PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 - (Page 27)

SIGnATURE PRoJECT UPDATE Chicago Signature Project Update CHICAGo oFFICE PUBLISHES THREE JUvEnILE JUSTICE REPoRTS This spring, the Chicago office wrapped up its Signature Project in Juvenile Justice by publishing three reports. The first report, From Juvenile Court to the Classroom: The Need for Effective Child Advocacy, chronicles the issues that children face when they try to re-enroll in school after being released from the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center. The focus of the study was identified when signature project lawyers directly representing individual children observed that once their young clients were released from the juvenile system, they still faced tremendous difficulties in simply returning to school: being dropped from the rolls, turned away by hostile administrators or unable to provide proper paperwork and deal with bureaucratic confusion. The report, issued in February 2008, is the result of two years of research, including interviews with local officials and an examination of best practices in other states. It has already received significant attention within the juvenile justice community. The primary authors and editors of the report, Ken Schmetterer and Lawrence Wojcik (both Chicago), currently are working to implement its recommendations. The second report, Categorically Less Culpable: Children Sentenced to Life Without Possibility of Parole in Illinois, was co-authored with the Illinois Coalition for the Fair Sentencing of Children. It reviews the history of the law surrounding juvenile life without parole sentencing in Illinois, looks at international standards for the fair treatment of children and catalogues the lawyers’ interviews with nearly every one of the 103 individuals known to be serving this sentence in Illinois. The report has received national media attention and has helped to spark a dialogue in Illinois and across the US about reforming the practice of sending children to prison for life with no hope of release. The US is the only country in the world where minors can be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Rich Klawiter, the office’s pro bono coordinator, notes, “Those that show themselves worthy of redemption ought to be given an opportunity before a parole board.” The third report, About the Chicago Signature Project in Juvenile Justice, provides a retrospective look at the course of the signature project, chronicling the tremendous work undertaken from its inception in 2004, examining the ways the project expanded over the years and providing critical insights for others looking to start their own signature projects. SUMMER 2008 | 27 http://www.dlapiperprobono.com/files/upload/00544_Juvenile_Justice_Book_3_10.pdf http://www.dlapiperprobono.com/files/upload/Juvenile_Justice_Book_2.pdf http://www.dlapiperprobono.com/files/upload/Juvenile_Justice_Book_1.pdf

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008 Contents A Firm Response to a Natural Disaster Protecting Our Electorate National News An Interview with Sandy Gohn Mapping Impact FourThought Signature Project Update New Perimeter Launches Addis Ababa Law School Project Awards and Recognition What Our Clients Say About Us

PROBONO Bulletin - Summer 2008

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