As members of the Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section, we stand in solidarity with our friends and colleagues in the Black community and condemn the tragic and senseless killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and many others. We know that racism is deeply rooted in American society and recognize the devastating impact it has on people of color, from daily indignities and marginalization to the tragic loss of these four lives and so many more. We cannot remain silent in the face of these injustices. As lawyers and advocates, it is our ethical duty to condemn white supremacy and actively work to eliminate racial bias in the justice system.

A key mission of the Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section is to promote racial justice through education, awareness, and advocacy within the North Carolina Bar Association, and most importantly, through our work as child and youth advocates. Several years ago, we established a Racial Justice Committee to directly address the harmful impact of structural racism on children of color across systems, including education, child welfare, and juvenile justice. These systems disproportionately fail children of color, as evidenced by the achievement gap, the overrepresentation of minority children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and the school-to-prison pipeline.

Read more

By Eric J. Zogry 

In June 2019, Disproportionate Minority Contact in North Carolina: An Assessment Study by Stan Orchowsky, Ph.D., Cambiare Consulting and Michael J. Leiber, Ph.D. and Chae M. Jaynes, Ph.D., University of South Florida, was released through a grant from the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission. This was the first statewide study on disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in the juvenile justice system since 2013.

The goal of the assessment study was to determine whether, where and why DMC exists in North Carolina’s juvenile justice system. The analysis is based on using the Relative Rate Index, or “RRI.” The RRI is the ratio of the proportion of minority youth at a given stage to the proportion of white youth at that same stage. If both groups are being processed at the same rate, then the RRI would be equal to 1. RRIs above 1 indicate disproportionate minority contact at that stage of the system.

Read more

Michele Livingstone

Will Quick

By Michele Livingstone and Will Quick

We are in unprecedented times with COVID-19 (Coronavirus).  It is now more important than ever that we help our neighbors and those who are not as fortunate. I am confident that each of you is doing your part.

Even in the best of times, however, over 1.5 Million North Carolinians struggle with hunger—of those, nearly half a million are children. With public schools and many religious and nonprofit organizations that traditionally serve the food insecure in our communities being closed for indefinite periods, and government leaders calling for social distancing to help limit the spread of Coronavirus, that need is never more pressing than now.

Read more

By Jared Simmons

According to the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, over 10,000 children in North Carolina are in the foster care system as of 2018.  Since 1983, the North Carolina juvenile system has supported the role of the Guardian ad Litem in each case to be a strong voice for children in the courtroom. In 2015, I observed a minor child describe the sexual abuse and exploitation they endured. The child testified their mother had sold access to them for opioids and other substances while in the mother’s custody. I was shocked and appalled, and I quickly learned there was a growing need in our communities for child advocacy.

In 2016, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be trained as a Guardian ad Litem, and was assigned my first case; four children in my local community needed an advocate in the courtroom to pursue permanency and achieve stability. As the Guardian ad Litem for the children, I was able to get my first look into the development of an abuse/neglect/dependency case in North Carolina. After a few years of visits, hearings, and advocacy, all four of those children have achieved permanency.

Read more