Kentucky Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Stop the Incarceration of Status Offenders

A Kentucky state legislator has introduced a bill to curb the state’s harmful and expensive practice of locking up youth who commit status offenses like truancy, underage drinking and running away from home. 

State Rep. Kelly Flood, D-Lexington, has filed a bill for the 2012 legislative session that would do away with the practice of keeping status offenders in juvenile detention centers while they are waiting for their case to be heard by a judge.

Kentucky has long been among the top three states in the country for locking up such youth. Last year, the state spent $2 million just to incarcerate those children, additional transportation and court costs were also incurred.

Rebecca DiLoretto, CLC’s litigation director, says a change in the law is needed to direct juvenile justice dollars toward intervention and treatment.

“That’s a much better way to spend tax payer money than by using incarceration," she says, "which just pushes these children more deeply into the criminal justice system.”

Rep. Flood’s bill has been promised a hearing by the chairman of the justice committee. That development has made CLC’s Managing Attorney Josh Crabtree “cautiously optimistic” that the bill will come up for a vote in this legislative session. 

Making Children's Issues a Priority in Kentucky

CLC attorneys recently hosted two separate forums, one in northern Kentucky and one in Lexington, to discuss the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children, a list of goals created by child advocacy groups to make the state a better place for children and families.

The meetings were a preview for Child Advocacy Day, the state’s largest rally for kids issues, which will be held on February 16^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Capitol Rotunda in Franfort, KY. To register, click here.

The northern Kentucky forum, held Jan. 13 at Northern Kentucky University, drew 70 attendees and the Lexington forum, held January 23 at the Imami Family Life Center, drew 125 participants. Both featured topics such as “improving the quality of alternative education” and “ending damaging incarceration of youth for noncriminal misbehaviors."

The Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children is comprised of dozens of child advocacy groups around the state including the CLC. Representatives of the organizations lobby the state legislature to pass bills and sign regulations that align with the Blueprint’s goals.

Josh Crabtree,  CLC’s managing attorney, said he is cautiously optimistic that legislators will vote on a bill to end incarceration of youth for status offenses (non-criminal misbehaviors like running away from home or truancy). “It’s kind of a hot topic right now,” he said “And it’s something that nobody was looking at two years ago. So they’re recognizing that this is an important issue for kids." 

Advocacy Work Inspires CLC Extern to Consider a Career in Family Law

Nick Varney was thinking of becoming a corporate attorney when he was chosen for an externship at CLC in the spring of 2010. After working for a few months with CLC attorneys Josh Crabtree and Rick Konkoly-Thege on child custody and criminal cases, Varney changed his mind. "I found advocacy work more exciting and fulfilling," he says.

The 27-year-old, who is a second year student at the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, decided on a law career after earning dual bachelor's degrees in English and political science at Ohio State University.

"I originally thought I was going to be an English teacher," Varney says. "I like kids so that seemed like an easy decision." After graduation, though, he worked for a legal services company for three years in his hometown of Cincinnati and also Chicago. "I think it was working for lawyers that made me think I could be a lawyer if I really wanted to be," he says.

Varney's experience at CLC has helped him get hands-on experience beyond reading law books and going to class. "I get to shadow Josh when he goes to court and conducts depositions and interviews," he says. "You learn so much functional stuff in law school but until you see it happening in front of you, you don't have a real-world grasp of what it takes."

He especially likes observing Crabtree when he interacts with parents and children who are caught up in custody battles. "I like seeing the sort of interpersonal aspect that Josh gets to have with his clients," Varney says. "He gets to talk to parents about what's going to be best for their kids in the long run. He's also really great with the kids. He has a real ability to connect with them instead of acting like just another appointed court person. "

Varney says he's used to having a hectic schedule, juggling law school and the many hours he puts in at CLC. With all that, he still finds time to play guitar and sing in a rock band, St. Casimir, which will be releasing an album this spring. "Who knows," he says, "it could turn into something really great."

 In the meantime, Varney says he hopes to work in family law after getting his law degree. "It's a decision that I came to after working at CLC," he says. "In family law you can have a positive influence on someone's life when they're going through a tough time. "

CLC To Host Conference on Children's Issues

The CLC is holding a conference on children's legal, social and educational issues called "Step Up for Kids" on Jan. 13, 2012 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Northern Kentucky University. The conference, which will be held in the student union room 104, is free and open to the public.

Sister Reflects on Hardship of Spending Another Holiday Season Away from Her Brother

My family and I thought we might have reason to feel especially grateful this holiday season. My brother Gerald was up for parole and we believed he’d be set free. 

Gerald was arrested at 15 after playing a small part in an armed robbery in downtown Cincinnati that ended in murder. Gerald never thought any one would die, but he was wrong and has taken responsibility for his actions.  He was not the shooter but he got nearly the same sentence, 18 years to life.

Since then, my brother has worked hard to redeem himself. Now 33, he’s earned his GED, steered clear of trouble and even become a mentor to new prisoners, teaching them how to survive the harsh world they’re entering. 

While in prison, Gerald earned his barber’s license and on his release, Gerald is planning to work as a barber. We had planned to have him live with me until he got his footing financially.

I worked with several attorneys, including CLC's Angela Chang, to put together a powerful presentation for the parole board. Our presentation included many letters of support from family and friends and a psychiatric evaluation that put Gerald at very low risk for committing future crimes. Read More

Our presentation showed that Gerald has changed a lot since that fateful day 17 years ago; he has overcome the odds of prison life and grown up to become a very different man from the 15-year-old boy that entered the prison doors.  He has somehow found peace within those walls and is now ready to come back out and start positively contributing to our community.

But all of it - the nearly two decades he’d already served, his good behavior, his plan to become a productive citizen, his family support and positive evaluation - fell on deaf ears. The board denied his parole and he won’t be eligible again until 2014.

And we don’t even know why. The parole board does not explain its decisions. It’s not accountable to the public. Its seven members are appointed by the director of the State Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections and approved by the governor.

This is a major failing of our “justice” system.  Gerald was tried once for his offense, has taken responsibility for his actions, and is now ready to come home a changed man.  Whenever he is released, my family will welcome him with open arms and support him in whatever he chooses to do.

But that may be never. Under Ohio law, he could be held for life. That would be a terrible waste of a young man who made a foolish decision at the tender age of 15 and of taxpayer dollars since it costs the state $25,000 a year to house my brother.

So this year, our thoughts will inevitably turn to 2014 - the next holiday season that Gerald could potentially spend with us.   Maybe then we can celebrate liked we hoped.