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The Mid-Hudson News Network published the following articles related to the Community Accountability Board of Newburgh:
The NYS Parent Education and Awareness Program is an initiative of Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and is chaired by the Honorable Evelyn Frazee, a Supreme Court Justice in Rochester. Parent education is offered by certified providers to help separating or divorcing parents better understand the effects of their breakup on their children and to give them information and ideas about how to make the new family situation easier and more livable for themselves and their children. Currently, their are 49 certified providers in 61 out of 62 counties in New York State. A list of providers organized by county is provided for your convenience.
The City of Newburgh, in partnership with the New York State Community Justice Forum, is expanding its Community Accountability Board in an effort to better meet the needs of young offenders, their victims and the community.
Initiated in the City of Newburgh in the summer of 2006, the CAB is an integral part of Newburgh’s efforts to improve the overall quality of life of its residents. A community-based, decision-making process, the CAB focuses on repairing the harm committed against victims and neighborhoods by young offenders.
The CAB takes a balanced and restorative approach to justice, viewing crime as harm and focusing the attention on what harm was done, what needs to be done to repair the harm, and who is responsible for the repair. This approach includes all of the stakeholders in the justice process: victims, community and offenders, with support from the juvenile justice system.
A core group of 24 volunteers interested in working with youth to devise effective probation sanctions will be organized and trained.
Potential CAB members must:
"Individuals 18-21 years of age who have or have not been involved in the juvenile justice system are strongly encouraged to apply, as they would serve as powerful examples of young people caring about and investing in the success of others. Also, in order to help ensure inclusion of the entire community in this process, we welcome applicants who are bilingual," said Sara Espinosa, Director of the City of Newburgh Department of Children, Youth, and Family Services, a partner in the CAB.
Nine volunteers, all reflecting the diversity of the City of Newburgh, have completed the 24-hour training to become Newburgh’s first Community Accountability Board members. “All the board members care deeply about working with our young people, and they are committed to helping them to make better choices in the future,” said City Manager Jean-Ann McGrane. This is the first CAB implemented in New York State designed explicitly to address crimes committed by youth; an adult CAB is up and running upstate. The CAB is a community led initiative, with critical systems like Probation, local Police Department, District Attorney’s Office and the New York State Community Justice Forum, organizing to support and sustain the effort. CABs are aimed at repairing the harm committed against victims and neighborhoods. Instead of focusing on who broke the law, what laws were broken and how to punish the offender, this process takes a "restorative justice” perspective, focusing the attention on what harm was done, what needs to be done to repair the harm, and who is responsible for the repair. The board will meet with young offenders and their victims after a crime is committed, to help the young person better understand the impact of crime on the victim and community. The board will discuss the offense with the youth, and come to a consensus about how to make things right. Typical reparative solutions could include community service, writing letters of apology, working to mend relationships with family and/or community members, setting personal goals, and taking leadership positions in preventing others from going down the same path. The goals of the CAB include the successful completion of reparative action plans by the youth, decreased recidivism rates, and the satisfaction of crime victims with the process and the resolution.