so·cial jus·tice

n

justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society

The school-to-prison pipeline is defined as "a trend that pushes children out of schools, increasing their likelihood of entering the juvenile and criminal justice systems." This trend is caused by policies that target disadvantaged students at a disproportionate rate, such as zero-tolerance, suspensions and expulsions, over-reliance on police officers to discipline students, and school-based arrests and referrals for truancy.

Suspensions and Social Injustice Facts

According to the Ohio Department of Education and the Coalition for Juvenile Justice:

• "Every year, Ohio schools issue more than 200,000 out-of-school suspensions to Ohio children."
• During the 2012-13 academic year, "54% of those suspensions were for 'disobedient or disruptive' behavior rather than for violent or criminal behavior."
• "Black students are approximately five times more likely to be suspended for the same behavior as white students."
• "Students with disabilities are two to eight times more likely to be suspended, depending on the category of disability, than students without disabilities."
• "Low-income students are about two and a half times more likely to be suspended than students who are not low-income."
• "A history of prior suspensions from school is the number one factor that leads to children dropping out of school."
  • "Children who do not finish high school are highly likely to end up incarcerated in our juvenile or criminal justice systems."
    • "They are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested."
    • "82% of the adult prison population is composed of high school dropouts."

The YMCA's Positive Alternative Learning for Students (PALS) program benefits both the student and the community. The goal of PALS is to provide an alternative for students who receive three, five, and ten day suspensions from school. Instead of hanging out on the streets or sitting around at home doing nothing, students are given the opportunity to stay in a supportive environment where they are held accountable for their actions and, at the same time, encouraged to work on their homework. The PALS program believes "every child is of promise."

PALS and its Effect on Social Justice

During school hours, the following city crime categories have decreased since 2008:

• Auto Theft decreased 53%.
• Home Burglary decreased 27%.
• Assault with weapons decreased 17%.

For more information on the YMCA's PALS program visit: http://ymcacolumbus.org/pals

The Juvenile Justice Coalition (JJC) is a non-profit organization that focuses on improving Ohio's juvenile justice system - from prevention through youth in adult court - for youth, families, and communities. JJC focuses on supporting the increased use of community alternatives to incarceration in order to reduce Ohio's reliance on institutional placements of children in the juvenile system.

One of JJC's recent successes was pushing HB 410 signed into law. This bill adopts nationally accepted best practices to support students and families and keep students engaged in school and on a path to success. It contains the following provisions:

• Requires the development of a model school discipline policy
• Allows students to make up work
• Eliminates carry-over out-of-school suspensions
• Creates a new process for youth who are missing school--so schools cannot directly refer youth to the juvenile court without any intervention
• Eliminates truancy as an automatic delinquency offense
• Prohibits students from being suspended or expelled for missing school
• Creates a pilot project to lead innovation on truancy
• Establishes data collection on truant youth
• Aligns truancy definitions with instructional hours

The Juvenile Justice System focuses on reducing the school-to-prison pipeline and helping prevent juveniles from entering the juvenile system.

Family dynamic is defined as "patterns of relating, or interactions between family members." Often, this is noted in a criminal report, what type of home the perpetrator comes from. Whether or not the accused has a family and with what regularity they see there family, or if they are even still in contact with their family.

The "Huck House" is safe, crisis house that works families that are going through a variety of struggles. The house can house up to 17 children per night, ages 12-17, and connects them and their families to resources that can help them through the circumstance. The house has counselors and case managers in house during the normal work day and are on-call throughout the night. The house has on-site coordinators in the house 24/7 to ensure the children's safety. The Huck House also offers a transitional living program for young adults, 18-22, in which they offer housing and teach them how to live in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, they offer housing for survivors of domestic violence so that they have a safe place to live. The Huck House is committed to helping families putting the past in the past and focusing on the future.