January 2, 2019
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INSIDE
The
Week in Review
C ALENDAR
This page
Sponsored by:
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photoS by m otoya n akamura /m ultnomah c ounty
A 48-page handbook for parents with children in the criminal justice system offers tips on everything
from visiting hours at the Donald E. Long Detention Center to a glossary of common justice terms to
tips for court appearances and important contacts for parents.
Juvenile Justice Primer
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Arts &
Parents help craft resource for navigating system
ENTERTAINMENT
M ETRO
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
J eSSica m orkert -S hibley
The normally busy halls were
silent. The bustling students were
noticeably absent. Folded tables
and chairs, stacked against the au-
ditorium wall, signaled the day was
done at Rosemary Anderson High
School in east Multnomah County.
Still, a small group of parents,
mentors, lawyers, judges, elected
officials and juvenile justice lead-
ers, gathered in the quiet halls to
rally and mark a momentous oc-
casion: the release of the “Parent
Handbook for Justice-Involved
Youth.”
The 48-page handbook includes
everything from visiting hours at
the Donald E. Long Detention Cen-
ter to a glossary of common justice
terms to tips for court appearances
and important contacts for parents.
It was crafted by legal experts
and parents who’ve endured the
twists and turns of the criminal jus-
tice system — so they could help
and empower other parents to un-
derstand and navigate it. The hand-
book is part of a multi-pronged
strategy by Multnomah County to
address youth and gang violence.
“This [handbook] is a labor of
anger and tears but also of love,”
said Alice Perry, the Latino Net-
work’s director of community sta-
bility and support services. “When
our children suffer we also suffer.
But we always have faith in our
children even in the worst of cir-
cumstances.”
Shala, a single mother of four,
helped craft the parent handbook.
She described the trauma the day
by
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Shala, a single mother of four, helped craft the Parent Handbook.
she got the call from police who
detained her son at his high school.
He had stolen a teacher’s cell
phone. Dealing with the legal sys-
tem was daunting.
“When you first get the call, it’s
like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ and then
when you get there [juvenile court]
they say, ‘Oh, you’re looking at 30
days or up to a year in detention,’”
Shala said.
The arrest was the culmination
of years of struggle with school sys-
tems and at home for the 42-year-
old. As a young child, Shala said,
her son was treated and punished
differently at school. As early as
the second grade, he received an
Individualized Educational Plan
that followed him throughout his
educational experience, she said.
“It’s humiliating, for one,” said
Shala, “because they see your
record, and it’s automatically a
c ontinued on p age 15