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Syracuse Rehabilitation Center Responds to Law Change Syracuse Rehabilitation Center Responds To Law Change

By John Licinio

The Center for Community Alternatives met today to share information and thoughts regarding the Change the Age law in New York State. The law allows 16 and 17 year olds to be tried in family court for non-violent crimes and places them in juvenile detention rather than state jail. This move is welcomed by peer leader Robert Blalock, who has firsthand knowledge of how state jails can affect adolescents.

“I had a niece, and she didn’t wanna testify, and they put her in the county jail. She was like, 16-17 years old to be exact, and she felt like suicidal, you know what I’m saying? They kept her 23 hours lock-in.”

Raise the Age also helps adolescent offenders by giving them access to special services and therapy. C-C-A’s director of community engagement, Marissa Saunders, says that Onondaga County was one of the first places to plan for these services, and that they did this by supporting local organizations with a track record of success.

“Each county needed to have services, and Onondaga County really pulled it together. I’m really proud to say that I’m a part of Onondaga County.”

Saunders believes that the steps taken by both the state and Onondaga County will ultimately give young offenders a second chance to fulfill their potential and benefit their communities.

“I think when your records are sealed, you’re moved out of criminal court and you’re mandated down – you’re removed down to family court, it’s creating an opportunity but it’s creating possibilities.”

“The Center for Community Alternatives will be holding a job fair tomorrow as part of their reintegration efforts. This is John Licinio, N-C-C News.”

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The Center for Community Alternatives in Central New York held a courtroom training event today in order to inform the public about how the Raise the Age law will affect Central New York.

The Raise the Age law, which came into full effect in October, raises the age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18 years of age. Sixteen and 17 year old offenders are now categorized as “adolescent offenders”, and are tried in family court for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. If sentenced, adolescent offenders are sent to juvenile detention rather than state or county jail. Additionally, adolescent offenders are given access to special resources designed to help adolescent offenders reintegrate into society.

The courtroom training event began in the Center for Community Alternatives’ offices so that any questions that people had about the new legislation and its consequences could be answered in a safe environment. The attendees then sat-in on several court hearings for adolescent offenders.

The center has a positive view of both the Raise the Age law itself and the way Onondaga County has enforced it.

“[Onondaga County was] one of the first ones to actually have a plan together, and the plan was really resource-heavy,” says Marissa Saunders, the director of community engagement for the center. “They didn’t go to just the normal organizations that were already out there that everyone knew about. They found a bunch of the grassroots organizations that were hidden gems within the city.”

The move to try adolescent offenders in family courts is seen as one of the greatest benefits of the upcoming legislation by members of the center. In their view, family court judges are more likely to treat defendants fairly.

“Those are the types of judges we need here. We don’t need somebody to come in and act all masculine … because if you take that child and put that child through the system, that child is not going to come out the same way it came in,” says Robert Blalock, a peer leader at the center.

The Center for Community Alternatives will hold an opportunity resource fair on Thursday, Nov. 14.

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