Youth Justice Rally Scheduled: Shedding Light on 4 Pending NYS Bills

On Thursday, February 23rd, Westchester Children’s Association will hold a Youth Rally from 3pm to 5pm at the White Plains Adult Community Center at 65 Mitchell Place. The purpose of the rally is to provide information and education to youth, young adults and their allies about four bills currently pending in the New York State legislature. If passed, each bill provides significant steps toward disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and reducing the impact of the criminal legal system on young people.

The four bills are:

1. Solutions Not Suspensions (S1040 Jackson)
2. The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (Myrie S3426 / O’Donnell A4238)
3. Right 2 Remain Silent Youth Interrogation Bill (Bailey S1099 / Joyner A1963)
4. The Clean Slate Act (S211 Myrie / A1029 Cruz)

“It is critical to understand that these four bills not only help our most vulnerable and underserved young people, once enacted they will translate into safer communities for everyone. Helping youth find the support they need, expanding alternatives to incarceration, developing solutions that promote positive outcomes, and addressing systemic barriers to jobs, housing and education breaks the horrendous cycle that often leads to lifelong struggles to get ahead and be productive members of society,” states Allison Lake, Executive Director of Westchester Children’s Association. “Enacting this legislation will make New York safer, save lives, and put hundreds of young people on a path to success. When our youth see a path to a better life, we all win.”

Co-sponsors of the event include Youth Shelter Program of Westchester, a one-of-a-kind organization in New York state providing residential and community-based alternatives to incarceration, Youth Represent which offers support to justice-involved youth through legal services and reentry advocacy, and Children Defense Fund New York, a multi-issue children’s advocacy organization.

All ages are invited to attend and learn more about the important legislation and what they can do to help reach out and have their voices heard by those who will vote on the bills. The event will run from 3pm – 5pm and feature presentations, music by DJ Jericko. Youth speakers will include representatives from Mount Vernon’s Emerging Adult Court, Youth Shelter Program of Westchester, and Opportunity Youth Part in New Rochelle.

Jaquan Wallace is in his early twenties and is an alum of the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester. In an upcoming podcast, he was asked what he would like to see more of in his community. His reply, “we need to stand up as people in our communities and people as one… We don’t need to compete against each other, we need to be as one.” His statement is a reminder of the importance of hosting rallies and conducting all forms of advocacy to support for second chances.

RSVPs at http://bit.ly/justice_rally are encouraged. Registering will help WCA to anticipate the number of people planning to attend and make it easy to disseminate further information about these issues.

Listen to a recent podcast about the bills here: https://soundcloud.com/user-84...

Information about the four pending bills is listed below:

Solutions Not Suspensions (S1040 Jackson) -- would establish that suspensions are the last resort to student misbehavior in schools, never the first. Instead, it promotes methods that are designed to hold students accountable while helping them learn from their mistakes. In New York, students lose hundreds of thousands of days in the classroom each year because of suspensions, often for normal youthful behavior. These punishments disproportionately impact Black and Latinx students, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ youth. Importantly, this bill would allow New York to take a big step away from the biased policies of the past.

The Youth Justice & Opportunities Act (Myrie S3426 / O’Donnell A4238)-- would expand alternatives to incarceration and immediate record sealing for young people up to age 25, allowing young people who have been arrested and charged as adults to move forward with their lives and pursue housing, employment, education, and other goals without the barrier of a harsh adult prison sentence and criminal record.

Right 2 Remain Silent Youth Interrogation Bill (Bailey S1099 / Joyner A1963) -- would require that a youth first consult with counsel before any police questioning can take place. Current data shows that 90% of youth waive their Miranda Rights. Children lack the capacity to fully appreciate the meaning and significance of the right to remain silent, and to understand the repercussions of waiving that right. Add to that the stress and tension inherent in an interrogation, and the prospect of an intelligent and voluntary waiver to the right to remain silent becomes a myth.

The Clean Slate Act (S211 Myrie / A1029 Cruz) -- will help address the systemic barriers to jobs, housing and education posed by old conviction records. Clean Slate is crucial to address intergenerational poverty. Nationally, nearly 50% of children in poverty have at least one parent with a conviction record, and children who grow up in poverty are far more likely to remain living in poverty throughout their lives. By lifting barriers to life essentials, including jobs and housing, Clean Slate will allow New Yorkers to support themselves and their families and break the cycle of poverty for millions of children.

Westchester Children’s Association welcomes all individuals interested in learning more about these bills, the process of enacting them into legislation and what can be done to support each one, to attend the rally and listen to the speakers and ask questions.

About Westchester Children’s Association

Westchester Children’s Association (WCA) is a multi-issue, child advocacy nonprofit that works to ensure that every child in Westchester is healthy, safe, and prepared for life’s challenges, regardless of race or zip code. Since 1914, WCA has been the leading independent voice for Westchester’s children by identifying their needs, making those needs known to the public, and ensuring those needs are met through advocacy and mobilization efforts. For more information about Westchester Children’s Association, visit their website at www.wca4kids.org.

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