Transcript Enhancing Your Professionalism

Building Advocacy Skills to
be an
Effective Committee Member
Juanita Gamble and Emily NaPier
Onondaga County Co-Coordinators
Disproportionate Minority Contact Project
Presented by the
Center for Community Alternatives (CCA)
ADVOCACY
Advocacy is the
pursuit
of influencing
outcomes…
TYPES OF ADVOCACY
There are essentially two broad categories
of advocacy:
1. Individual Outcomes
2. Public Policy Outcomes
INDIVIDUAL
OUTCOMES
EXAMPLES OF GOALS
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To teach a young person how to
appropriately interact with police if police
contact occurs
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To help your child avoid Family Court
involvement by advocating for a diversion
plan
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To develop good relationships with
probation officers, attorneys, etc. working
with your child
EXAMPLES OF GOALS

To encourage a judge to send your child
home with you rather than to detention
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To work with the Attorney for the Child to
suggest alternative dispositions other than
incarceration
INDIVIDUAL ADVOCACY
An effective advocate possesses the
following characteristics:
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Attitude
Skills
Knowledge
ATTITUDE
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Feeling the need to make a difference
Respect for others’ opinions
Following policies and procedures
Following directions
Personal responsibility/self-respect
Courage
Self-confidence
Approach change with a positive can-do attitude
SKILLS
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Communication: verbal, non-verbal, and written
Effective functioning in a group or one-on-one
setting
Organization and preparation
Understanding of strengths and limitations
Conflict resolution: staying solution-focused
Knowing your “triggers”
Ability to admit when you are wrong or don’t know
KNOWLEDGE
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Define the problem
Gather all related information/data
Utilize available resources
Know the responsibilities of all parties, including
your own role
Avoid jumping to conclusions
Identify possible solutions
PUBLIC POLICY
OUTCOMES
EXAMPLES OF GOALS
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Identify areas in the juvenile justice system
where racial disparity exists
Educate key players and community
members on issues of disproportionality
and disparity in the juvenile justice system
Develop recommendations to reduce
disproportionate minority contact (DMC)
with the juvenile justice system
DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY
CONTACT (DMC)
DMC occurs when the proportion of youth
of color who pass through the juvenile
justice system exceed the proportion of
youth of color in the general population.
DMC becomes worse as youth of color
pass through the system starting with
arrest and ending with placement or
incarceration.
PROJECT TO REDUCE DMC IN
ONONDAGA COUNTY
The NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services
(DCJS) has provided funding to the Center for
Community Alternatives (CCA) to work on
reducing DMC in Onondaga County.
The work is part of Onondaga County’s Juvenile
Detention Reform Committee that is made up of
government agencies and Family Court judges,
who are often referred to as System
Stakeholders.
DMC SUBCOMMITTEE
A new DMC subcommittee is
being created that will include
youth, parents, and other
community stakeholders.
The DMC subcommittee will
report regularly to the Detention
Reform Committee and assist
with developing recommendations
to reduce DMC.
WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS?
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County Executive
Syracuse Police Department
Onondaga County Probation Department
County Attorney’s Office
Hillbrook and Hillside
Family Court Judges
Community Organizations
YOU!
WHAT WILL THE
SUBCOMMITTEE DO?
The DMC subcommittee will meet
on a
monthly basis to identify DMC at
various junctures in the Juvenile
Justice
System and discuss remedies for
successful
The subcommittee
will reviewreduction of DMC.
data
from various points in the
system so
that its recommendations for
reform
Race of 2010 JD Hillbrook Admissions
2%
1%
6%
Black
18%
White
Latino
Native American
73%
Other/Unknown
There were 103 admissions to Hillbrook in 2010. Of those, 73% were
African American, 18% were White, and 6% were Latino.
ONONDAGA COUNTY DISPARITY
Black Youth as a Percentage of...
Population
Onondaga County Youth
Black youth are:
16
Juvenile Arrests
•
40
Hillbrook Admissions
62
Cases Petitioned to Family Court
61
•
OCFS Secure Placements
•
72
0
10
20
30
40
Percentage
50
60
70
80
Arrested 5.27 times
more often
Securely detained 1.42
times more often
Petitioned to Family
Court 1.14 times more
often
than White youth
Black youth are only 16% of the total youth population in Onondaga County but
represent 62% of the admissions to Hillbrook.
CUMULATIVE DISADVANTAGE
Law
Enforcement
Deployment
Reintegration Services
Probation
Violations
Disposition
Appearance Ticket/
Warn & Release
Court Appearance/
Police Dropoff
Cumulative
Disadvantage
Fact Finding
Hearing
Probable
Cause
Hearing
Release/
Detention
Diversion
Attorney for
the Child
Petition to
Family Court
SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE:
DO…
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review any materials provided before the
meeting and ask Juanita or Emily if you need
help understanding them.
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arrive on time for meetings and plan to stay for
the scheduled time allotted.
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dress like you want to be taken seriously – there
will be County officials in the room.
try to remember the names, faces, and roles of
people in the room for next time – Juanita and
Emily can help with this.
SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE:
DO…
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draw on your own experiences when offering
comments and suggestions.
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try to connect your experiences to the data being
reviewed whenever possible.
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keep your emotions under control and remain
civil and professional.
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hold firm to your opinions – you have as much
right to be at the table as anyone else.
SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE:
DON’T…
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be afraid to ask Juanita or Emily questions
whenever something is unclear or you want to
know more about something or someone.
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get into emotional debates with other committee
members – bring the discussion back to the
data.
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place blame on any committee members or
agencies represented on the committee – stay
focused on solutions.
SERVING ON THE COMMITTEE:
DON’T…
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behave rudely to any other committee members
or their staff people – no matter how rude they
might be to you.
stray from the agenda – stay focused on the task
to develop specific recommendations to reduce
DMC.
forget that your personal knowledge of the
system is just as important as other committee
members’ professional knowledge.
ADVOCACY KEY POINTS
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Be positive
Increase your tolerance & appreciation for
different points of views
Avoid jumping to conclusions
Place firm boundaries on your behavior
Don’t take it personally
Demonstrate emotional competence
Believe you can make a difference
“The first duty of a wise
advocate is to convince his
opponents that he
understands their arguments
and sympathizes with their just
feelings.”
Samuel Coleridge
17th Century Poet/Activist