Seeking justice for juveniles and the community
Two 16-year-old boys, arrested the same night, each
suspected of similar crimes, make their initial appearance before a judge. It
is the first time either has been arrested. One boy is white; the other,
African-American.
Both have similar family situations. Their mothers are
recently divorced. The white teenager lives with his mother, who has a job. The
African-American teen is living with his uncle while his mother looks for work.
The mother of the white teen appears in court and pledges
to monitor her son if he is released from custody. The judge sets a trial date
and releases the boy.
The other boy's mother cannot be
immediately located. His uncle can't be reached at work or home. The nervous
teen stands before the judge and is ordered back to the juvenile detention
center to await trial, set for eight weeks from that day.
Two days later, the uncle gets a public defender assigned
to the case and asks that the second boy be allowed to come home. The court
sets the detention review hearing for the same date as trial, eight weeks
later.
The boy languishes in the detention center, falling behind
in school—but learning much about surviving in a correctional facility.
Given the current justice system and laws in Nebraska,
very little can be done to gain the release of the second teenager from detention
before his trial.
That isn't fair to the child, his family or the community,
says Dr. T. Hank Robinson (pictured), director of the Juvenile Justice
Institute of UNO's Department of Criminal Justice (College of Public Affairs
and Community Service).
Created in 2002, the Juvenile Justice Institute (JJI)
provides technical assistance to the Nebraska Legislature and administrative
agencies throughout the state, including the Nebraska Crime Commission and many
county agencies.
Robinson has been at the institute's helm since its
inception, directing a staff of five full-time members supported each semester
by three to five graduate research assistants. The JJI staff serves on task
forces that address issues such as disproportionate minority confinement, substance
abuse, truancy, mental health, gun violence reduction, gangs, and juvenile
justice policy as it relates to detention, evaluation and processing.
Recently, Robinson led the team of CPACS faculty and
graduate students in preparing a report to the Methamphetamine Abuse Treatment
Study Committee of the Nebraska Community Corrections Council. Titled "Moving
Past the Era of Good Intentions: Methamphetamine Treatment Study," it outlines
findings and recommendations to assist the Legislature in formulating an action
plan to create a coordinated system for the treatment of chemical dependency
related to methamphetamine.
Though the methamphetamine study commissioned by the state
largely was concerned with adult users, it was relevant to the institute's
focus on juveniles, Robinson says. "The meth study illustrates the difficulty
in drawing a clear line between juveniles and adults," he says. "Our research
indicated 40 percent of adult meth users began using as a juvenile.
"So, if we are truly serious about treating the meth
problem in Nebraska, we have to implement juvenile-related treatment and
recovery programs that keep kids from falling farther down the well of
addiction."
In addition to conducting research, the institute assists
administrative agencies in program design, implementation and evaluation. It
also provides training to agencies and local program officials to enable them
to better document their activities and to develop the internal capacity to
conduct evaluations.
In its first year the institute received about 20 percent
of its funding from contracts and grants. By 2005, that figure had grown to 80
percent.
In fiscal 2002-2003, the institute had active research
projects in four Nebraska counties. In two years, service had risen to multiple
active projects in 29 counties, as well as several statewide projects,
including Disproportionate Minority Contact Evaluation, Detention Intake
Evaluation, and Evaluation and Program Design Training.
"Our reach has spread tremendously," Robinson says. "In
our three years, we've worked with about 50 different counties. That shows we
have honored our responsibility to serve the state, not just Douglas County or
Lancaster County.
"The fact that we continue to provide direct services
throughout the state speaks volumes about the outreach of the college and the
university, as well as our mission to serve the community."
Both the methamphetamine study and the work regarding
juvenile detention resulted in proposed legislation. One bill introduced in the
Legislature's current session, LB 1258, would begin to address the state's meth
problem by providing:
• $2.65 million to
establish specialized courts.
• $6.5 million to
establish and operate a substance abuse treatment program for incarcerated
offenders.
• $2.25 million to
fund substance abuse evaluation.
• $1.3 million to
fund five Day Reporting Centers across the State.
The legislation also would fund: additional probation
personnel for substance abuse programs and training for probation, parole, and
drug court personnel; a grant program to counties or a coalition of counties to
expand sentencing options and to provide supplemental local community-based
corrections programs; and, a substance abuse and youth offender prevention
program.
A second bill, LB 1181, would require courts to hear
motions to review detention hearings within 48 hours.
"The way it stands now, after the initial detention
hearing, if the judge decides to leave the juvenile in custody, there's no way
to force a hearing to get the kid out of detention," Robinson says. "There are ample ways to protect the
security of the community, get the youth back into school and eliminate the
expense of unnecessary detention."
The work
is all part of the continuing, statewide effort of UNO's Juvenile Justice
Institute to lead Nebraska "past the era of good intentions."
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When asked where he's from, T. Hank Robinson doesn't reply
with a particular city or town. And he doesn't tell people he's from Tennessee,
where he was born 40 years ago.
The director of the Juvenile Justice Institute simply
says, "Nebraska."
"I came to Nebraska in 1975 with my mom," he recalls.
"I've lived in Geneva, Ainsworth, Oshkosh, Scottsbluff, Crete, Lincoln,
Cambridge and Omaha. I grew up riding horses and branding cattle, hunting and
fishing, and camping and hiking all over the state.
"That's why I say I'm from Nebraska."
Robinson earned a BS in biopsychology from Nebraska
Wesleyan University in 1988. Two years later he earned a law degree from the
University of Nebraska College of Law. After one year as an attorney for Legal
Services of Southeast Nebraska in Lincoln Robinson joined the Nebraska
Department of Motor Vehicles as an attorney and administrative hearing officer.
He attended 10 to 15 hearings each week throughout the state. "Travel was my
favorite part," he says. "I loved being able to get out to all the counties."
After five years with the state, Robinson accepted an
adjunct position as a graduate teaching assistant in the department of criminal
justice at UNO. In 2002, he earned his doctorate in criminal justice at UNO.
Taped to the wall of his office is a scrap of paper with
this quote from Winston Churchill, "To every man there comes a time in his
lifetime, that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder
and offered to do a very special thing, unique to him and fitted to his
talents."
For Robinson, the JJI has been his "very special thing."
"It seems like everything I've ever done or learned was
preparation for this job."
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Juvenile Justice Institute
Five full-time staff members make up
the Juvenile Justice Institute of UNO's Department of Criminal Justice (College
of Public Affairs and Community Service):
Dr. T. Hank Robinson, director; Dr.
Leigh Culver, assistant director; Jennifer Janovec, coordinator,
Disproportionate Minority Contact program; Nicole Kennedy, program coordinator;
Colleen Cunningham, administrative assistant.
The institute's most recent work was
a report to the Methamphetamine Abuse Treatment Study Committee of the Nebraska
Community Corrections Council. Released in December and titled "Moving Past the
Era of Good Intentions: Methamphetamine Treatment Study," it can be found on
the Nebraska Crime Commission's website at www.ncc.state.ne.us/documents/other/meth.htm.
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