And After Detention...Activism

Julie Kasaka

I love finding stories about young people who spend time in the juvenile justice system and then find a way to overcome all the challenges in their lives to either fight to improve the system or work within it. Two crossed my laptop today:

• At age 21, Starcia Ague was released from the Washington state juvenile justice system and became the first and only “juvenile lifer” to be pardoned by the governor. Last month she became a Soros Justice Fellow to “develop the leadership capacity of youth held in detention facilities in Washington state to prepare them for engaged and productive lives once released.” 

• Julie Kasaka is the focus of the article Life After Detention by Elly Yu in Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. The article offers Julie’s reflections on her experience in detention and her path to clerking for Steven Teske, chief judge of Clayton County Juvenile Court. In March, she testified in a Senate briefing on the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

These may be exceptional stories, but my guess is that there are a lot more like them, just not as high profile. When I visit schools and programs I often meet staff that refer to their own experiences in juvenile justice, being pushed out of school or leaving school to work or because it seemed to be leading nowhere. I’ve been wondering if we might create a LinkedIn group to connect folks who are bouncing back with those who are working their way back from detention and the streets.

As always, we’d love to hear from you. Have you or any of your colleagues “bounced back?” We’d love to highlight them here or have them contribute a blog.