in an online environment.

Parents, whether working at home or forced by their essential worker status to continue to

work out-of-the home, were suddenly also charged with ensuring that their children successfully completed the school year. For parents of children with disabilities, for the most part, almost no support was readily available or forthcoming in this transition.

Youth in detention and placement settings also experienced severe education disruptions as education staff in many facilities were unable to return to facilities.

Such settings often have rules and regulations against youth-accessible internet infrastructure making a pivot to remote learning difficult or impossible. Also, millions of emerging adults were physically displaced from post-secondary settings such as colleges, universities, and trade programs and shifted to online learning.

“We can’t be reactionary. We can’t just talk about only the risks and not about the prevention, not about what foundation is needed to help make a child whole.”

-Lynette Tannis

The pandemic has also highlighted the essentiality of non-instructional functions of school personnel and school buildings. Kelli Caseman explained that there is much shared space between healthcare and schools, and for many children, schools are a primary access point for medical and mental health care, including vaccinations, physicals, and needed mental health assessments and treatments. Furthermore, in most areas,

schools are a conduit for meal services, afterschool programming, positive engagement opportunities, and recreational and social activities.

Student and Family Stressors

At the time of this brief’s drafting, school systems across the country were still debating in-person versus remote instruction for Fall 2020 return. There is little agreement between federal, state, and local decisionmakers, and many teachers and teachers’ unions are speaking openly about fears for their health if they are forced to return to the classroom. And many parents are juggling worries about the health of their children if schools reopen, their children’s mental health and development if schools do not reopen, and how to maintain employment and secure childcare if they must supervise remote learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital released a report on July 30, 2020 revealing that 97,000 children in the US tested positive for the virus in the last two weeks of July 2020.[1] Education access concerns are urgent for the upcoming fall, and also to ensure that this disruption does not accelerate the widening of the education and life prospect disparities for communities of color, rural communities, and poor communities. As the Education panel discussed the current racial tension and social unrest, Christy Crawford emphasized the need for system-level planning processes that give teachers time to reflect on racism in education, including how what they teach or do not teach contributes to systems of oppression. The moment is also ripe for

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research into the ways teachers can undo oppression in schools, which could manifest as performative ally-ship.

Opportunities Moving Forward As states and localities move forward with education planning for the 2020-2021 school year, Christy advised leaders to engage in “full market� analyses of the internet access and usage

patterns in their areas as well the computer equipment available to each household. She also suggested that systems increase teacher training to provide better support for parents of children with developmental and neurological disabilities, to truly deliver online education in exciting and engaging ways, and to also provide social and emotional learning supports that students currently need.

As schools in the community move forward with planning, Kelli spoke about the opportunity for community leaders and providers to develop strategies to provide a full continuum of care to families who access services in nontraditional ways. This process would require developing a deep understanding of state healthcare structures, identifying key decision-makers, understanding what services Medicare reimburses for in schools, speaking to parents so that they can articulate their families’ needs, and including healthcare system actors at the

PANELIST RECOMMENDATIONS: Give teachers time to reflect on their position of power and ways to create anti-racist and anti-oppressive environments in their classrooms Increase support from the private sector to help provide tech equipment for students Reallocate funding from law enforcement to the education sector Increase telehealth adaptations, especially for those without transportation access Create nationwide Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) reimbursements for telehealth appointments

table in education-related discussions. Comprehensive mental health care, pediatric-focused community services, and culturally considerate care are also important components of any plan.

Regarding education for youth in detention and placement settings Lynette Tannis highlighted the efforts of teachers working remotely in some systems to create plans for providing higher quality instruction upon return to in-person learning. For youth returning to their communities, they return to another disrupted system. However, in many cases, participation in school is a condition of their probation and continued freedom. Lynette spoke to the need for collaboration among community stakeholders to identify available services and to create a warm handoff from detention or placement to community schools and providers.

SOURCE

[1] Turner, Cory. (2020). At Least 97,000 Children Tested Positive For Coronavirus In Last 2 Weeks Of July. https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/11/900861372/at-least-97-000-children-testedpositive-for-coronavirus-in-last-2-weeks-of-july.

PAGE 27 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

Allen Lipscomb, PsyD

California State University Northridge

David Hureau, PhD

University at Albany, School of Criminal Justice

COVID-19 & COMMUNITIES: Laura Tinajero

National Comadres Network, Building Healthy Communities

Positively engaging and supporting youth

Mma Amara Ekeruche

and families

Center for the Study of the Economies of Africa

Yamanda Wright, PhD

RTI International; Youth, Violence Prevention, and Community Justice Division

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COVID-19 & COMMUNITIES: Positively and

engaging

and

supporting

youth

families

Current and Foreseeable Lasting Impacts History’s Impacts on the Present The Communities panel simultaneously grappled with the historical relationship between marginalized communities and justice systems, the ongoing trauma of race relations and race-based abuses in communities of color, and the need to protect hope and integrate healing for youth in communities. The panelists urged

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED: Healing, institutional accountability, centering youth voices in decision-making, non-carceral interventions, inclusiveness stakeholders to keep our attention to history on the front burner. The inequalities that have been underscored by the pandemic are not novel.

Historically and at present, the conversation

emphasized, youth of color are being arrested and confined at rates far higher than their white peers, often for things as minor as truancy or disorderly conduct. And the outcomes, researcher Yamanda Wright explained, are much harsher for youth of color after that contact. Many systems justify confining youth for minor offenses as a necessary means to provide youth hard-toaccess services (e.g. psychiatric treatment and substance use services). The pandemic has further shrunk an already small pool of available services, making it even more difficult to create more community-based access points for these services, something for which many stakeholders have advocated.

This disruption to service systems reinforces disparate treatment of youth of color and portends the possibility of more punitive responses to misbehavior. Services that are offered in the community at this time must be meaningful and culturally responsive instead of surveillance-oriented.

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“Not only are we talking about the pandemic related to COVID-19, but we’re also talking about the pandemic related to racism and police-induced trauma...multiple truths can exist in this space, and we have to acknowledge and honor all truths.”

-Allen Lipscomb Potential Long-Term Consequences For many youth, any sense of normalcy, routine, and hope for the future has become uncertain. This uncertainty makes it difficult for youth to imagine a post-pandemic future, and this could increase occurrences of depression and anxiety. Psychologist Dr. Allen Lipscomb explained that trauma responses from youth are inevitable. To mitigate this

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trauma, he advised, stakeholders must first acknowledge it and recognize that it is compounded by racism and police-induced trauma, and then we must work to promote healing.

To reduce risk factors and reinforce protective factors, community-based and grassroots practitioners are expanding opportunities for virtual youth supports. Laura Tinajero and Building Healthy Communities have been working with partners in the predominantly Latinx, rural community of Salinas, California to create spaces for youth to express themselves with people they trust and to find creative solutions to barriers to care. This process occurs through the lens of community organizing, which critically centers youth’s social and emotional well-being.

During the discussion, Laura concretized the day-to-day methods for youth engagement and empowerment during the pandemic. The community’s high school provided every

student with Chromebooks, so online selfcare workshops, virtual circles, and movie/ games nights are possible. In response, to many youth’s desire to continue their prepandemic activism, Building Healthy Communities is connecting them to the organization’s board members and trustees so that they can participate in decisionmaking.

While the forum centered the experiences of youth in the United States, economist Mma Ekeruche provided an international lens on the pandemic's potential long-term economic impacts with a focus on emerging adults in Africa. As the pandemic pushes more families and young adults into poverty, the disruptions to education, particularly in rural areas, will make economic recovery even more difficult. If the pandemic results in increased drop-out rates, this will significantly impact lifetime earnings for youth and young adults, pregnancy rates, and child labor practices.

Forum attendees were able to build a virtual community to discuss the themes of the Forum on an e-bulletin board.

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EMERGING INNOVATIONS: Many service providers are finding ways to continue to engage with youth virtually by using phone calls, social media, and other virtual platforms.

Some localities and organizations are expediting services such as finding linguistically appropriate medical or mental health professionals.

In Salinas County, some high schools have provided Chromebooks to students and are ensuring that they have internet access. Local providers are holding online selfcare workshops and game nights.

Many state and local detention and placement agencies in charge of juvenile detention and placement are reconsidering their criteria for determining whether a youth should be removed from the community.

Africa’s Center for Disease Control has begun to develop creative ways to inform the public about the virus and how to protect themselves, particularly for rural communities.

Togo’s government has partnered with tech companies to develop a mobile cash transfer program. And at the microlevel, people are providing cash to others, which creates a sense of togetherness.

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Amore Alvarenga

New York City Law Department Family Court Division

Dina Thompson

Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition

COVID-19 &

JUSTICE SYSTEMS I: Nina Aledort, PhD

NYS Office of Children and Family Services

Youth support, safety, and accountability innovations

Hon. Steven Teske

Juvenile Court of Clayton County, GA

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Hon. Edwina Mendelson

Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives

Gregory Owens

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services

COVID-19 & Josh Rovner

The Sentencing Project

JUSTICE SYSTEMS II: Youth support, safety, and

Rashaad Porter

accountability

The Vera Institute of Justice

innovations

Stephen Goldmeier

Indigent Defense Research Association

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COVID-19 & JUSTICE SYSTEMS I&II: Youth

support,

safety,

and

accountability

innovations

Justice Systems With expertise representing multiple stakeholder groups and priorities, participants in the justice systems panels brought a long history of system reform and community transformation experience. Their conversations explored justice system stakeholders' adaptations at the pandemic’s onset, ways that the systems must better respond to the needs of youth and families in their communities, and

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MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED: Relationship-building, systemic change, root causes of behavior, holistic interventions, healing, connections between systems, structural and institutional racism, participatory action research, decarceration and diversion, community-based responses, closing detention centers

the work and responsibilities of systems to urgently reduce the systems involvement of youth of color and other vulnerable populations to remedy the long history of disparate treatment.

“We need to be looking at our systems and developing a collective approach where we connect all the various systems from social services to mental health and so forth and so on with a framework of building positive relationships.”

-Hon. Steven Teske Pre-COVID System Reforms: The New York City youth justice system was experiencing a reorientation toward evidence-

based, community-based interventions while integrating trauma and resilience-informed practices, increasing diversion, and enhancing the use of restorative practices. New York State had completed initial implementation of the law raising the age of criminal responsibility with resulting improved outcomes for youth and families without an increase in community crime and harm.

In Clayton Co., GA, reform efforts significantly reduced youth detention rates, especially for Black youth, while simultaneously decreasing crime rates. The county’s juvenile court had reduced the detention of Black youth by 70% and the reduction of Black youth committed to state custody by 62%. The county has not experienced an increase since the implementation of reforms, and juvenile crime filings have decreased by 80%.

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In Buffalo, NY, the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition partnered with the Family Court (ECRJC), and the Center for Resolution to pilot a restorative justice program addressing the underlying actions that cause harm. Referrals are made through the probation and PINS Diversion processes and for charges that include petit larceny, menacing, harassment, fraud, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, and assault.

Nationally, the Restoring Promise Initiative was building systems' capacity to partner with impacted youth and families as well as prisons and jails to pilot new practices that shift focus from punishment to healing, equity, and accountability. The Sentencing Project’s research and advocacy work supported raise the age campaigns and juvenile prison closures around the country to work toward the goal of shrinking the countries juvenile

justice systems.

COVID-specific adaptations: Clayton Co., GA - Courts and justice-system actors have made adaptations to their policies and practices in order to promote public health and safety during the pandemic. When the shutdown began, Judge Steven Teske revised the detention admission criteria and created an evaluation team to review youth who were then detained to determine which youth could be safely released back to the community, including youth detained for violent offenses. The end result of this work was a 95% reduction in the county’s youth detention population. At the time of the forum, no youth charged with a violent offense had been charged with another crime after their release.

Judge Teske actively stays in touch with youth under his supervision and their lawyers with

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weekly status conferences to create plans for release and/or to maximize their comfort in detention. He created a multidisciplinary panel to help develop these reentry plans, foster connections with the youth and their families, and drop off care packages from their families. Judge Teske plans to continue these new practices after the pandemic. In addition, he noticed that parents have had an easier time attending hearings remotely, so he hopes to learn more about their transportation barriers/other insecurities and to potentially continue meeting online after the pandemic.

New York, NY - Amore Alvarenga described the New York City Law Department’s unprompted review of youth in detention, a process that reduced the population in secure detention by 66%. The system relied on

collaboration with other stakeholders including the NYC Department of Probation, New York Police Department, diversion teams, and community partners to ensure youth received needed supports and resources. These community organizations were essential in allowing for the youth's successful release.

The court system in New York City made an immediate shift from in-person processes to virtual hearings via video conference and telephone. Courts have prioritized processing new arrests, criminal arraignments, and juvenile court new appearance hearings, as confinement decisions are made at these points. The city has maintained its 80% release rate that diverts young people to programming, their parents’ care, and/or their own supervision. For youth who

are confined, their attorneys have made applications for their release, and courts can also initiate case review proceedings. Other court functions were halted, such as transition between facilities as well as grand jury convenings and matters that require a jury trial. These halts differently impact youth and adults who are already confined and have pending matters. The halts also impact the processes for crime victims.

Erie County, NY - The Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition has created, in collaboration with community partners, virtual environments to engage youth in a range of activities including yoga, dance, cooking, games, and many others. The Coalition has also provided service and learning opportunities for youth and supported youth in building virtual communities of care and empathy that involve focused discussions on their mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. Working in partnership with other

community groups, the Coalition has also provided food weekly to senior citizens, collected school supplies for families, distributed computers to families, and assisted with the Mayor’s Good Neighbor’s Network to connect neighbors for purposes of mutual aid.

National - Josh Rovner of the Sentencing Project noted that the pandemic has temporarily closed many of the pathways into the justice system – school closures have led to plummeting school arrest rates, store closures have reduced shoplifting charges, and disruptions to drug markets have reduced drug-related arrests. The Annie E. Casey Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative found that among its partner counties there had been a 50% drop in detention intakes, resulting in a 33% drop in detention. While some states and localities have been slow or non-reactive to the pandemic, others have pressed toward

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releasing youth. For example, Maryland will ultimately close two facilities due to the dramatic decrease in population.

Within and Beyond the Pandemic Despite the many reforms and adaptions to youth justice systems before and during the pandemic, the panelists offered substantial critiques of the systems and called for dismantling the systemic racism within them.

Judge Teske explained that even with the best of intentions, those working in broken systems can only make broken decisions that will lead to broken outcomes for youth and families. To move systems and communities forward, he admonished the field to depoliticize crime and punishment and to redefine our measurements; the ultimate outcome of a system’s “toughness� should be lower crime rates resulting from effective, holistic responses that address the root causes of crime.

The panelists discussed the opportunity hidden within the pandemic to move forward and centralize healing, and reject punitive, bandage-like interventions that serve to

deepen inequalities instead of making communities safer. Dina Thompson pointed to practices such as restorative justice that promote healing in communities and gives voices to victims, those who caused harm, and communities in justice processes. Amore buttressed this call for healing, traumaresponsive, and resiliency informed supports, explaining that healing is not a linear process.

Agencies and their staff must track and understand what is happening with the people they serve. Accomplishing this requires removing judgement, seeking creative partnerships, and adopting a familycentered approach to understand needs.

As the field researches and evaluates the adaptations and innovations created during the pandemic, Rashaad Porter urged the creation of equal partnerships between researchers and those whom research is conducted upon including communities and those impacted by the justice experience.

Participatory action research provides a way to deconstruct extractive power dynamics.

Rashaad also discussed the post-pandemic possibilities of implementing restorative justice on a systems level, emphasizing that those who are closest to the problem are often closest to the solution.

Chris Wildeman

Cornell University

Corey Whichard

University at Albany, School of Criminal Justice

COVID-19 & Dan Mistak

Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS)

Eddie Ellis

Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network

Michaela Soyer

CUNY, Hunter College

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OUT-OF-HOME

SETTINGS

COVID-19 & OUT-OFHOME SETTINGS Carceral and Congregate Care Settings From the pandemic’s onset in the United States, the safety of people in carceral and congregate care settings became an immediate concern. Despite a long-known history as hot spots for the spread of infectious diseases, the designs of most facilities make social distancing impossible, and the nation-wide lack of personal protective equipment means that both youth and staff are without the most basic of protections.

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MAIN TOPICS DISCUSSED: Technology access barriers, creative teaching methods, policy flexibility, reentry support, defunding police, school-healthcare intersection, educating incarcerated youth The pandemic threatens both the physical and mental health of youth and young adults in out-of-home settings. Speaking from his experience as a practitioner and formerly incarcerated teen, Eddie Ellis explained

that youth and young adults who are confined fear both contracting the virus and also being effectively placed in solitary confinement, which comes with its own serious physical and mental health harms. He emphasized the need to ensure that those who are confined or who are returning to their communities receive emotional and mental health support.

Researcher Dr. Michaela Soyer talked through the potentially varying experiences of youth in juvenile settings and young adults in adult settings.

“The health concerns of the folks in the community are the same as the health concerns of the folks behind the walls of a jail. The jail really erects an artificial barrier that allows us to forget us about those behind the walls of the jail and disconnect them from the broader community, the supports, and the health systems that have been built up to support people who are in need.”

-Dan Mistak Young adults in adult settings typically receive few visits and thus experience more isolation than their counterparts in juvenile justice

settings. For youth in adult settings the impact of COVID-19 might feel less stark. However, for youth in detention settings, the situation is more transitionary as they see their families more often and the pandemic’s social impact may feel much more severe because their contact with the outside world is now ruptured. Expanding the panel’s discussion to include children in foster homes and congregate care settings, Researcher Dr. Chris Wildeman noted that currently there is no data on the pandemic’s demographic impacts on youth in the child welfare and justice systems. He offered several cautionary thoughts and questions for practitioners and policy makers as the pandemic continues to develop. He explained that as we approach a second wave, it may be even more difficult for youth to step down into less restrictive settings. For youth who will enter the foster care system at this time, there may be reduced access to high-quality placements as families worry about COVID or those who

P AGGEE 4 F3 O| UARR | OEUKRI N PA E TJ H D SE Y ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

would take in youth have financial concerns.

Youth who are currently in foster homes are very much invisible right now as systems do not have the capacity to conduct the necessary monitoring and because schools, another traditional source of information about a child’s living situation, are closed.

Youth without family supports, such as emancipated youth or LGBTQIA+ youth who have experienced rejection, may have no way of supporting themselves and be pushed into the wave of massive shelter utilization. Youth in out-of-home settings have higher rates of mental and physical health needs than their peers in the community, and the disruption to services may make it difficult for them to maintain an effective regimen during the pandemic.

Reentry The discontinuity of care can also have long-term repercussions as people transition

out of facilities. The pandemic has closed down most reach-in services that typically assist those who are close to exiting carceral settings. Dan Mistak of Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS) explained that those in need of services to support their successful transition back home cannot currently connect with community providers. Since providers cannot receive Medicaid reimbursement for their work with individuals in facilities or those who have had their Medicaid eligibility terminated due to their justice system involvement, providers must rely on state, local, and private sources.

Even if grants were previously awarded, the pandemic’s impact on organizational budgets and distribution processes may mean that these services are not being delivered. COCHS is advocating for the passage of the federal HEROES Act, which allows Medicaid to pay for prisoners’ services 30 days before release.

This shift in funding would help alleviate local budget pressures, promote more continuity in

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care, and allow reentry services to have more secure funding. The HEROES Act does not apply to youth in juvenile placement settings.

As youth from out-of-home settings return to their communities, the stressors are not eased. Michaela expressed concern that young people will be returning to a more hostile world and will face increased difficulties accessing education, services, and employment. Youth and young adults typically take low-wage service jobs when they return home; however, many of these jobs have disappeared from their communities, and where they still exist, employees face the risk of exposure to the virus. Many youth and young adults in this population also live with or are cared for by their grandparents, a particularly vulnerable group during the pandemic.

"We need to make sure that we have these kids in positions to talk to someone in the community that they love and trust, and we need more - and I’m gonna keep emphasizing this - people in place to help these kids deal with emotional trauma at this time.”

-Eddie Ellis

EMERGING INNOVATIONS: The HEROES Act would enable Medicaid to pay for bills 30 days before a person is released (this would not apply to CHIP recipients). The Act would increase reach-in services and enable re-entry services in the community to plan and operate with more secure funding. The Act would also create a Correctional Health Coordinator role in each state and require facilities to report data to the Centers for Disease Control.

As medical researchers are requesting permission to study individuals who are incarcerated to help determine why some people contract the virus while others do not, we should consider whether this will benefit the individuals studied or just the larger society and whether these studies will lead to changes that will enable people who are incarcerated to live more safely.

Moving forward, Eddie pressed the field to focus on emotional supports, explaining that people are being emotionally drained right now. People can be resilient, but they are still hurt, and reliance on resilience can be used to mismanage trauma treatment and downplay the detrimental impacts of confinement and punishment, especially for youth of color. He also explained that even if a youth or a young adult does not return to the system, this does not mean that the person is actually okay— they may have fallen through the cracks.

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RESEARCHERS & FUNDERS DISCUSSION: Setting an Evidence-Driven Agenda for the Impact and Aftermath of Covid-19 on Youth Justice

PAGE 46 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

Jim Lynch, PhD

University of Maryland

Nate Balis

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Leigh Bates, PhD

NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services

Rebecca Colman, PhD

NYS Office of Children and Family Services

Megan Kurlychek, PhD

Penn State University

Tanya Coke

Ford Foundation

Melissa Sickmund, PhD

National Center for Juvenile Justice

Vivian Tseng, PhD

William T. Grant Foundation

PAGE 47 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

RESEARCHERS & FUNDERS DISCUSSION The pandemic’s onset in March 2020 forced systems stakeholders to pivot quickly to remote processes or shut down all together.

Across the country states and localities have significantly reduced youth arrests and detention. Nate Balis noted that Annie E. Casey’s surveys of its Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative sites (which cover about 35% of the youth population around the country) reported a 54% reduction in detention between February and April and a 32% reduction of in the number of youth in custody. For Tanya Coke and the Ford Foundation these shifts represent an

PAGE FOUR| JOURNEY

“[We should be] trying as much as we can to leverage what we do know as quickly as possible to meet the needs that we know are coming up down the line.”

-Vivian Tseng experiment in what happens when youth contacts with justice systems are disrupted on a massive scale, and it begs the question of what lessons are learned from this pandemic and whether we can live in a world that is far less reliant on the justice systems.

Speaking on the role of research during the pandemic, multiple panelists pointed to the need to provide data to local communities, and to also evaluate the recently implemented adaptations. Melissa Sickmund emphasized the need to improve state and local data capacity. She recommended that

states develop methods to provide data in useful, digestible forms to local service providers. The field as a whole would also benefit from cross-systems among researchers, for example, criminal justice researchers working with education researchers, and school researchers partnering with health researchers. Strong alignments between researchers and practitioners would also enable the field to move forward from this moment in a more integrated way.

The conversation also explored the roles that research and philanthropy can play in efforts to

PAGE 49 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in youth justice and in this moment of racial unrest.

Researcher Dr. Megan Kurlychek called for more research on youth organizing and engaging youth in research processes and discussions. Vivian Tseng explained the W.T. Grant Foundation’s recognition of the need to move away from funding research or projects that just mitigate the effects of racism, and instead to focus on disrupting social and power hierarchies and elite decision-making processes. As an example, research would move past theoretical research on social movements and instead focus on answering questions like “what do social movement leaders need to make an impact?”.

Panelists agreed that research on the need and impacts of pro-social investments (solution- and prevention-oriented) could support states and localities as they shift focus from pathology to positive youth development, implementing community-

“The rates of diversion in our country are so much lower than what they are of other countries around the world...it seems like it’s one of those things that needs more advocacy, and I think part of that comes from having better research about what that actually looks like.” -Nate Balis based supports, and moving funds to provide supports that could be accessed before a youth comes into contact with the justice system. Tanya Coke pointed to the power of tight budgets to move systems toward decarceration and diversion. Specifically, she reflected on the need for high quality studies on restorative justice with attention to outcomes beyond lowering recidivism rates, such as the impact on school retention and graduations, and impacts on victims’ wellbeing.

PAGE 50 | ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? COVID-19 & YOUTH

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Professor john powell

DIRECTOR, Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley

In his keynote address, Professor john powell linked the COVID-19 pandemic to structural racism, structural racialization, and the criminal justice system. His contemplation ranged from the health risks for younger children, to the potentially

“We don’t know what’s gonna happen with COVID, but what we do know is that in terms of trauma, in terms of pandemics, it is at least as important what we do at a social level as what we do at a medical level. And this is a chance to sort of look at vulnerable children, young people, and make sure that we pay attention to them and that we put systems in place to understand and respond to their needs. That requires getting the data, that requires listening, that requires involving young people themselves.”

lifelong economic disruptions for emerging adults, to the disproportionately experienced collateral consequences for communities of color and those living in under-resourced areas. In his charge to the field, Professor powell urged us to recognize the trauma that youth are experiencing, ensure that youth have a sense of belonging that can enable them to recover and thrive, and to integrate a trauma prevention focus as we move forward into a changed world.

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PLENARY ADDRESS

Michael Umpierre

DIRECTOR, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University

In Mr. Umpierre’s plenary remarks, he mapped a path forward for the youth justice field as systems and communities work to stop and address the long history of injustices that have disproportionately burdened communities of color in the United

“Young people and families are the true experts and it’s incumbent on all of us to make sure that we’re elevating the voices of those with lived experience when we’re trying to improve systems. As we examine our current practices and approaches in light of COVID-19, and we identify new and creative ways of doing business, we should be doing that in collaboration with youth and families.”

States. Through creativity and innovation, he encouraged the field to promote positive connections between youth and their families, youth and pro-social peers and adults, and those who provide vital service in their communities. As a framework he offered CJJR’s core principles: 1) relentlessly commit to achieving equity and fairness, 2) focus on the advancement of developmentally appropriate responses for youth that support their successful transition to adulthood, and 3) commit to meaningful partnership with youth and their families. In these ways and with diligent effort, he suggested, we may earn the trust of marginalized communities that have been so often failed by systems.

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GUIDANCE INTO THE

new normal:

RESEARCH & PRACTICE QUESTIONS At the drafting of this brief, the United States remains very much in the throes of the pandemic. While rates of infection and death have declined in many of the initial hot spots, the rates are spiking in other regions including the South, Midwest, and Plains states. The responses of systems as the pandemic unfolds in this are currently unclear; however, it is now apparent that the first wave has led to a moment of unprecedented declines in youth arrests, detention, and transitions to community-focused supports and services. At the same time, the disruptions to basic needs and vital services like medical and mental health supports, schools, and shelters will likely leave long-lasting impacts in many families and communities.

The research and practice questions below were selected from those questions that The last day of the Forum featured a crosspanel discussion summarizing the highlights from the previous panels and setting the stage for our stellar Plenary Speaker, Michael Umpierre.

Joining us for that rich exposition were Audrey Hickert, Ph.D. (Southern Illinois University), Amanda Oren, JD (Monroe County Law Department), Alysha Gagnon (School of Criminal Justice at SUNY Albany), Paul Taylor, Ph.D. (University of Colorado Denver) and Lynette Tannis, Ed.D. (Harvard School of Education).

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were explicit and implicit in the panels’ conversations. These practice questions are presented here by theme, while the research questions were most clearly organized by environment.

Emerging Research Questions Role of Research How can the justice field create a research collection and dissemination process that is efficient and promotes communication between systems, advocates, researchers, and the community?

Homes How does the pandemic compound traditional risk factors? Are there specific inter-generational risk factors that require mitigation during the pandemic?

How can the field evaluate the effectiveness of online treatments?

What impact has the pandemic had on youth substance (ab)use?

Education

Justice Systems How can the justice field elevate the successes of existing non-punitive approaches to crime in order to encourage their widespread adoption?

How can the field monitor and prevent the resurgence of the school-to-prison pipeline as schools reopen in the fall?

During the pandemic, how have judges altered considerations behind confinement and release decisions?

What are the confinement disparities during the pandemic?

What are the most appropriate methods and metrics for measuring healing?

Communities

Which groups are benefitting most from the macro/microeconomic policies that are being enacted to mitigate the financial burdens imposed by COVID-19?

What has been the pandemic’s impact on service access by immigrant communities?

How is pandemic-related stress impacting students’ performance and experiences in school?

What has been the practical impact of COVID-related budget support shortfalls on continuity in local, state, private funding on grants/awards disbursements to communitybased service providers.

Are lessons that incorporate non-traditional platforms, like social media, effective for promoting learning while remote?

What are the impacts of the adultification/ parentification of youth during the pandemic?

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How can we mitigate the negative consequences of such adultification/parentification?

Out-of-Home Settings How does the US compare in an international analysis of sentence length for youth and young adults, and decarceration steps taken in response to the pandemic or other major crises?

Via a mixed methods analysis, how has the pandemic impacted access to opportunities and vital services for youth and young adults returning to their communities after systems involvement?

Emerging Practice Questions Youth, Family & Community Outcomes

How can stakeholders support youth transitioning home?

What do youth need most right now?

Both

As youth return to the community, what modifications to the expectations of probation and criminal justice systems are necessary?

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System & Cross-System Functioning

How can we provide a full continuum of healthcare to all families, especially since not all communities access healthcare in the same way?

Youth, Family & Community Outcomes

Both

How can funding be reallocated to best meet the current needs of youth and families?

What are the best practices for talking with youth in out-of-home settings s about the pandemic, their safety, and barriers to their return home?

How do we ensure that expanding prevention services does not shift into net-widening policies?

Can youth with behavioral health needs maintain an effective treatment regimen in facilities and in the community?

In preparation for a second wave, how can we act now and plan for future needs to step youth down to lower-restriction settings including home with necessary supports in place?

System & Cross-System Functioning

How can organizations and systems within a community communicate effectively and strive toward a common goal and address needs more holistically?

How do we provide teachers and other direct service providers materials, rapid training, new resources, and support with adapting to remote learning?

What strategies can agencies use to look inward at their internal culture and build upon strengths or address issues to ultimately achieve better outcomes for the people they serve?

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Youth, Family & Community Outcomes

Both

How do we intentionally include people with limited or no internet access in our service planning?

How can we better support access to opportunities (jobs, education) and vital services (housing, medical services) for youth re-entering the community in the wake of the crisis?

How does the field better support families with vulnerable children, including children with learning disabilities and behavioral health needs?

What strategies depoliticize discussions about crime in order to promote better practices and outcomes?

What are the important data points to collect for a local needs assessment?

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System & Cross-System Functioning

How can we best support providers who want to implement healingbased frameworks?

How can we use restorative justice practices to address racial disparities in the juvenile justice system?

MOVING FORWARD In conversations during the forum, and since the pandemic’s onset, it has been clear to many that the youth justice field is forever changed. Localities have found silver linings in adaptions and innovations that have enabled them to build better rapport and relationships with the communities they serve, or to make processing more efficient, or to really force a long-term reevaluation of the criteria’s stakeholders are using for arrests, diversion, and detention. As part of the YJI’s post-event survey, 37% of respondents gave specific answers to questions about their areas of interest for research and/or technical. A compilation of these responses is provided in Appendix A. The YJI is committed to continuing to offer the platform created during the forum to further explore the state of adaptions and relevant research as the pandemic unfolds. In late 2020, the YJI will host a follow-up convening with the goal of again identifying and supporting the most urgent needs of the national conversation. The YJI is also convening the three working collaboratives described below to delve deeper into key themes that emerged during the forum.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Child Serving Systems: Healing Across the forum’s panels, the conversations on eliminating racial and ethnic disparities embraced a focus on healing youth, families, and communities. This healing work would support youth who have experienced trauma, including complicated forms of trauma such as historical trauma, racial trauma, and complex trauma. We recognize that much work has been done on developing trauma responsive support for youth involved with the justice system. Our hope is that this workgroup will build on this foundation and explore paths that move forward healing in youth justice systems. This may look like exploring ways to measure healing, identifying and documenting practices that support healing, or some other creative solution for facilitating healing youth, their families, and their communities.

Supporting Education as a Protective Influence for Vulnerable Youth in Alternative Settings As summer 2020 ends, the debate on methods to safely reopen schools remains contentious and volatile. The rapid shift to online education highlighted preexisting

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inequities students face regarding digital access, space and privacy, and the limitations of adult support. The shift has also highlighted space for foundational reevaluations of education processes for both youth in the community and youth in detention and placement settings.

The YJI's internal brainstorming processes have led to questions such as “what would happen if detained youth could receive web-based education services from their home school district” and “what is the relationship between social emotional learning, culturally relevant education, and youth crime?”. Our hope is that this group of experts will imagine and/or identify these emerging opportunities for further contemplation, exploration and ultimately development by the field.

Evaluating and Sustaining Pandemic-Initiated CourtBased Innovations All aspects of state and local justice systems have had to adapt in response to the pandemic. These adaptations have led to unprecedented reductions in youth arrest and detention rates, explorations of technologies for remote processing and engagement, and a reprioritization of community-based support and monitoring options. In many systems across the country, the juvenile and family courts have played a key role in procedural adaptations, revisions to detention admission and early release criteria, and the implementation of tele-processes and new forms of community-based monitoring. This working group will be asked to identify potential supports that can enable court systems to identify and sustain the successful innovations developed during the pandemic, especially as systems evaluate emerging outcomes, impacts on specific groups of youth and disparities, and the innovations’ enduring impacts.

For more information on the YJI’s work in this area, please visit our COVID-19 & Youth microsite or email YJI staff at youthjustice@albany.edu

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Appendix A: Participant Survey The online survey distributed following the forum received a 25% response rate. Of those who responded, 37% gave specific input on their research and/or technical assistance interests. Further details can be shared upon request.

New York-Based Responses

Technical Assistance Interests Data access and effective use Technology access and trainings for practitioners and families Supports for emerging adults Sustainable detention reduction methods Mental health services Restorative practices Supporting community-based programs during fiscal crisis Youth engagement Crisis preparedness Implementing a racial equity focus

Research Interests Education curriculum development and delivery in various relevant settings Evaluation of which populations the justice system impacts/reaches Shifts in disparities (racial and other) Impacts of trauma System burden Youth's reaction to the pandemic Program effectiveness (diversion, recidivism reduction, rehabilitation, restorative practices etc.)

Reducing school suspensions Crossover youth Substance use Family supports (reunification, mediation, supports, etc.)

Pandemic’s economic impacts on youth and families

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Non-NY State Responses

Technical Assistance Interests Digital Access Telehealth Mental health Diversion/reducing detention usage Sustainable changes post-COVID Racial Disparities Data collection and use Connecting research findings to policy and practice

Research Interests Lasting economic impacts on youth Impact of removal from home Race, gender, other identity-based specific inquiries Breaking the cycle of poverty Impact of trauma on youth Social-emotional adjustment Affects of political and cultural influences on youth Recidivism Role of families

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Prepared by the NYS Youth Justice Institute.

Visual notes by Drawing Impact.

To request permission to reproduce any part of this document, please contact the Institute at youthjustice@albany.edu.

The opinions and comments attributed to panelists and speakers in this document are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of the NYS Youth Justice Institute and its partners.

September 2020