And How Are the Children?

A reflection for Gun Violence Awareness Day

Among the many fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe had more fearsome or mightier warriors than the Masai. The Masai warriors traditionally greeted each other by asking, “And how are the children?” Even warriors with no children of their own responded with, “All the children are well.” This greeting meant, of course, that peace and safety prevailed; that the Masai faithfully honored their reason for being, their proper function, and their responsibilities.
An excerpt adapted from a sermon by Reverend Dr. Patrick T. O’Neill, First Parish, Framingham, MA (1991).

Imagine if we greeted each other with that question today, “And how are the children?” The truthful answer would be, “Our children are suffering!”

Our children are suffering, terrified by yet another school shooting.

Our children are suffering, reeling from the isolation and fear brought on by the pandemic.

And our children are suffering, harmed by the insidiousness of white supremacy, engendering institutional and interpersonal violence, including gun violence.

How do we know our children are suffering? Because they’re telling us! Some of our children are responding to their pain in the most human of ways – by causing harm. When Black and Brown children act out, however, community members – specifically white community members – respond with fear. They demand the surveillance and exclusion of Black and Brown youth and the enforcement of “Zero Tolerance” policies that perpetuate systemic wrongs. But, when Black and Brown children are persecuted, our community has demonstrated that they’re willing to tolerate such persecution. Where was the fear, the outrage, the demand for absolute punishment and expulsion, when nooses hung from a tree out in front of our schools?

As professionals whose role it is to zealously advocate for all of our children, we fervently reject “Zero Tolerance” as public policy, and demand unequivocally that it not be applied when responding to children’s behavior. Our children are simply manifesting the world around them – a world that adults, and expressly white adults, created for them. “Zero Tolerance” does the opposite of holding children accountable. Exclusion scapegoats children and enables us—the adults—to evade responsibility for addressing the roots of our children’s actions. “Zero Tolerance” policies do not keep communities safe. The most credible research tells us what keeps communities safe: children feeling connected to at least one adult in their school; being engaged in their community; basic human needs of food and shelter being met. Read the Moran Center’s recent report, “Reimaging School Safety” which captures this research in the school context, laying out alternative, restorative solutions and approaches to harm.

Yes, we need to hold all of our children accountable for the harms they’ve caused. How? By being trustworthy adults; by listening to them; by meeting the needs of their families; by creating solutions with, not for, them; by creating supportive environments where they can face the harms they’ve caused honestly, and hear from those they’ve harmed; by creating restorative, community-based solutions based on the wisdom and experience of community members most impacted; and by valuing the principle that no child – no one – should be reduced to the worst thing they’ve ever done.

And we adults must hold ourselves accountable too! To the white people asking “What can we do? How can we stem gun violence? How can we combat the hatred symbolized by those nooses hanging outside our schools?” It’s the same answer to all of these questions: We must confront racism, white supremacy, and opportunity hoarding within ourselves, within our families, and within our community. We must challenge our white neighbors, friends, and family members to confront their vast privileges and dig deep into the hard truths of what it truly means to see all of our children as our own. Let’s do this work with urgency so that we can then say with honesty and certainty that all our children are, in fact, well!

Patrick Keenan-Devlin

Executive Director

 

Moran Center to Host Legal Clinics to Help Erase Convictions

SBCLC ERASE Clinics Open to the Evanston Public March 15 and 17 

Evanston, Illinois–The Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, in partnership with the Evanston Library, will hold two walk-in legal clinics March 15 and 17 to help people in Evanston and the surrounding areas to take advantage of a new Illinois State law that allows them to remove prior evictions from their record. Residents who wish to take advantage of the Enhance Record and Seal Evictions, or ERASE project, are welcome to meet with School-Based Civil Legal Clinic (SBCLC) volunteer attorneys from 3 – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15 at the Robert Crown Branch Library, 1801 Main Street in Evanston. A second clinic will be held from 3 – 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 17 at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center, 1655 Foster St. in Evanston. Residents who have questions about the program can send an email to clinic@moran-center.org call (224) 714-0348.

Having an eviction on your record, even when there has been no Court judgment, can make it more difficult for renters to rent again given that the eviction lowers renters’ credit scores and often paints an unfair picture of renters’ ability to pay rent. A new Illinois Law, 735 ILCS 5/9-121.5, which became effective in May of 2021, makes it easier to seal a prior eviction record.  It does not prohibit landlords from obtaining a reference from a previous landlord, but having an eviction sealed can improve a credit store and make it easier to apply for a new rental agreement. This is not for tenants with a pending eviction. 

Through the ERASE Project, attorneys at the Moran Center will prepare the necessary paperwork free of charge on behalf of residents who wish to take advantage of this law. The Moran Center will refer renters outside of Evanston to the Lawyer’s Committee For Better Housing.  

The ERASE Project is one of many programs at the Moran Center that helps dismantle systemic barriers to the health, safety, and well-being of young people and their families. One of the only legal aid agencies in the country to integrate legal and therapeutic services, the Moran Center provides community-based legal, social work, and restorative services for youth and families. 

Since its founding in 1981, the Moran Center has been a champion for thousands of disinvested youth and families. The Center’s holistic, healing-centered, client-driven approach advances our vision of a more just, racially equitable, and restorative society. For additional information, please visit moran-center.org. 

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Panel Recording on Restorative Justice Available for Viewing

MORAN CENTER RELEASES PANEL RECORDING ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
Conversation with Restorative Judges Who Are Reshaping Justice
Now Available for the Public 

Evanston, Illinois–On November 22, the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy hosted a virtual panel featuring four Chicago-area judges who have presided over Restorative Justice Courts and/or widely promoted the practice: Judge Sophia H. Hall, Judge Martha A Mills (Retired), Judge Sheila M. Murphy (Retired), and Judge Patricia S. Pratt. The panel, which was presented to an exclusive list of area stakeholders in the legal and social services sectors, was received enthusiastically, and the Moran Center recently posted the recording of the panel for the public to view.

In the panel discussion, the Judges described how they work and have worked with their communities to embed restorative philosophy and practice into their court practices, and shared their perspectives about the transformative power of restorative justice. Biographies for the featured panelists are also available on the Moran Center’s website. The panel was moderated by the Moran Center’s Restorative Justice Manager Pamela Cytrynbaum and Community Engagement Specialist Raymond Lackey.

Executive Director Patrick Keenan-Devlin said, “We’ve come to recognize at the Moran Center that as attorneys and social workers we’re only bandaids on systemic, gaping wounds. If we really want to transform our community and make a real change in the criminal legal system, everyone needs to be a part of it, and that is where restorative justice comes in. And these judges are truly leading the way.”

The program was presented by the Roger Pascal Restorative Justice Initiative, named for the late Schiff Hardin Partner and long-time Moran Center Board Member Roger Pascal, a tireless supporter of justice and civil liberties. 

Since its founding in 1981, the Moran Center has been a champion for thousands of disinvested youth and families. Our holistic, healing-centered, client-driven approach advances our vision of a more just, racially equitable, and restorative society. For additional information, please visit our website at moran-center.org

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MORAN CENTER FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY RELEASES REIMAGINING SCHOOL SAFETY REPORT

The Moran Center releases report outlining recommendations to create a safer, more restorative, and racially equitable school community at Evanston Township High School (“ETHS”); urges ETHS to remove the two Police Officers from campus.

Evanston, Ill.–The Moran Center for Youth Advocacy has announced the release of its comprehensive report about school safety at Evanston Township High School (ETHS), Reimagining School Safety—Recommendations to Create Safer, More Restorative, and Racially Equitable School Community. In the report, the Moran Center presents a vision to reimagine school safety at ETHS by terminating its Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Evanston for the assignment of on-campus School Resource Officers (“SROs”) and building an infrastructure of support and restoration for each student at ETHS. The report is being released in advance of a discussion regarding ETHS’s School Resource Officer Program at the December 13th ETHS School Board meeting.

In the Reimagining School Safety report, the Moran Center presents relevant national research that calls into question School Resource Officer Programs based on school safety, academic, and social-emotional metrics. The report also recaps key findings from recently reported SRO and arrest data at ETHS, illustrating the disparate racial impact of ETHS’s SRO Program. The report also outlines concerns regarding ETHS’s overreliance on punitive discipline policies and highlights three specific policies that disproportionately impact students of color and students with disabilities, pushing these students into the school-to-prison pipeline. Ultimately, the Reimagining School Safety report presents proven alternative models for building a safer, more restorative, and racially equitable school community at ETHS.

As community-based juvenile and emerging adult defenders, as advocates for children with special needs, as social workers, and as restorative justice practitioners, the Moran Center is uniquely positioned to provide input on ETHS’s SRO Program, discipline policies, and their impact on Black and Brown students and students with disabilities. Moran Center Executive Director Patrick Keenan-Devlin said, “It is our hope that this report will both inform the community about the harmful impact of SROs and certain discipline policies at ETHS, as well as communicate our vision for reimagining school safety by prioritizing restorative justice, trauma-informed practices, and robust mental health services.”

The Reimagining School Safety report has been previously shared with the ETHS School Board, members of ETHS’s administration, and ETHS’s Discipline Committee and SRO Subcommittee. The Moran Center has had staff members serve on both committees.

The Moran Center for Youth Advocacy provides community-based legal, social work, and restorative services for youth and families. Our approach is holistic, healing-centered, client-driven. Our work advances the vision of a more just, racially equitable, and restorative society at the local, regional, and state level. As part of our work, the Moran Center advocates for Evanston youth to ensure that they receive an equitable education with the educational supports and services they need.

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Moran Center Statement on November 28 Shooting in Evanston

Last evening, a tragic shooting took place near the intersection of Green Bay Road & Asbury Avenue in Evanston. We do not have all the details as of now but we know that there was a loss of young life and injuries. We grieve for this loss of life and for the other young people who were either physically injured or witnessed last night’s violence. All of these young people are ours – our community’s children. We extend our sincerest sympathies to the youth and families impacted by last night’s violence and stand ready along with Evanston’s other youth-serving agencies – City of Evanston’s Youth & Young Adult Division, Connections for the Homeless, Curt’s Cafe, Erie Family Health Centers, Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, PEER Services, Youth Job Center, and Y.O.U. – to swiftly respond to this tragedy and to continue with urgency our collective efforts to stem violence by radically supporting our community’s youth and families.

Evanston Adopts Guaranteed Income Pilot Program

Thanks to the leadership of @Councilmember Cicely Fleming and @Northwestern University, the Evanston City Council last night unanimously appropriated $700,000, matching Northwestern’s contribution of $300,000, investing $1 million total to launch Evanston’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program. This 1-year pilot aims to provide randomly selected residents with $500 monthly payments over 12 months. Payments would be made to an equal number of approximately 166 residents from each of the following three categories: 18-24 year-olds, seniors citizens (over 62 years old), and undocumented residents.

As Executive Director Patrick Keenan-Devlin stated last night in support of the proposal, “$500 per month in unrestricted funds for emerging adults, seniors, and undocumented residents experiencing poverty would be transformational in alleviating poverty within our community. This Program would provide crucial stability and consistency to the most vulnerable individuals and families in our community who have been most deeply impacted by the pandemic.”

Check back here in the coming weeks and months to learn more about the roll-out of this historic cash transfer program!

Moran Center stands with D65 and Supt. Horton

The James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy strongly supports Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s ongoing efforts to improve “educational outcomes for all children by eliminating racial predictability and inequalities in achievement.”

Specifically, the Moran Center supports the teaching of critical race theory in District 65 and in classrooms across the nation. While we understand this curriculum is not the “end all be all” in dismantling harmful narratives aimed at oppressed groups, this curriculum cultivates inclusivity – fosters unity in diversity – and encourages self-awareness in the brilliant minds of young people, many of whom are already tirelessly working to upend systems of oppression. A curriculum that fosters critical thinking and reflective conversations is fundamental to education and essential in moving towards justice through understanding.

 

We are thereby disturbed that an advocacy group based in Georgia, which promotes a far-right political agenda filed a lawsuit to interfere in District 65’s anti-racist efforts.  The Moran Center supports the “Racial and Educational Equity Statement” adopted by the District 65 School Board, and Superintendent Horton’s recent statement that he will continue to “advance the important work of building equity in our schools”, despite the distraction of this lawsuit.

Throughout the last year, our nation has faced a great collective trauma, exacerbated by deeply rooted structural racism. Outraged, many youths have become transformative community leaders and change agents demanding greater equity within our schools. The impact that young people have had in our community and nation underscores the importance of race-based dialogue taking place in our schools. The Moran Center applauds the efforts of all educators who are committed to bettering students through their own personal development and who encourage students to grow in the classroom by promoting reflection of identity, bias, and privilege, as well as empower students to act against hate in every form.

We encourage you to also read our restorative partner’s, Pastor Michael Nabor’s, powerful statement regarding the lawsuit filed against District 65.

Victory for Restorative Practices in Springfield

Victory for Restorative Practices in Springfield

Patrick Keenan-Devlin, Executive Director

Five years ago, Cardinal Blaze Cupich called on the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago (“CLG”) to foster restorative justice practices, amplifying and safeguarding the transformational restorative work being carried out by Father Dave Kelly at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. Restorative justice invites community members who had caused harm or who had been harmed to identify and repair harm, as well as strengthen community ties by focusing on the needs and obligations of all members.

Betsy Clarke, President/CEO of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, invited me to attend one of the initial meetings convened by the CLG to explore what role the legal community could play in fostering restorative practices. Exasperatingly, Judge Stuart Katz of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Juvenile Justice Division kicked off that meeting by saying, “I started a restorative justice program in my courtroom several years ago and at every turn, the Public Defenders thwarted its effectiveness. They refused to allow their clients to participate, out of fear that their clients might incriminate themselves…”

I recall sitting across the table from Judge Katz and thinking, “I wouldn’t allow my clients to participate in a restorative justice practice either. It’s too risky… What if they admitted to the crime in question or some other crime for that matter?”

Judge Katz then proposed a solution: “If we want to foster restorative justice practices,” he said “we have to bring along the defense bar… We must somehow shield what offenders say during a restorative justice practice from being used against them later on.” 

For months following that initial meeting, I partnered with Judge Katz, along with the Moran Center’s Fellow Andrew Sowle, in drafting an Illinois Supreme Court Rule that would later serve as the template for our statewide legislation to confer an evidentiary privilege between participants of a restorative justice practice for what is said and done during a restorative justice practice, making whatever is disclosed during a practice privileged in the same way that a conversation between an attorney and client is shielded from disclosure in court.

In speaking with national experts on restorative justice, like Professor Shannon Sliva of the University of Denver and Professor Sandra Pavelka of Florida Gulf Coast University, we learned that in instances where states, either through legislation or court rule institute restorative justice practices or programming, privilege and confidentiality protections often appear in initial policy drafts but are then later scrapped during the sausage-making process due to institutional players’ fears that restorative justice practices might be employed for nefarious purposes. If successful in providing an evidentiary privilege to restorative justice participants, either through court rule or statute, Illinois would be a national pioneer.

Following five years of inspiring teamwork by advocates, on July 15th, Governor Pritzker signed our proposal – Senate Bill 64 – into law. The new law, sponsored by State Senator Robert Peters and State Representative Carol Ammons and shepherded by the Juvenile Justice Initiative through the legislature, historically throws off the chill of self-incrimination as a disincentive for authentic participation in a restorative justice practice.

As the legislation states, we now hope that “residents of this State [will] employ restorative justice practices, not only in justiciable matters but in all aspects of life and law.” And that’s the goal – to seed restorative justice everywhere and in doing so radically transforming systems and communities. Hopefully, by affording this privilege – that what is said and done during a restorative justice practice cannot be later used against participants in a court of law – restorative justice practices will be more widely employed by our courts, in our schools, in our families, and in our communities.