| Hey there, April is always an important month around here: it’s Second Chance Month! Check out a condensed version of our monthly updates below to learn why this month matters, what our team has been up to, and what you need to know for the weeks ahead. |
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| | Celebrating second (and more!) chances. Every April, TCJE and our partners across the country celebrate Second Chance Month. The month is an opportunity to uplift system-impacted people who are creating powerful futures, while drawing attention to the very real barriers to success that they face. You can learn more about the month from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. This month, we’re also delighted to highlight a leader in our Statewide Leadership Council (SLC) who’s recently been recognized as part of a national cohort. Latecia Hill, who manages communications with the SLC’s Steering Committee, is part of JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA)’s 2024 Leading with Conviction program! JLUSA invests in leaders who’ve been personally impacted by the criminal punishment system in nearly every state in the US. Latecia will be part of a network of impacted leaders who are creating change in countless communities. |
|  | Please join us in congratulating Latecia on her exciting achievement! 🎉 |
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| | Investing in the future for Dallas-area scholars. Leon Theodore, who leads our work in the Dallas area, has recently launched an exciting new program: Change Your Perception Initiative (CYPI)! After successfully partnering schools with social work graduate students to improve outcomes for students of color, particularly Black students, Leon is embarking on a new phase of programming. Students who take part will become “ambassadors” through a series of classes, then travel to Germany to learn with young scholars from other countries! Afterwards, they’ll continue their learning journey back home in North Texas. The program will focus on changing perspectives to change lives and communities. Leon shared this GoFundMe page where you can learn more, including his thoughts on why this work matters! You can also follow the program’s new Facebook page for the latest updates. |
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| | Save the date: youth justice storytelling training. Next month, the Finish the 5 Coalition will host their first event of the year! Ahead of an advocacy day this summer (stay tuned for more details!), the coalition is hosting two trainings to help members and supporters tell their stories of system impact safely and effectively. |
| With leadership from partners at Texas After Violence Project and Children’s Defense Fund Texas, the coalition will host a virtual training (Thursday, 5/30 | 6-7:30pm) and an in-person event in Austin (Saturday, 6/1 | 1-4pm | location TBA). Both events will focus on how to structure your story effectively in testimony, meeting with leaders, and more. Trainers will also share guidance on how to choose which parts of your story to tell, how to answer tough questions, and how storytelling can be part of advocacy. At the in-person event, attendees will also have the opportunity to practice together! You can register for more info about these trainings via this form. |
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| | Texas Board of Criminal Justice meeting. This Friday (4/26), the Texas Board of Criminal Justice is hosting their next meeting. The meeting will be open to public comments, which means the community can weigh in about issues in the state’s criminal punishment system. Our team is planning to attend; you can watch the livestream on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ)’s YouTube channel here. You can also view the main webpage for the Board, which includes details on this week’s meeting, and check out the run of show for the meeting. One big piece of news that’s likely to be discussed around the meeting—even if it’s not something eligible for comment—is the new lawsuit against TDCJ announced earlier this week. An expanded lawsuit brought by an incarcerated Texan and supported by advocacy groups is trying to force the state’s punishment system to invest in air conditioning. State law currently doesn’t require AC in TDCJ prisons, despite our state’s famously hot summers. The heat endured by incarcerated Texans is often called cruel and unusual punishment, and some have described the feeling of “cooking alive” inside of state-run facilities. |
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| | April Resource Corner. Every month this year, we’re highlighting a resource that we think will be helpful to y’all as you navigate the system or learn about mass incarceration. As Second Chance Month comes to a close, we’re excited to share the Clean Slate Initiative (CSI)’s new data dashboard! |
| Organizations like ours often talk about the collateral consequences of a criminal record; that refers to the challenges outside of someone’s official sentence or punishment that negatively impact their lives. For instance, someone on parole may be required to have a safe place to live and a steady job, but at the same time, their record makes it harder for them to find an apartment or get employment. By getting the full picture of who is impacted by the criminal punishment system across the country, we can better understand how these consequences ripple out into communities. CSI’s dashboard breaks down arrest and criminal record data by state, race, sex, and more—providing critical insights into the disparities that are baked into the system. |
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| To help users take advantage of the data dashboard, CSI offers detailed information on their methodology, along with a user guide. In particular, we recommend their team’s webinar, which walks you through how to use the dashboard and why it matters! |
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| | That’s it for our April updates! As always, we’re grateful to you for keeping up with our team’s work in Texas and beyond. If someone you know would benefit from getting the info in our newsletter, please forward it on to them or send our sign-up link their way! Thanks, and happy Second Chance Month!
The TCJE Team |
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| | Texas Center for Justice & Equity
Formerly Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
1212 East Anderson Lane, Suite 500 | Austin, Texas 78752
(512) 441-8123 |
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