The Legislative Health and Human Services Committee and the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee will hold the Legislative Summit on Juvenile Justice, as a joint meeting of those interim committees, on September 23, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
The Legislative Summit on Juvenile Justice will be held in Ballroom C of the University of New Mexico Student Union Building in Albuquerque.
Nationally renowned experts in juvenile justice, pediatric neurology and psychology and youth enterprise and diversion programs, including Dr. Gregory Van Rybroek of the Mendota Juvenile Justice Center in Madison, Wisconsin; Dr. Michael Gass of the University of New Hampshire; Dr. Kent Kiehl of the University of New Mexico; Daniel "Nane" Alejandrez of Barrios Unidos Institute for Peace and Economic Development; Secretary of Health Retta Ward; Secretary of Children, Youth and Families Monique Jacobson; and members of the public have been invited.
Seating capacity for the public is limited to 75 individuals on a first-come, first-served basis.
The format for the Legislative Summit on Juvenile Justice will be different from the usual format in which presentations are followed by questions from interim committee members. At the summit, plenary speakers will provide short presentations that, in lieu of questions from the committees, will be followed by roundtable discussions on the merits of and any recommended changes to:
• the Children, Youth and Families Department's Cambiar model of juvenile justice, whereby therapeutic interventions are used in lieu of confinement and punishment;
• the Department of Health's administration of the "Building Bridges" model at the Sequoyah Adolescent Treatment Center, a new treatment model whereby youths identified as having exhibited violent behaviors are provided individualized, therapeutic treatment to eventually allow for safe community reintegration; and
• youth enterprise and diversion programming that seeks to build self-esteem, resiliency and skills among youths involved in or identified as at risk of being involved in the state's juvenile justice system.
Each attendee will be requested to fully participate in roundtable discussions, to discuss the issues and ask questions of legislators, experts and other attendees and to formulate answers to questions about two of the three topic areas.
A tentative agenda for the Legislative Summit on Juvenile Justice can be found on the New Mexico Legislature's web site, www.nmlegis.gov.