A child’s contact with the juvenile court provides an opportunity for appropriate intervention, when a child suffers from abuse or is involved in delinquent behavior. Recognizing that a better juvenile justice system will promote greater safety and security for all, JUSTGeorgia advocates for improvements in juvenile justice and the underlying social service systems that serve Georgia’s children. JUSTGeorgia has two primary objectives: (1) to secure passage of a new Georgia Juvenile Code, and (2) to improve the health, education, child protection, and other services available to children.

JUSTGeorgia is anchored by Voices for Georgia’s Children, Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic of Emory University. Others who share the goals of JUSTGeorgia are invited to join the coalition. Please contact Marc Marton, JUSTGeorgia, Communications Director, at 404-521-0311.

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The Need for Change
Enacted over 35 years ago and revised in piecemeal fashion since then, the current Juvenile Code is showing its age. New federal laws that should be reflected in the Juvenile Code are not. New brain research that could help guide lawmakers was not available when the current law was passed. Silence and a lack of specificity in the Code frustrate judges and practitioners and lead to inconsistent results across the State.

Fortunately, the Georgia General Assembly recognizes that the Juvenile Code “is in need of reorganization and reformation.” (2005 Senate Resolution 161.) Also, the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the State Bar of Georgia has been working on a comprehensive revision of the Georgia Juvenile Code since 2004.

Project Overview
JUSTGeorgia will present a legislative package to the Georgia General Assembly for enactment during the 2009-10 legislative session. YLD’s work on the Juvenile Code will be the basis for JUSTGeorgia’s legislative recommendations. Accompanying the proposed legislation will be a comprehensive report, summarizing strengths and weaknesses of the current Code and making practical and realistic recommendations for fixing it. The report, which will be produced under the direction of Georgia Appleseed, will be based on face-to-face interviews with hundreds of stakeholders, including juvenile and superior court judges, child advocates, public defenders, prosecutors, educators, child welfare experts, parents, children, and community members all across the State. Volunteer lawyers will conduct these interviews in each of Georgia’s ten judicial districts, Georgia Appleseed will also host Town Hall meetings facilitated by the Fanning Institute of the University of Georgia, throughout the state. This work will inevitably raise issues about community services and public welfare systems, which will merit further review and recommendations by JUSTGeorgia in the future.

Funding and Support
JUSTGeorgia was organized with leadership funding from The Sapelo Foundation and will seek additional grants and contributions from Georgia and national foundations.

About the JUSTGeorgia Partners
Voices for Georgia’s Children an independent, Atlanta-based non-profit, engages in research, analysis and advocacy to assist the state’s leadership in developing sound policy decisions that improve the well being of children. The organization seeks to build community consensus on a long-term agenda based on measurable goals that will significantly impact children’s health, safety, education, connectedness and employability.

Georgia Appleseed is an affiliate of the national Appleseed network of nonpartisan, nonprofit, public interest law centers. Georgia Appleseed leverages the pro bono work of lawyers and other professionals to produce systemic solutions to difficult social justice problems.

Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic is a multi-disciplinary program of Emory Law School dedicated to ensuring safety, well-being and permanency for abused and court-involved children in Georgia. The Clinic engages in legislative analysis, policy development, individual client representation and other advocacy initiatives to improve child-serving systems.

The public face of the Georgia Appleseed part of the project will be the Georgia Appleseed Juvenile Code Rewrite Project Steering Committee. The members of the committee each represent a different part of our community impacted by the Juvenile Code and each is a member of the Georgia Appleseed Board of Directors:

 

Lead Law Firms, Lead Partners, & Assigned Judicial Districts...

Alston & Bird (Lead Partner: Mary Benton) Judicial District 2
Arnall Golden & Gregory (Lead Partners: Jim Gober, Bob Dow) Judicial District 8
Hunton & Williams (Lead Partner: Kurt Powell) Judicial District 6
Jones Day (Lead Partners: Doug Towns, Greg Hanthorn) Judicial District 7
Kilpatrick Stockton (Lead Partner: Randy Eaddy) Judicial District 10
King & Spalding (Lead Partner: Meghan Magruder) Judicial District 1
McKenna Long & Aldridge (Lead Partner: Debby Ebel) Judicial District 4
Smith Gambrell & Russell (Lead Partner: John Spillman) Judicial District 9
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan (Lead Partner: Judy O'Brien) Summary Report
Troutman Sanders (Lead Partners: Art Domby, Mark VanderBroek) Judicial District 5
DLA Piper (Lead Partners: Tony Lehman, Tracy Plott) Judicial District 3
Morris Manning & Martin (Lead Partner: Dan Mohan) (Judicial District: 9)
Nelson Mullins (Lead Partner: Taylor Daly) Judicial District 3

Counties in each of the 10 districts | Printer Friendly: Map | List of Counties

Final List of stakeholders to be interviewed in each Judicial District

Interviewing Skills: Training for Volunteer Lawyers

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative Help Desk

Participating Law Firms and Individual Pro Bono Volunteers are teamed with the Lead Law Firms to increase the project’s ability to interview greater numbers of stakeholders in each of the 10 Judicial Districts. Participating Law Firms and other individual volunteers will be assigned to the lead law firms and will work directly with the Lead Partners and the firm’s internal project manager. To volunteer on the Georgia Appleseed reports contact Sharon Hill, Executive Director, Georgia Appleseed.