OUR TEAM'S VISION
Mid-City CAN's Juvenile Justice Momentum team focuses on juvenile justice issues and is composed of community members from City Heights and all areas of San Diego.
We envision healthy communities free from policing and incarceration of children, where youth and their families have resources to heal, thrive and overcome institutionalized oppression.
Our mission is to advocate for youth justice and center the voices of community members, in particular those who have been impacted by the carceral system as youth, and their families.
Latest News
City Heights residents packed the room and filled it with love, energy, passion, and so much more during an amazing Networking Night on September 21. Community members heard from panelists who ended girls incarceration in Santa Clara County and others seeking to do the same in California counties. The crowd was moved by panelist Leslie, a youth who shared her story of a tough life, going from system to system and never experiencing love throughout her childhood. Thanks to her mentor, panelist Analisa from the Young Women's Freedom Center, Leslie turned her life around, will soon graduate from high school, and is now helping troubled female youth as a Community Organizer at the center.
Panelists Marcia and Ramon from the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) talked about youth incarceration and how many of them are still locked up despite low-level offenses. "The United States is the country that incarcerates the most people in the whole world. The fact that we have a lot of black and brown and native kids sitting in these facilities and now Asian kids, is no mistake. It's been so intentional," said Marcia. She explained research has shown that youth incarceration doesn't work. When youth incarceration facilities are shut down, the funding for these facilities are given to their office. OYCR then sends these funds to Community Based Organizations "to do the work that they know (to help youth). This is what we need," she said.
It was a special night as everyone enjoyed networking, hearing stories of redemption, appreciating each other, and enjoying food and the ice-breaker game together. Juvenile Justice organizer Manuel and Youth Council and Juvenile Justice team member Karlita did an exceptional job as co-moderators. Many thanks to our panelists, community members and Mid-City CAN staff for making Networking Night a memorable one. As promised, here's a link to the presentation materials, SB 274 Floor Alert and agenda. Click here to view the photo album for Ending Girls Incarceration. If you missed the event, click here to view Instagram Live and here to watch the IG Reel. Please take a moment to help end defiance suspensions by calling Governor Gavin Newson's office and asking him to sign SB 274 (during business hours). Find script and call details here.
Join our next Juvenile Justice meeting on Thursday, September 28 by clicking here.
Join us for a Networking Night focused on Ending Girls Incarceration (EGI)
San Diego County probation has recently received funding from the state Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) to partner with the Vera Institute of Justice to end girls incarceration. Vera Institute of Justice's EGI initiative aims to zero out the incarceration of girls and gender-expansive youth in the country’s juvenile legal system by 2030.
Panelists will share details about the initiative, ongoing work with young girls impacted by the justice system, the closure of state juvenile detentions.
This is a great opportunity for us to discuss potential alternatives to incarceration for young girls. Vera Institute of Justice will support the process with their expertise on establishing the networks in counties across the U.S.
We are looking forward to your participation, feedback and ideas to work toward freedom for our youth!
RSVP here: https://www.midcitycan.org/networking_night_sep_21_2023
Senate Bill 274 Passes Out of the Assembly Education Committee!
Mid-City CAN's Juvenile Justice team is thrilled that Senate Bill 274 that will end defiance suspensions for K-12 students passed out of the Assembly Education Committee on July 12! Thank you to Senator Skinner, Assemblymembers Muratsuchi, McCarty, Lee and Quirk-Silva, our team and coalition for your hard work to advance the bill! We also want to give a shoutout to youth members Ezra and Erik for all amazing effort! Both were in Sacramento last month to lobby with organizer Manuel and the coalition. Erik and Ezra spoke during 8 meetings and later recorded a video to explain why defiance suspensions are ineffective. "The suspensions, instead of helping the students and putting them on the right track, all it did was push them out of the school system leaving them with less than a chance to graduate and an overall worse situation," stated Erik. Click here to watch the video. Thank you Ezra and Erik for your incredible work!
Juvenile Justice’s trip to Sacramento a huge success
Mid-City CAN’s Juvenile Justice and Youth Council members were in Sacramento for the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color’s (ABMoC) Lobby Day on April 18. It was an exciting and productive trip for the team, joining over a hundred coalition partners including more than 60 youth, and meeting with state representatives to ask them to support bills that would dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, provide education equity, community and safety justice, healing, youth leadership, and justice and economic security.
After a policy briefing with coalition partners, the Juvenile Justice team lobbied for several bills including Senate Bill 274 that would end “defiance” suspensions for K-12 students. “Defiance” can be interpreted as talking too loud, sleeping in class, wearing a hat, and more. SB 274 will focus on keeping kids in school instead of tracking them to the Juvenile Justice system and will also remove suspensions for truancies and tardiness. SB 274 will bring education equity by removing school practices that disproportionately impact BIPOC, LGBTQ, and students with disabilities.
The team also supported Assembly Bill 702 that ensures Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act funds go to community-based organizations to provide programming for youth impacted by the justice system as well as Assembly Bill 1028 that focuses on survivor safety and health, and Assembly Bill 1512 that preserves benefits for foster youth who need the cash aid.
Overall, Lobby Day was a tremendous success and an invigorating experience for the team working with partners to support youth. To get involved in breaking the school-to-prison pipeline contact Manuel Enriquez at [email protected]
Acompañenos a una Noche de Conexiones enfocada en terminar el encarcelamiento de muchachxs jovenes
El departamento de libertad condicional (probation) a recibido dinero de la oficina estatal de jovenes y restauración comunitaria (OYCR) para asociarse con el Instituto de Justicia Vera y terminar con el ercacelamiento de muchachas jóvenes. El objetivo del Instituto de Justicia Vera es terminar con la encarcelacion de muchacas jóvenes y de género expansivo en todo el país para el 2030.
Nuestrxs panelistas hablaran sobre la iniciativa, trabajo en proceso con jóvenxs impactadxs por el sistema de justicia, y el cierre de los centros de detencion estatales.
Esta es una gran oportunidad para hablar sobre alternativas potenciales a la encarcelacion de jovenxs. El Instituto de Justicia Vera apoyará el proceso con su experiencia en establecer redes de apoyo en diferentes condados en todo el pais.
¡Esperamos su participación, comentarios e ideas para trabajar por la libertad de nuestra juventud!
RSVP: https://www.midcitycan.org/networking_night_sep_21_2023
El viaje del Día del Cabildeo de Justicia Juvenil a Sacramento fue un gran éxito
Los miembros del Consejo de la Juventud y de Justicia Juvenil de Mid-City CAN estuvieron en Sacramento para el Día de Cabildeo de Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC) el 18 de abril. Fue un viaje emocionante y productivo para el equipo, uniéndose a más de cien miembros de la coalición, incluidos más de 60 jóvenes, y se reunieron con representantes estatales para pedirles que apoyen proyectos de ley para desmantelar el conducto de la escuela a la prisión, y brindar lo siguiente: equidad en la educación, comunidad y seguridad, justicia, sanación, liderazgo juvenil y justicia y seguridad económica.
Después de una sesión informativa sobre políticas con los socios de la coalición, el equipo de Justicia Juvenil hizo cabildeo a favor de varios proyectos de ley, incluido el Proyecto de Ley 274 del Senado, que pondría fin a las suspensiones por “desafío” para los estudiantes de K-12. "Desafío" puede interpretarse como hablar demasiado alto, dormir en clase, usar un sombrero y más. La SB 274 se centrará en mantener a los jóvenes en la escuela en lugar de rastrearlos por el sistema de justicia juvenil y también eliminará las suspensiones por ausentismo y tardanzas. SB274 traerá equidad educativa al eliminar prácticas escolares que impactan desproporcionadamente a BIPOC, LGBTQ y estudiantes con discapacidades.
El equipo también apoyó el Proyecto de Ley 702 de la Asamblea que garantiza que los fondos de la Ley de Prevención del Delito de la Justicia Juvenil se destinen a organizaciones comunitarias para brindar programación a los jóvenes afectados por el sistema de justicia. Así como el Proyecto de Ley de la Asamblea 1028 que se enfoca en la seguridad y salud de los sobrevivientes, y el Proyecto de Ley de la Asamblea 1512 que preserva los beneficios para los jóvenes de crianza temporal que necesitan asistencia monetaria.
En general, el Día del Cabildeo fue un gran éxito y una experiencia estimulante para el equipo que trabaja con los socios comunitarios que apoyan a la juventud. Para obtener una cobertura completa del Día del Cabildeo y cómo involucrarte en romper el conducto de la escuela a la prisión, visita la página de Justicia Juvenil de Mid-City CAN:
https://www.midcitycan.org/juvenile_justice
Contacto: Manuel Enríquez [email protected]
Juvenile Justice to support bill that protects students
Mid-City CAN's Juvenile Justice team has voted to support Assembly Bill (AB) 1323 which will eliminate unnecessary police interactions in schools. The bill, introduced on February 16, 2023 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra, will empower educators, protect students, and restore educator discretion by eliminating state mandates that require school staff to notify law enforcement of many types of incidents labeled as “disruption”. Under current state law, teachers, staff and administrators who do not report “disruptions” can be subjected to a fine of up to $1,000 which has led to student interaction with police for minor incidents.
In December, an article by inewsource reported that:
In the 2021-22 school year, African American students accounted for more than 18% of the 3,669 total suspensions in San Diego Unified while making up less than 8% of the student population.
The San Diego and Hoover high school clusters, south of Interstate 8, had the highest suspension rates in the district, respectively.
Black, Latinx and Indigenous youth of color are disproportionately affected by policing in schools across our state and in San Diego due to current policies that schools have to abide by.
Next month, members of the team will head to Sacramento to join the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC) on April 18 for Lobby Day. During the visit they will speak to legislators and their staff about policy priorities, goals and ask them to crack the school-to-prison pipeline by supporting SB 274 to end suspensions for defiance, and AB 1323 to eliminate requirement to notify police of school disruptions.
Join Mid-City CAN’s Juvenile Justice for their next meeting at Mid-City CAN’s office on March 28 from 5:30pm – 7pm or contact Manuel Enriquez via email: [email protected], or phone (619) 636-6418 to get involved.
Justicia Juvenil apoyará proyecto de ley que protegerá a los estudiantes
El equipo de Justicia Juvenil de Mid-City CAN ha votado para apoyar el Proyecto de Ley de la Asamblea (AB) 1323 que eliminará las interacciones policiales innecesarias en las escuelas. El proyecto de ley, presentado el 16 de febrero de 2023 por el asambleísta Ash Kalra, empoderará a los educadores, protegerá a los estudiantes y restaurará la discreción de los educadores al eliminar los mandatos estatales que requieren que el personal escolar notifique a las fuerzas del orden público sobre muchos tipos de incidentes etiquetados como "interrupción". Según la ley estatal actual, los maestros, el personal y los administradores que no informen las "interrupciones" pueden estar sujetos a una multa de hasta $1,000, lo que ha llevado a que los estudiantes interactúen con la policía por incidentes menores.
En diciembre, un artículo de inewsource (artículo) informó que:
En el año escolar 2021-22, los estudiantes afroamericanos representaron más del 18 % de las 3,669 suspensiones totales en el Distrito Escolar de San Diego, mientras que representan menos del 8 % de la población estudiantil.
Los grupos de escuelas preparatorias de San Diego y Hoover, al sur de la Interestatal 8, tuvieron las tasas de suspensión más altas del distrito, respectivamente.
Los jóvenes negros, latinx e indígenas de color se ven afectados de manera desproporcionada por la vigilancia policial en las escuelas de nuestro estado y en San Diego debido a las políticas actuales que las escuelas deben cumplir.
El próximo mes, el día 18 de abril, los miembros del equipo se dirigirán a Sacramento para unirse a la Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, ABMoC, (una alianza para niños y hombres de color) para un Día del Cabildeo. Durante la visita, hablarán con los legisladores y su personal sobre las prioridades de las políticas, los objetivos y les pedirán que rompan el enlace de la escuela a la prisión apoyando la SB 274 para poner fin a las suspensiones por desafío y la AB 1323 para eliminar el requisito de notificar a la policía de las interrupciones escolares. .
Únase a Justicia Juvenil de Mid-City CAN para su próxima reunión en la oficina de Mid-City CAN el 28 de marzo de 5:30pm a 7pm o comunícate con Manuel Enríquez por correo electrónico: [email protected], o por teléfono al (619) 636-6418 para involucrarte.
Join our Monthly Meetings!
We meet every 4th Thursday of the month at Mid-City CAN's office ( from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.
To join our Juvenile Justice team contact Manuel Enriquez at [email protected] or 619-272-7582 ext. 106
Nuestro Equipo de Justicia Juvenil
Somos un equipo de impulso de Mid-City CAN con sede en City Heights, compuesto por miembros de la comunidad de todas las áreas de San Diego que nos unimos para enfocarnos en problemas de justicia juvenil.
Visualizamos comunidades saludables libres de encarcelamiento de niños, donde los jóvenes y sus familias tengan recursos para sanar, y sobrepasar opresión institucionalizada.
Nuestra misión es abogar por la justicia juvenil y enfocar las voces de los miembros de la comunidad, en particular aquellos que han sido afectados por el sistema carcelario cuando eran jóvenes y sus familias.
Participe en nuestras reuniones!
Nos reunimos cada cuarto jueves del mes: Mid-City CAN ( 6 pm to 7:30 pm.
Contacto: Manuel Enriquez at [email protected] or 619-272-7582 ext. 106
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