Dateline Washington — As Congress begins to discuss reforms to our nation’s criminal justice system, U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Culver City/South Los Angeles) welcomed 100 persons to a panel of juvenile court judges and young women who had involvement in the criminal justice system to discuss how Congress should address the specific needs of women and girls in the judicial system.
The panel had a frank discussion of the issues impacting women and young girls in prison, including the disproportionate number of women in prison who were formerly in the foster care system.
A key point raised by yesterday’s panel was that too often the criminal justice system does not take into account the underlying family dynamics and self-esteem problems that exist prior to involvement with the criminal justice system.
Participants suggested that preliminary counseling and social work engagement could short circuit these issues before these young women run into problems with the law.
Ms. Bass told the audience why she worked to bring the panel together.
“Fundamentally,” she said, “I believe that the best policy is done when the people who are most immediately impacted are involved in telling the policymakers what the policy should be.”
Justice Joan Byer, the Circuit Court Judge from the Family Division of Jefferson County, Ky., echoed Ms. Bass’s ‘ sentiment.
She said it is necessary to make sure that members of Congress are listening to young people who have gone to jail or prison.
“The most important voices in the room are these young women who have experienced, if you would, the other side of the court system sitting at the other side of the table,” said Judge Byer. “It is an incredible burden. It is an honor to work with youth in the system because if you’re wrong, you’re really, really wrong.”
Judge Byer emphasized that too often judges in the system are simply unaware of the abuse that led young people to being in the criminal justice system.
According to data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2007 more than 50 percent of the women in jail reported they had been physically or sexually abused before their imprisonment.
Coming from an abusive environment directly impacts how young women see themselves, and therefore the decisions they make.
Judge Patricia Martin, presiding judge of the Child Protection Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL, discussed how all too often suffering abuse as a child shapes your decisions growing up and as an adult.
“You have to feel good about yourself to do good,” said Judge Martin. “If you don’t, it is very hard to see a future.”
All three young women on the panel confirmed they came from abusive environments as young children, which ultimately shaped their decisions leading them to the criminal justice system.
Esché L. Jackson, a 25-year-old USC graduate, was a foster child before she was incarcerated. She talked about how exposure to violence at a young age impacted her throughout her childhood and as a young adult.
“I think I was traumatized when the trauma began in the household,” Ms. Jackson told the participants. “A lot of the domestic issues I was experiencing translated into my academics. And then my behavior was worse. I was in the street life. I was gang-affiliated. I was just leading a life of destruction.”
Ms. Jackson at one point was on trial for murder to protect her boyfriend because he had provided her with housing.
Sonya Brown, a 28-year-old former foster youth who served time in an adult facility as a minor for the “crime” of running away, discussed the reality of growing up in New Orleans, especially post-Katrina.
“I grew up in the foster care system,” said Ms. Brown. Initially she was happy when she was placed in the child welfare system because of her abusive parents. However, the small familiarity she did have was soon taken away from her.
“I was traumatized when I was separated from my siblings,” she said, “and placed into different foster homes because my older sister served as a surrogate mother.”
Ms. Brown was sent to seven different foster homes. She attended 10 different schools. However, even with these difficulties Ms. Brown graduated from high school and college, has a Master’s degree, and she has purchased her first home.
Haley Marie Ceaser, who is 17 years old, discussed how she grew up in an abusive family and how that affected her.
“I saw my mom in an abusive relationship,” said Ms. Ceaser. “I saw my mom get beat for so long that I wasn’t going to let anyone hit me,
“When I got put into the system, everyone saw me as a big bad kid. They didn’t know that I had been molested and that I did watch my mom in a bad relationship.”
Justice Donna Groman, the Supervising Judge of Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center in Los Angeles County, discussed how judges within the criminal justice system do not want to work in the children and families division.
“This is my love, working with kids and families,” said Judge Groman. But she brought up a problem that family court is often seen as the lowest rung for judges.
” I saw new judges being assigned to our dependency court who really didn’t want to be there as their first assignment,” she said. “They were doing everything possible to get to a different assignment. They were not really delving into the cases like they should. I thought that I could do a better job because I was committed to being in that field for the rest of my career,” Judge Groman added.
Congressmembers Bobby Scott (D-Va) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tx) also attended the event.
Mr. Roth may be contacted at dan.roth@mail.house.gov
