Media Archive

JUSTGeorgia

Report: State’s juvenile laws need rewriting
December 7, 2008
Stephen Gurr - The Gainesville Times

Georgia’s laws governing juvenile courts are outdated, overly complicated, sometimes inconsistent and in dire need of a complete overhaul, a new report from a public interest law center suggests. Read the Full Article...

Georgia Center Releases "Common Wisdom" Reports
November 26, 2008
Appleseed This Week

As a leading member of JUSTGeorgia, Georgia Appleseed recently took a broad leap forward in its mission to renovate the state's juvenile justice system, releasing a series of reports titled "Common Wisdom: Making the Case for a New Georgia Juvenile Code." Read the Full Article...

NEW ON BENCH: In kids' best interest? He's on it
July 24, 2008
Jose Pagliery - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Roger Gustafson is starting his fourth career. An unemployment and labor attorney with international law firm Hunton & Williams, and formerly an ethics professor who did health care administration before that, Gustafson now sits on the bench as a part-time judge for Fulton County Juvenile Court. Read the Full Article...

Kids don't belong in adult court system
June 25, 2008
Sara Totonchi - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's nice to know that according to the 2008 Kids Count Essay, "A Roadmap to Juvenile Justice Reform," Georgia is making progress in measures that impact the well-being of children. However, Georgia needs to change policies that allow the practice of prosecuting and incarcerating large numbers of kids in the adult criminal justice system. Read the Full Article...

State's Legal Professionals Mobilize to Gain Fairness for Kids
May 2008
Leslie Gresham

A formidable volunteer team of legal talent began canvassing the entire state in mid-2007 to build a profile of Georgia's juvenile justice system that may eventually assist in its reform. Read the Full Article...

OUR OPINIONS: Sins against kids
March 20, 2008
Maureen Downey - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The General Assembly does not legislate based on facts, relying instead on perceptions, personal experiences and political pandering. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the way the state responds to juvenile crime. Despite the fact that only 5 percent of youth arrests owe to serious offenses, legislators have toughened the juvenile system over the years in response to the myth of the teenage "superpredator." Read the Full Article...

The Prosecuting Attorney in Georgia's Juvenile Courts
February 2008
Charles C. Olson - Georgia Bar Journal

Although the role of counsel for children in delinquency and other proceedings in juvenile court has been the subject of considerable discussion in legal publications in this state over the past several years, the role of the prosecutor in juvenile court has not been the subject of similar discussion or debate. Read the Full Article (PDF p.28)...

Other Topics

Partner's Perspective: Georgia Appleseed
November 2008

Georgia Appleseed is proud to be sowing seeds of justice throughout Georgia. Founded in 2005 as an independent affiliate of the national Appleseed network of non-partisan, nonprofit public interest law centers, we strive to effect change by producing systemic solutions to difficult social justice problems confronting large numbers of Georgians. Read the Full Article...

Hitting the Mark: Georgia Appleseed’s Parental Involvement Under No Child Left Behind Project
September 2008
Theresa Brower

"The interesting thing about Georgia Appleseed is that while there are a lot of organizations which allow lawyers to provide services to individuals on a pro-bono basis, Georgia Appleseed takes a larger view and looks at policy issues in a broader perspective and allows us see where policy and law come together" observes Rob Rhodes of Holland & Knight LLP and a Georgia Appleseed Education Advisory Council (EAC) member. Read the Full Article...

Wells: Remittance Slice Is Growing, Even if Pie Isn't
June 11, 2008
Harry Terris - American Banker

Despite a slowdown in the growth of international remittance volumes that began last year, Wells Fargo & Co. said its remittance business achieved triple-digit growth in the 12 months through May, reflecting what it sees as an ongoing shift to banks from nonbank providers. Read the Full Article...

Officials say adult jails no place for youths
December 2, 2007
Johnny Edwards - Augusta Chronicle

With a coalition of attorneys and nonprofit groups setting out to rewrite the juvenile justice code, and with new research indicating that incarcerating teens with adults makes them more likely to be re-arrested for violent crimes, some say it's time to rethink how Georgia handles its worst juvenile offenders. Read the Full Article...

In search of a brighter future
November 16, 2007
Lauren Foster - Financial Times

When The Annie E. Casey Foundation launched its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative 15 years ago, it did so in a hostile environment. The US was in the midst of turning back the clock on juvenile justice policy as a chorus of voices demanded “adult time for adult crime”. Read the Full Article...

Public hearing on juvenile code Monday
October 6, 2007
Jan Skutch - Savannah Morning News

Georgia's 1971 juvenile code has undergone revisions that critics say has left it broken. An attempt by the joint Senate-House Juvenile Code Re-Write Study Commission in 2005 fell flat. Now the JUSTGeorgia Project wants to give it a shot. Beginning Monday at Armstrong Atlantic State University, a series of 10 town hall meetings across the state will seek to explain the group's goals and allow others to respond. Read the Full Article...

Child Advocates: Juvenile Justice System 'Outdated,' 'Lacks Clarity'
October 3, 2007
Odette Yousef - WABE Radio

Child advocacy groups are gearing up to focus attention on Georgia's outdated and confusing juvenile justice system. They say the laws make it difficult for agencies that deal with troubled youths to communicate with each other. Hear the Full Story...

On Tuesday, March 20, Georgia Appleseed made a presentation at the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement's High Performing Leaders conference. Pictured is Cathy Henson, Georgia Appleseed volunteer and former Chair of the Georgia State Board of Education and Georgia PTA, describing to the audience a new opportunity to get involved in top quality training for parents as recommended in Appleseed's "It Takes A Parent" report. The Georgia Appleseed training is intended to help school leaders create a cadre of parent leaders who can engage other parents and the community in better understanding NCLB and student data and using it to support student success. The March 20th audience's feedback will be used in shaping the Georgia Appleseed trainings that are now in development for dissemination around the state.

In The Trenches: Helping Georgia’s juvenile code grow up
March 21, 2007
Meredith Hobbs - The Daily Report

MORE THAN 130 LAWYERS from 10 Atlanta firms attended a training session Monday that is part of a major volunteer effort to overhaul the Georgia Juvenile Code, enacted in 1971 as O.C.G.A. § 15-11.

Sharon N. Hill, the executive director of Georgia Appleseed, which sponsored the training at King & Spalding, said that over the years many amendments have turned the state’s juvenile code, which addresses delinquency, deprivation and status offenses, into “a patchwork quilt that now has internal inconsistencies, is inconsistent with federal law, is silent in some areas where explicit guidance would be helpful and explicit where silence would be preferable.” Read the Full Article...

On Monday, March 19, 2007, King & Spalding hosted Georgia Appleseed's volunteer training for more than 130 pro bono attorneys working on the juvenile code rewrite project now known as JUSTGeorgia. The training was faciliated by The Fanning Institute (University of Georgia).

Pictured are Raye Rawls (l), one of the Fanning facilitators, and Sharon Hill, Executive Director of Georgia Appleseed. Also presenting was Dr. Karen Holt, the director of the Fanning Institute.

Georgia Appleseed Leads Efforts to Rewrite Juvenile Justice Code

February 22, 2007 - Georgia Appleseed is embarking on the largest and most ambitious pro bono project ever undertaken in the state. With its partners, Georgia Appleseed is working towards passage of a comprehensive rewrite of the state’s Juvenile Justice Code. Read the Full Press Release...

Urge parents to get involved: Responses to "Schools require action, not talk," Editorial, Oct. 22
October 29, 2006
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sharon Hill

The editorial raises three core issues to be addressed if Georgia is to have "the next Southern education success story." Read full article...

Parents Key to Better Education: Engaging parents in the schools and improving relations between school and home are cited as keys to better education.
October 18, 2006
Albany Herald
Aaron Bensonhaver

ALBANY - Parents and educators at a town hall meeting Tuesday night hosted by Mayor Willie Adams identified several areas in which parents and teachers can improve education in Dougherty County. Read full article...

Forum to Stress Commitment: Fostering parental involvement and giving the public digestible information are key steps in improving student performance, education leaders say.
October 15, 2006
Albany Herald
Aaron Bensonhaver

ALBANY - Educators and the public are invited to a public forum Tuesday to discuss what the local community can do to help boost education in Dougherty County.
Hosted by Mayor Willie Adams, education experts from Atlanta are expected to present their findings on the financial impact of education and how parental involvement can help further a child's school experience, said State School Board member Peggy Nielson of Albany. Read full article...

Parental Involvement Still Key in Education
October 11, 2006
Marietta Daily Journal
Charles C. Clay, Board Member, Georgia Appleseed

DEAR EDITOR:

As a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, I was delighted to see the guest column in the Oct. 2 MDJ by executive director Sharon Hill about Appleseed's report on the need for parental involvement in education. Read full article...

Ordinary parental involvement won't cut it
October 2-3, 2006
Atlanta-Journal Constitution / Marietta Daily Journal
SHARON N. HILL

OP-ED: We Georgians can disagree about many issues when it comes to public education, but on one crucial point we can all unite: If we want to transform public education in Georgia, "It Takes a Parent." That is the name of the new national Appleseed Report, the only one of its kind, released last week, that investigates how the No Child Left Behind Act looks to parent involvement as a central strategy to promote student academic achievement. Read full article...

Parent involvement in NCLB school standards is found lacking
September 27, 2006
US News and World Report
Kent Allen

Parent involvement in NCLB school standards is found lacking Inadequate parental involvement is hindering fulfillment of the federal No Child Left Behind program's goal to improve the nation's schools and produce better students, a two-year research project by an independent nonprofit has found. In a report released today called "It Takes a Parent," the Appleseed Foundation concludes that too many parents don't learn NCLB-required data about their children and schools soon enough to make timely and informed decisions; that poverty as well as language and cultural differences impose barriers to parental involvement; and that such participation "is not uniformly valued by school leaders as a key accountability strategy." To counter such trends, Appleseed is calling for better quality of information, active engagement of parents, community support, and professional development. Read full article...

APPLESEED STUDY FINDS MORE ATTENTION NEEDED TO PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT FOR FEDERAL NCLB LAW TO BE A SUCCESS
September 26, 2006
Press Release | Printer Friendly Version...
Sharon Hill - Georgia Appleseed

Washington, D.C. – Federal, state and local officials need to do a better job of abiding by the parental involvement sections of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to a national report issued today by Appleseed. Read full Press Release...

Top Georgians selected for legal group's board
July 27, 2006
Rome News-Tribune
Sonya Elkins

"Building a just society" is a lofty goal, but with a state board of directors that includes a former Supreme Court justice, a past state governor, a state representative and a university president, Georgia Appleseed seems well-positioned. Read full article...

Legal power brokers join to support nonprofit
June 16, 2006
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Leslie Williams Johnson

The Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice has been busy since its planting in November. The nonprofit organization, one of the newest in the group of Appleseed public interest law centers around the nation. Read full article...

On the Record: Former judge tackles legal, social issues
May 11, 2006
Fulton County Daily Report
Meredith Hobbs, Staff Reporter

Sharon N. Hill gets big firms to take on the system at Georgia Appleseed, a new public interest law group Read full article...

Prominent Board Members Will Present Vision for Georgia's Newest Public Interest Law Center
April 24, 2006
dBusiness News- Atlanta

Georgia Appleseed announces it will host an inaugural Spring For Justice fundraising event on Wednesday, May 3, at The Carter Center Read full article...

Wire fee hits wall of criticism
March 22, 2006
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Carlos Campos

A Georgia House plan to tack a fee onto wire transfers sent home by illegal immigrants is under attack from several quarters and may fail to get Senate approval. A public interest law group called Georgia Appleseed said only the federal government has the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
Read full article...