OJJDP hosted three pre-conference sessions on Monday, November 18, 2024. The 2024 Tribal Grantee Pre-Conference on Youth Justice featured a restorative listening session and cultural events.
 

The 2024 Tribal Grantee Pre-Conference on Youth Justice held on Monday, November 18, 2024 also included breakout sessions with OJJDP Program Managers, the Office of Chief Financial Officer, and the Tribal Financial Management Center. 
 

The conference united more than 2,400 people, representing youth advocates, justice professionals, community leaders, educators, and policymakers to discuss urgent issues affecting today’s youth and work toward meaningful solutions.
 

The three-day conference brought together justice-impacted youth to develop a collective Call to Action about priorities for transforming youth justice.
 

Each of the more than 90 conference sessions was crafted around the Continuum of Care. The goal of the Continuum of Care framework is to prevent youth from entering or moving deeper into the juvenile justice system.

Conference sessions provided attendees with the latest research, evidence-informed practices, and other promising approaches that have positively impacted the youth justice field.
 

On Tuesday, November 19, 2024, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan provided opening remarks to kick off the three-day conference. "Think about what you want to learn, what you want to contribute, who you want to connect with, who you want to inspire and be inspired by, and most of all, what you want to share with your colleagues back home who could not be here with you," she said.  

Administrator Ryan was followed by Office of Justice Programs Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent Cohen who also provided opening remarks on Tuesday, November 19, 2024. 

"Now is not the time to roll back reform—now is the moment to press ahead, and to insist on a juvenile justice system that supports and empowers our kids. This is the right way to do youth justice, and we are counting on all of you to carry us forward," Acting Assistant Attorney General Cohen said. 
 

Dr. Maria León, PhD. Consultant, National Youth Justice Network, introduced a 50th anniversary video of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention action by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. 
 

"The Emerging Leaders Panel: The Power of Where We've Been," featured those most directly impacted by youth justice and was moderated by Kyla Woods, a consultant with the Center for Youth Transformation. From left to right: Kyla Woods, Miya Horsey, who works at the Office of the Public Defender, Adriana Wodrazka Espinoza, a member of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice's Emerging Leaders Committee, Noah McQueen, founder of Lifting Our Voices, Inc., which works to aid at-risk citizens in underserved communities, Stacy Becker, a Crisis Response Coordinator at the Wyoming Behavioral Health Division, and Ronaldo Villeda, Executive Director of Hoops4Justice and a Youth Fellow at the American Institutes for Research. 
 

"The Emerging Leaders Panel: The Power of Where We've Been," on Tuesday, November, 19, 2024, at the 2024 National Conference on Youth Justice: Shaping the Next 50 Years.
 

Noah McQueen, founder of Lifting Our Voices, Inc., introduced keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, AL. 
 

Bryan Stevenson has argued and won multiple cases at the United States Supreme Court, including a 2019 ruling protecting condemned prisoners who suffer from dementia and a landmark 2012 ruling that banned mandatory life-imprisonment-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger. 
 

Under Bryan Stevenson's leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults. 
 

Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer delivered remarks at the morning plenary session. "The work to steer our young people toward success is powered by our partners in the field, so many of whom are joining us today. We are grateful for your determination and leadership. You inspire us at the Department of Justice to follow your wonderful example," he said. 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024 
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024 
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024 
 

A breakout session on November 19, 2024
 

On Tuesday, OJJDP held a screening of the film "Juvenile: 5 Stories." The film challenges viewers to recognize what the juvenile system does to young people, and how young people who've survived those systems are best situated to make restorative contributions to communities that are struggling to shift from cages to care. 
 

After the film, there was a post-screening discussion with Shimaine Holley, Founder of Change is Inevitable LLC, on left, OJJDP Administrator Liz Ryan and OVC Director Kris Rose, second from left.  

A breakout session on November 20, 2024 
 

A breakout session on November 20, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 20, 2024
 

A breakout session on November 20, 2024

Attendees visited the Children's Bureau booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference. 
 

Attendees visited the AmeriCorps booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference.

Attendees visited the Coalition for Juvenile Justice booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference.

Attendees visited the Justice Families booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference. 
 

OJJDP Deputy Administrator Chyrl Jones and attendees visited the U.S. Department of Education booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference.
 

Attendees visited the Center for Youth and Family Advocacy booth on November 20, 2024 in the Exhibition area at the conference. 

Kyla Woods, left, and OJJDP Deputy Administrator Chryl Jones, provided opening remarks on Thursday, November 21, 2024 and introduced keynote speaker Dr. Shawn Ginwright, the Jerome T. Murphy Professor of Practice at Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

Dr. Shawn Ginwright's groundbreaking work on trauma, healing, and the empowerment of African American youth has earned him a reputation as an innovator, provocateur, and thought leader in the field of education.
 

Dr. Ginwright's research has been instrumental in reshaping the discourse surrounding youth development. His introduction of the concept of "healing-centered engagement" in 2018 has revolutionized the field, providing an asset based approach to addressing youth trauma and fostering resilience. 
 

OJJDP Administrator Ryan introduced video remarks from three Congressional members: U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, and U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott. 

OJJDP Program Manager Diamond Lewis, introduced the panel "Setting A Course for the next 50 Years of Youth Justice." Rodolfo "Rudy" Buenrostro-Corral, a California Justice Leader Alumni, moderated the panel. Emilio Caranza-Davis, an Emerging Leader with the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), Cayden Brown, Founder of The Trespass Project, Gabrielle Henry, CJJ Emerging Leader, and Misty Sandoval, of the Tribal Youth Resource Center, participated in the panel. 
 

Misty Sandoval, of the Tribal Youth Resource Center, introduced speaker Jeremiah Brown, a Players Coalition Advocate and Former NFL Athlete. 

Jeremiah Brown, a Players Coalition Advocate and Former NFL Athlete, is a Brooklyn, NY native, husband, and father. As founder and CEO of THE LEAD AAC (Lead Academy Athletics and Coaching), Mr. Brown draws on his athletic background and over a decade of school leadership to inspire others. 

Jeremiah Brown's mission is to help individuals find their purpose, promote servant leadership, and develop life and career skills for success.
 

"You are leaders and role models in your communities, and we are all so impressed by you," Attorney General Garland said. "And to all of our partners here today: thank you for the extraordinary work, for the work you do in your communities to advance a better future for our young people. Every day, you work to keep children and teens free from crime and violence."

The Attorney General told those partners dedicated to protecting children and advancing juvenile justice that they do this work to ensure that young people are able to rejoin their communities and build fulfilling, purposeful, and safe lives. 

Attorney General Garland said that their partners do his work with the understanding that we must confront persistent, unjustified disparities in juvenile justice outcomes along racial and socioeconomic lines. "I know this represents just a fraction of your work and of your effort. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," he said. 

OJJDP staff 

OJJDP staff