Washington, DC – A consortium of Latino organizations will join civil rights, community, and youth organizations in releasing a report on Latino youth in the District’s justice system and call on the D.C. Council to reject the harsh juvenile justice proposals they have considered in the past year when they take a final vote this month. The report, District of Columbia Responses to Youth Violence: Impact on the Latino Community, which offers a comprehensive analysis of the proposals introduced by D.C. Council members and District Mayor Anthony Williams since the fall of 2003, finds that some of the policies being considered would be ineffective in protecting public safety and would have a negative impact on Latino families if adopted into law.

The consortium’s report includes alternative policies that would more effectively reduce youth crime and assist families who are caught in the criminal justice system. These recommendations are similar to those of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Youth Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform, which provide a sound blueprint for effective reform based on research and experience from around the country but have been largely ignored by District policy-makers.

The report’s authors are the National Council of La Raza, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and the law firms of Foley & Lardner LLP and Piper Rudnick LLP. These organizations will be joined at the briefing for the D.C. Council and the press by representatives from the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, the Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative, the Latin American Youth Center, the Youth Law Center, the Justice 4 DC Youth Coalition, as well as Latino families who will speak to the personal impact of these policies. The briefing will be hosted by the D.C. Council’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, Latino Affairs and Property Management, whose members include Jim Graham (Ward One), Adrian Fenty (Ward Four), and Phil Mendelson (at large).

MEDIA ADVISORY

WHEN: Thursday, September 16, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, First Floor

WHAT: Release of new report on juvenile justice proposals that are ineffective and unfair to Latinos

WHO: Denise Gilman, Project Director for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; Angela Arboleda, Civil Rights Policy Analyst, National Council of La Raza; Beatriz Ortero, Executive Director, Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center; D.C. Council Members Jim Graham and Adrian Fenty; Latino youth and parents will speak to personal impact of proposed policies

The National Council of La Raza is the largest national Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. Please contact Kathy Mimberg at (202) 785-1670 for more information.

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