Click here to join us for a discussion with panelists Ayodele “Dele” Famodu, from the Youth Justice and Wellness Division of the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, Sarah Davis, Executive Director of the Legal Rights Center, and Megan Jablonski Johnson, from the Juvenile Prosecution Division of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office

Diversion programs reflect the core principles of restorative justice. By addressing harm at the individual and community level, diversion programs use a collaborative approach to intervene and disrupt the systems that contribute to youth crime and recidivism and—ultimately—mass incarceration. However, despite the success of diversion programs, many counties remain hesitant to implement them at a large-scale.

This panel will examine how diversion can transform the juvenile justice system, prevent crime and recidivism in the long term, and open doors for young people with unmet needs and limited options. Specifically, this panel will discuss how prosecutors can use diversion as a tool to address the disproportionate number of Black and Brown youth who enter the juvenile justice system, and as an intervention to prevent those same youths from entering the School-to-Prison pipeline.

This panel is co-sponsored by the Mitchell Hamline Black Law Students Association (BLSA). A special thank you to BLSA President Ryan Franklin and Vice President Ashlyn Crawford for their dedication to and vision for this important conversation.