Victory At the Board of Supervisors
On November 16, 2021, because of the incredible organizing of Free Our Kids Coalition (of which Genesis is a part of) and our allies on the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Committee, we delivered to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors:
120 hand-signed letters from Alameda County residents from all five districts;
a 12 Clergy Sign On Letter from Genesis faith leaders,
and a copy of our online petition which now has over 1000 signatures!!
Every county in California must submit a plan under Senate Bill 823. In 2020, California enacted SB 823 / AB 1868, which phases the closure of California’s Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and instead provides resources to counties for supervision and service delivery to youth who interact with the criminal legal system. While the Alameda County plan is not perfect, it is one of the strongest county level plans for Senate Bill 823 implementation in the state!!
The plan also includes language in the plan that points to Free Our Kids' original proposal to create a process to reimagine the whole youth justice system in Alameda County, including:
a commitment to pay youth for work and to make funds available to incentivize youth to meet personal goals;
language that commits the JJCC Subcommittee to create programming for girls, young women, and gender expansive youth;
language that creates a Youth Bill of Rights;
and language that commits the Subcommittee to create clear step down options for youth to transition out of the secure track.
The fight continues!! This was another very major hurdle but we must continue to keep the pressure on to make sure that the County stays the course in this commitment to reimagine youth justice. Shout out to our allies Urban Peace Movement, East Bay Community Law Center, CURYJ, the Hayward Burns Institute, the Young Womens' Freedom Center, 67 Suenos and all others on the Free Our Kids Coalition.
Let us know if you'd like to support our next step at the Alameda County Public Protection Meeting on December 9th where they will be discussing the use of pepper spray in the entire juvenile justice system. Email us at gamaliel.genesisca@gmail.com for more information.
