The Cradle to Prison Pipeline is an urgent national crisis that leaves a Black boy born in 2001 with a one in three risk of going to prison and a Latino boy with a one in six risk. The prison pipeline is fueled by pervasive poverty, inadequate health and mental health care, gaps in early childhood development, disparate educational opportunities, chronic abuse and neglect and overburdened and ineffective juvenile justice systems.
This half-day summit will gather community and faith leaders, policy makers, elected officials, educators, law enforcement officials, program administrators and advocates, and families and youth from across Massachusetts to examine the Cradle to Prison Pipeline and develop action plans to dismantle the pipeline in the state.
Keynote speaker:
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation’s strongest voice for children and families. Link to full bio
Panelists will include:
- Reverend Jeff Brown, Executive Director, Boston TenPoint Coalition
- Julio Hernandez, Youth Representative, ROCA, Inc.
- Adriana Leo, Director of Family Services, Community Action, Inc. Child Development Center, Haverhill, MA
- Tammy Tai, Program Officer, Hyams Foundation
- Jane Tewksbury, Commissioner, Department of Youth Services
Lunch and registration at 12:00pm. Program begins at 12:30pm.
Sponsored by: Children’s Defense Fund, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School, Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, and Bright Beginnings at Harvard Graduate School of Education
Contact Barbara Best (barbara_best@hks10.harvard.edu, 832.651.6585)