Woody Clift, CES Director of Department of Youth Services Education Initiative, was one of five panel experts at the Transforming Education for Youth in Connecticut’s Justice System event. Hosted by the Tow Youth Justice Institute at the University of New Haven, the event was sponsored by the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance, the Center for Children’s Advocacy, and FAVOR.

Panelists discussed the challenges facing young people in detention centers and long-term custody, how education could be transformed for youth in custody, and what the best practices are for this type of change.

“It was an encouraging day, filled with passion, persistence, and a well thought out plan for reforming the state’s JJ system and improving outcomes for the youth who become justice involved in CT,” said Clift. Other panelists included Kathleen Sande, of the Washington State Office of Public Instruction in Washington State, Leon Smith, Director of the Racial Justice Project at the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Connecticut, and Kate Burdick, Staff Attorney at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia.

CES is proud that Dr. Clift could bring forward the great work of our educators and the progress we have made to improve outcomes for justice involved youth across Massachusetts