COMMUNITY
The Juvenile Justice System While there has been a significant decline in youth offending and incarceration – between 2000 and 2022 , there has been a 75 % decline – youth of color are disproportionately affected and impacted by the justice system . Brown and Black youth are more likely to be detained and committed than non-Hispanic white youth . Out of every 100,000 non-Hispanic Black juveniles in the U . S ., 315 are in a residential placement facility for an offense . For Hispanic youth , this is 92 of 100,000 , and for white youth the rate is 72 . In Georgia , Black youth are 5.8 times more likely than white youth to be incarcerated , at a cost of $ 113,000 each year , compared to the $ 10,000 each year needed to educate a child in our state ’ s public school system . According to records from 2022 , the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice is responsible for an average daily population of fewer than 1,000 kids housed in 25 facilities across Georgia . Georgia ’ s Department of Juvenile Justice is a multi-faceted agency that serves the state ’ s justiceinvolved youth up to age 21 . The agency is responsible not just for holding youth accountable for their offenses , health but providing them with medical services , mental health treatment , and an education , as well as specialized programs that provide tools to help them as adults and after they are released . Youths impacted by the juvenile justice system face significantly difficult hurdles , many of which led to them committing their offenses . They may have already failed in school . There is often family instability , brought on by poverty and other problems . Some have mental health needs and substance abuse issues that may have been addressed while incarcerated , but additional support is needed . These children will eventually be released , and the odds of reoffending again and being put back in the system , or even being remanded to the adult justice system , are high . According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ( OJJDP ), a 2020 review of state studies found that rearrest rates for youth within one year of release averaged 55 %.
Dynamic Partnerships
study and recharge as they work toward their goals . Additionally , the CSC allows for more engagement with volunteers and partner organizations to provide academic tutoring , mentoring and life skills workshops . Café Momentum Atlanta plans to accept between 60 and 80 interns each year for the first few years with the goal of expanding to 100 . Georgia Pacific is part of the Local Launch Committee , a critical part of the program ' s expansion process . It works alongside the Café Momentum team to raise the capital needed to establish the program , build programmatic partnerships , advocate for the model in the community , and provide guidance on hiring the initial team .
Introducing Atlanta to Café Momentum
Under the leadership of the Café Momentum Local Launch Committee and the support of the Atlanta community , Café Momentum has secured more than four million dollars to date . This money helped launch the program , with generous support from Georgia-Pacific Community Programs , Georgia- Pacific ' s executive leadership team , Stand Together , and businesses and organizations throughout the city such as the Georgia Power Foundation , Gas South , the James M . Cox Foundation , the Joseph B . Whitehead Foundation , the Jones Day Foundation , and the Annie E . Casey Foundation . The funding will provide enough money to construct the space and have reserves of six to eight months of funding to support the restaurant . These are serious issues . While Georgia-Pacific has the desire to help tackle complicated problems that affect the community , we do not have the expertise . Therefore , we partner with organizations such as Café Momentum and contribute to dozens of organizations that work with youth , including schools , colleges , universities , trade and vocational schools , the Boys & Girls Clubs of America , and 4‐H . The Atlanta Café Momentum restaurant will open at 200 Peachtree Street in late October / early November , with the space also providing a Community Service Center ( CSC ). The CSC increases Café Momentum ’ s impactful hours with interns while offering youth a safe place to
28 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2024