The SJC felt called to pursue juvenile justice when we learned that in 2020 Massachusetts was the 4th worst state in the country for racial disparities in juvenile justice. A closer look found that Black, Latinx, and foster care children accumulate disadvantages at every point in the justice system: more arrests, more bail, less diversion, more pretrial detention, more arraignments, more adjudications (convictions), more punitive sanctions in dispositions (sentences). In Massachusetts, half the juveniles in detention are “cross-over children”, coming from the child welfare system directly to the juvenile justice system.

SJC members studied pending Massachusetts juvenile justice legislation and selected three bills to focus on. We worked vigorously for these bills and learned how lawmaking happens in Massachusetts. We did email campaigns, filed testimony, made phone calls, made videos, and wrote letters to the editor. With the Church Council’s blessing, SJC joined forces with Citizens for Juvenile Justice, a statewide coalition of 60+ organizations. The SJC joined with the Actual Justice Task Force of the Southern New England United Church of Christ to learn more about how to advocate at the state level. We learned the reality that it often takes multiple legislative sessions to get a bill passed.

Below are the three bills we continue to advocate for with links informative fact sheets:

• Improving Juvenile Justice Data H1802/S931 fact sheet
• Protecting Youth During Custodial Interrogations H1650/S69 fact sheet
• Prevent the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Based on Juvenile Adjudications H1688/S959 fact sheet

Once we learned more about parameters for measuring safety, fairness, and equity in the justice process, and came to appreciate the complexities of comparing data, it seems apparent that the District Attorney is the most influential position in the justice system. We are considering how to make juvenile justice across Essex County fairer, more equitable, and safer for juveniles and the community. After much research, we’ve found some things surprising, some disheartening, some encouraging. We look forward to hearing from our new District Attorney about policies, evaluations, and aspirations for juvenile justice across Essex County.

Advocating for Juvenile Justice Across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

To advocate for fairer, more equitable juvenile justice in Massachusetts, please appeal to your State Representative and State Senator to cosponsor and support these three bills:

1. Improving Juvenile Justice Data  H1802/S931
2. Protecting Youth During Custodial Interrogations   H1650/S69
3. Prevent the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences Based on Juvenile Adjudications H1688/S959.

Click the button below to personalize and send a letter with your date, name and address added along with any emphasis or edits you choose.

Click the button below if you need to determine who your  legislators are and their email addresses.

…in the country. Half the children in DYS detention in Massachusetts are “cross-over kids”, going from state child welfare to the juvenile justice system. Black, Latinx, and foster kids accumulate disadvantage at every stage of the criminal legal system. They are more likely to be arrested, not meet bail, not participate in diversion programs, be adjudicated (convicted) and receive more punitive sanctions than white youth. The disadvantage even extends systemically beyond childhood with a juvenile record factoring into adult mandatory minimum sentences.

Are there safer, fairer, more equitable ways to administer juvenile justice? This Town Hall Conversation will focus on policies and abilities to do just that. How does Essex County contribute to the Commonwealth’s poor standing nationally? How does our county compare to others in the state? How do we want to compare? What would you want to change if your child had to face the same disadvantages?

…some juveniles’ crimes. Consider the absurdity of prosecuting a case when the crime was committed in the middle of a psychotic break or the futility of prosecuting a crime driven by substance abuse without providing treatment. Does policy compel formal prosecution? Our Department of Youth Services detention facilities hold many juveniles with complex mental health conditions. Is this the only way to protect public safety?

Training around behavioral health issues can help create a program to stabilize the juvenile and to then receive intensive community-based treatment and services. This is called the “Diversion Learning Lab” or locally, “court diversion program.” Merrimack Valley Family Services coordinates the provision of services. If conditions of the program are met, the case against the juvenile will not proceed in the court system. If conditions are not or cannot be met, the juvenile is returned to court for prosecution. This is an optimal alternative to formal prosecution while preventing re-offense and treating the illness.

You may well know of a young person who has had this trouble. What path would you choose for that youth?

…for juvenile offenders. Why does this matter? Because diversion steers youth to an alternative option to avoid entering the justice system, reduces the backlog of court cases, freeing up prosecutors to concentrate on more serious, violent crimes.

How? Diversion is a voluntary program created by a district attorney’s office, the defense attorney, and the court requiring various terms. Do all assistant district attorneys know how to utilize diversion? Or perhaps, is policy challenging that effort? Diversion matters to our juveniles and our community!

this may be the beginning of many encounters with the justice system. Worse still, the deeper a juvenile moves through the system, the more likely recidivism will occur and the young person may be ensnared in a lifetime of crime.

Is there a way to avoid formal prosecution? YES.
Is there an off ramp from this path? YES.

In a county of over 800,000 residents, our DA represents the Commonwealth in 12 courts for 34 towns and cities: District Courts, Juvenile Courts, and Superior Courts. The DA also oversees hundreds of prosecutors and staff, some dedicated to juvenile cases. The DA, the defense attorney, and the court together craft diversion programs that can both foster positive outcomes for juveniles and for community safety as well.

Which would you choose for your child? What do you want for our community?

The SJC’s Juvenile Justice Reform Initiative is an effort to reduce the racial disparities of youth within our Massachusetts justice system. Massachusetts is among the worst in the nation for racial disparities in the administration of juvenile justice.  Research indicates these disparities cannot be adequately explained by differential offending; instead, such disparities reflect (and aggravate) systemic racism.

This Massachusetts legislative session the SJC is lobbying for four reform bills, two of which are carried over from the last session.  We welcome your participation in a big way or a small way. Meetings are scheduled as needed and are on ZOOM.  No prior experience is required.  Click to email Bob Tigelaar or Meredith Moody for more information.

Did you know that in Massachusetts the racial disparities in the juvenile justice system are among the worst in the nation? Did you know that a delinquent mistake in childhood could add years to an adult criminal sentence? Did you know that most data on the juvenile justice system 32 decision points are uncollected or hidden from other agencies and the public? Legislators and policy makers are deprived of necessary information to make the juvenile justice system more effective and fairer. Find your legislator at: tinyurl.com/findmyMAlegislator.

We are happy to share the good news that on February 28th, 2022 the Church Council supported the SJC joining the Massachusetts non-profit coalition Citizens for Juvenile Justice (www.cfjj.org). We are now aligned with 60+ member organizations solely dedicated to juvenile justice reform in our state. This connection to a statewide resource and ally stems from the SJC’s focus on the Commonwealth’s juvenile justice system.

In early December 2023, Meredith Moody and Ellen Townson (both members of the Social Justice Coalition) helped lead a discussion on food insecurity. Topics included the current problem, current resources for food, how to access food, and how to be part of the solution. The event was held at Memorial Hall Library in Andover.

To obtain a copy of the program slides, click here to contact Meredith.

Re-THINKING Food Insecurity in Andover
Andover residents are experiencing increasing food insecurity.

Professionals recognize that food insecurity can cause toxic stress in children in any community, not only traditionally underserved ones.

These children are likely to

• be sick more often
• recover from illness more slowly and be hospitalized more often
• lack adequate healthy food
• have impaired ability to concentrate and perform well
• have higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems

Additionally, the food insecure have more ambulance calls while poor nutritional status in the elderly specifically increases their fall risk.

When do we as a community respond to the needs of our neighbors who cannot access adequate food resources to support a healthy lifestyle?

Food Insecurity Data References:

• www.mass.gov/DTA   Aug 2022
• frac.org/wp-content/uploads/hunger-health-impact-poverty-food-insecurity-health-well-being.pdf
• bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-6964-1
• annemergmed.com/article/s0196-0644(17)31129-0/fulltext
• ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/food-security-and-nutrtion-assistance/?topicid=c40bd422-99d8-4715-93fa-f2f7674bc78b

On top of that, only 4% of SNAP recipients in Massachusetts are empowered enough to use their additional HIP benefits (free fresh fruits and vegetables from farm stands). Again scripture called for more action. South Church dedicated our Monthly Mission Partnership in November 2021 to Closing the SNAP Gap and fighting food insecurity. The SJC is using those donations in educating and advocating individuals and families about SNAP/HIP on multiple fronts: information booths at food pantries, announcements in community newsletters and church bulletins, workshops for various housing venues, homegrown flyers for use by social workers and other SNAP/HIP advocates (thank you Nora Pelt!). This effort strives to address food insecurity at a systemic level connecting people in need with empowering, long term resources, and to destigmatize food insecurity by caring for our neighbors.

The Social Justice Coalition and Cazimi, our Artists in Residence present Red Dresses:  Invisible Made Visible. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls are remembered with the display of Red Dresses by the church. The MMIWG disappear three times – in life, in the media, in the data.

Please learn more at Not Our Native Daughters and Native Hope.

… a holiday celebrating and honoring Native American peoples and their histories, the Social Justice Coalition shared a visual art installation on the North Lawn of the church. We invited everyone to see all of God’s children and sisters in Christ. Making the invisible visible.

Stop and consider how Native American women and girls are invisible by their murder and abduction for sex trafficking. Native American women and girls are also invisible through the lack of media coverage of their homicides, and any coverage is more likely to use violent language portraying the victim in a negative light. And yet again, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) are invisible in Federal and local databases which fail to count their abductions or deaths: what is not counted does not get addressed.

Please learn more at Not Our Native Daughters and Native Hope.

The SJC and the Andover Baptist Church are partnering to celebrate Juneteenth. It will be a traditional Juneteenth family celebration, fun for all. Save the date – Noon to 4pm, Saturday, June 18th.