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By Katy Clugg, Justice and Legal Thought College Park Scholar
Throughout the last four months, I’ve gained invaluable knowledge and work experience in the criminal justice field that I could never get in a classroom.
For my Capstone Project this spring I interned at a Washington, D.C. nonprofit called Coalition for Juvenile Justice as the legal policy and research intern. Throughout the last four months, I’ve gained invaluable knowledge and work experience in the criminal justice field that I could never get in a classroom. As a CCJS major, I really wanted an internship that allowed me to look into the inequalities within the criminal justice system and work at an office where I could do real professional work to help change the policies in place, not just administrative tasks. At CJJ, I was able to conduct meaningful research on several contemporary issues such as the effects of decriminalizing status offenses and reducing youth contact police contact such as reducing or eliminating school resource officers. Additionally, part of my role was to reach out to members of the new 117th Congress to ensure their support of legislation that aids youth in the juvenile system as well as those at a disproportionately high risk such as youth of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Throughout my time at CJJ, I believe that the incredibly dedicated staff, fellow interns and I were able to make real progress in the field of juvenile justice as we planned Hill Days, completed research, and coordinated congressional appropriations requests to support the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). I’m so thankful for this experience because it gave me a real look into the realm of criminal justice policy and reform which I might choose to pursue as a career after graduation.
Hey Katy! I was drawn to your poster because I feel as if I haven't learned as much about young people in the criminal justice system. It is amazing to hear the kind of work you got to do, such as researching contemporary issues and reaching out to members of congress. What was your favorite part of the experience?
Hi Katy,
I was instantly drawn to your poster because of my passion for juvenile justice as well! I remember reading a book in CCJS 105 about the school to prison pipeline, so I think its really interesting that you were able to apply your knowledge of that subject and do more in-depth research on it. Do you think you would want to work in the juvenile corrections sphere or stick to the legal side of things?
Katy,
I was draw to your poster because of your topic, because I think the portion of criminal justice associated with juveniles is pretty interesting. I really liked how you were able to advocate and request for change within the system of juvenile justice. Do you feel that any policies or programs you heard of while working their will really make a difference if they were to come to fruition?
Hey Katy,
I was drawn to your poster because the juvenile justice aspect seemed interesting. I think it was cool that you and others along were helping in decriminalizing juvenile curfew. Also how you were creating requests to change juvenile justice for congress for the better is pretty cool. My question is which policy that you wanted to change amongst juvenile justice that needed attention?
Hi Katy, I'm a CCJS major as well, and I have some experience working with juveniles in the criminal justice system. I used to volunteer as a teen juror at my county's district court. I along with several other teenagers would listen to juvenile cases and then decide on what programs would be beneficial to them. In the end, the respondents would complete the programs and have their records expunged. Do you think programs like these are better than what we currently have in place? What do you think about these programs in general?