Georgia Appleseed Director Tells Rotary About Need for Revamp of Juvenile Justice Code

Rome News-Tribune

When Sharon Hill was a juvenile court judge she recalls making decisions about children in crisis in 72 hours.

“Seventy-two hours is not a whole lot of time make that kind of decision,” she told the Rome Rotary Club on Thursday.

Her concern for children and families, and her work as a lawyer and a judge, led her to Georgia Appleseed, where she is the executive director.

Georgia Appleseed is a network of lawyers and other leaders whose goal is to tackle difficult social problems at their root cause.

She explained that the Appleseed organization is a perfect partner to help lift the juvenile justice system out of crisis mode.

“Access to justice is a huge issue and concern for us,” she said.

Toward that end Appleseed is a partner in JUSTGeorgia. The coalition’s aim is ambitious — “to change the Georgia juvenile code completely.”

She said the state code, written in 1971, is outdated and makes for inconsistency around the state.

JUSTGeorgia’s two primary objectives are to secure passage of a new Georgia Juvenile Code and to improve the health, education, child protection and other services available to children.

More than 250 lawyers are volunteering their time to talk to and evaluate the needs of judicial districts around the state. And the public and juvenile system professionals are being asked to participate as well.

As part of the initiative, town hall meetings to discuss possible revisions to Georgia’s Juvenile Code will be held around the state for the next month.

One of those meetings is schedule in Rome on Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Forum. The event is free and the public is invited to attend to offer opinions and input.