JusticeEd, A Compassionate Education Systems Initiative
Our JusticeEd initiative in Santa Clara County, California envisions a future in which each systems-impacted young person is able to graduate from high school with the widest array of possibilities for their future.
Who We Are
Since 2018, NCYL's JusticeEd has worked through a creative partnership with Santa Clara County's Juvenile Probation Department to provide individualized education case management and coaching to students and caregivers to support academic success. JusticeEd is a first-of-its-kind in the state and one of the few education support programs in the country dedicated to probation- involved students.
What We Do
JusticeEd Education Liaisons work with juvenile justice involved students and their caregivers across Santa Clara County to ensure the students have:
- Education champions – preferably caregivers – who are supported, informed, knowledgeable, empowered, and active in support of their student’s education.
- A well-coordinated team of professionals across multiple systems working in concert with each student’s family and support network; and,
- An education plan that is centered around their strengths, needs, and goals for the future.
JusticeEd Education Liaisons connect with students bi-weekly and with caregivers monthly to:
- Review and discuss academic progress.
- Provide coaching on study skills and social-emotional skill development.
- Develop and review education plans and assess progress on student-set education goals.
- Engage in post-secondary and career exploration, and.
- Review and complete assignments, and more.
What else do Education Liaisons do?
- Serve as a liaison between the families, justice system, and education system partners
- Monitor student grades and attendance through partnerships with local school districts
- Support and coach caregivers in navigating their student’s education
- Connect students to school and community-based resources
- Advocate on behalf of students and caregivers for things like school discipline, school placement, special education, etc.
- Build and coordinate support teams of education, juvenile justice, and community-based organization staff
- Work with students for the duration of their probation involvement and up to three months after probation termination
Disrupting the 'school-to-prison pipeline'
Girls and young women in California to receive support instead of jail
