America’s Youth Justice Story: Unearthing the Past and Reimagining the Next Chapter

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What can we do to ensure that the tragedies of our past don’t write the story of our future?

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Text "Write the Next Chapter of America's Youth Justice Story" handwritten on strip of torn paper.

The Center for Youth Justice at Georgetown University and Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. are proud to announce registration is now open for the 2026 Janet Reno Forum on September 10th! 

“America’s Youth Justice Story: Unearthing the Past and Reimagining the Next Chapter” will be an in-person, one-day conference held in the heart of Washington, DC on Georgetown University’s Capitol Hill Campus. During this 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the Forum will explore the past, present, and future of America’s Youth Justice story through the lens of truth-telling and creative expression. 

  • We’ll meet storytellers, leaders, community-members, artists, and advocates as they each, in their own ways, serve as truth tellers to effectuate change and rewrite the next chapter of youth justice.
  • We’ll unearth a forgotten, painful past, and survey the work underway to bring dignity to those who our society has literally buried in unmarked sites.
  • We’ll look clear-eyed at the challenges and harms that are present in today’s youth legal system, but also at the inspiring efforts of those working tirelessly to create practices that are restorative, just, and lead to better futures.
  • Participants will also dive into the cathartic power that art can have to shift perspectives, nurture empathy, and help heal harms through an array of creative expressions including an art gallery, spoken word, music, and more from justice-driven and system-impacted artists.

Finally, the Shay Bilchik Award for Innovation in Youth Justice and the Janet Reno Women’s Leadership Awards will be presented, recognizing the incredible efforts of two individuals who have contributed to rewriting and reimagining a more hopeful and effective, less costly, family-centered American youth justice story.

Learn more on our registration page

Handwritten explore past, present, and future of our youth justice story on strip of paper.
Tananarive Due Photo

We are so excited to announce that Tananarive Due, winner of an American Book Award and an NAACP Image Award, will be joining us for an author interview!

A leading voice in Black speculative fiction, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award. Her books include The Reformatory (winner of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Chautauqua Prize, Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and a New York Times Notable Book), The Wishing Pool and Other Stories, Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights.

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Speaker photos for the Forgotten Children panel

“The Forgotten Children of Youth Justice’s Past” will explore how the racist past of the youth legal system led to kids in state custody being buried in unmarked sites, reflect on how that past still impacts the system today, and survey the work currently underway to tell the stories of these forgotten children with dignity and care.

Marc Schindler,  Research Professor of the Practice and Senior Fellow at the Center for Youth Justice and lead of the Forgotten Children Initiative, will facilitate a panel that includes:

  • Erin Kimmerle, forensic anthropologist, artist, author, and Executive Director of the Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science at the University of South Florida; author of We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys and soon-to-be-released, Skeletal Trauma: Identification of Injuries Resulting from Human Rights Abuse and Armed Conflict 
  • Dorothy Givens, poet and writer; retired educator with 38 years of experience serving students and communities in school systems across Maryland and Massachusetts; member of the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children; niece of Fred Ames, one of the Forgotten Children
  • Phyllis Hammond, poet, writer, and advocate; member of the Commission on the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children; niece of Amos Hammond, one of the Forgotten Children. Learn more about her role on the Commission in this Washington Post story!
  • Tyrone Walker, Director of Reentry Services at the Prisons and Justice Initiative at Georgetown University
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Speaker photos for the Youth Justice Narrative Panell

“America Youth Justice Narratives: Perspectives of the Media, Policy-makers, and Communities” will explore the stories we, collectively, are telling about today’s youth justice system. What are the most prominent narratives being told about the youth legal system today, by the media, policy-makers, and communities themselves, and what are some ways we can help shift those narratives for positive impact? What stories are those who have been impacted by the system telling? How can we use storytelling and truth-telling to transform lives, to help heal harm and trauma, and make a better future for all?

Michael Umpierre, Director of the Center for Youth Justice, will facilitate a panel that includes:

  • Michel Martin, Emmy-winning journalist and Host of Morning Edition on NPR
  • Ramon Ramos, Founder and President of The Exception
  • Liz Ryan, Stanley S. Nelson Distinguished Practitioner for Justice Reporting & Communications at Louisiana State University and former OJJDP Administrator
  • Vincent Schiraldi, The Doris Duke Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and former Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services
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Speaker photos for the Reimagining Next Chapter panel

Facilitated by Kelly D. Williams, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Youth Advocate Programs, the “Reimagining the Next Chapter of America’s Youth Justice Story” panel will explore the inspiring efforts of those working tirelessly to create and advocate for practices that are restorative, just, and lead to better futures for our youth, families, and communities.​

Joining Kelly on the panel will be: 

  • Clinton Lacey, President and CEO of the Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3). You can learn more about CM3 on their site. They focus on supporting Credible Messenger Mentors – community rooted natural leaders who have successfully navigated their own prior involvement in the justice system, who share similar life experiences with current justice-involved young people, and are poised to have transformative impact on an individual, family, community and systemic level – and maximizing their impact around the nation.
  • Sonnja Brown, Youth- and Family-advocate and Commissioner for the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center.  Sonnja works as a peer support specialist with other families helping them navigate the child serving systems and connects them to community resources. 
  • Nikolas and Nicole, Youth- and Family-advocates . We encourage you to read about their story in this impactful story on the Neighborhood Advocate. Both are remarkable individuals who reflect the importance and the hopeful possibilities of working directly with families. 
  • Theresa Wright, Chicago-based YAP Advocate. Theresa is transforming lives in her work with the Choose to Change program in Chicago. Featured in the story linked above, you can also read about her work with T-Man in this article on Trade-Offs.
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The Forum will be held in-person on Georgetown University’s new Capitol Hill Campus. The 125 E Auditorium provides a large but comfortable setting, allowing participants to be a part of the conversation. We will also be utliizing the Capitol View Convening Space on the roof of the McCourt Buidling for a gallery walk and more!

Coffee, beverages, and refreshments will be available, and attendees are free to enjoy the beautiful Capitol Hill neighborhood for lunch and a bit of a stretch in the autumn air!

Capitol View Space and balcony of McCourt Building, with view of sky and capitol buildings
Auditorium, with huge screen in front, and circular rows of seats spreading out
About Youth Advocate Programs text on strip of torn paper

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. is a 50-year-old donor-supported national nonprofit that partners with youth justice, child welfare, and other systems to deliver community-based services as an alternative to placing young people in trouble or in crisis in corrections, care, and treatment facilities. The nonprofit also applies principles of its family-centered, accountability-focused evidence-based model to help public safety systems reduce violence.

News and Updates About the Forum