Good Works

Washington County Circuit Court | Fayetteville, AR

Judge Diane Warren was elected to the bench of the newly created, Division 8 of the AR 4th Judicial District Court, in 2020 (seated 2021), to assist with the caseload of the Division 3, of this same court. Judge Warren and her team of Officers (Cassie, Thomas, Anna, Ashley, Jatori, Monica, Jennifer, Mesha, Saida, Melissa, & Vergenia) and her support staff (Taylor, Karen, Deputy Fields, Deputy Lott, and RaLenn) have made it their mission to “to rehabilitate youth in order to live productively and responsibly in the community by imposing accountability and empowering families to respect each other and the rule of law” in an effort to reach their team goal “that in addition to maintaining public safety, [Youth receive] skill development, habilitation, rehabilitation, addressing treatment needs, and successful reintegration … into the community”. 

Utilizing current diversion programs and alternatives to detention programming in Washington County, developed by Division 3, under the Annie E Casey Foundation Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, Judge Warren’s team has also continued to explore additional court programming, for interventions at various stages of juvenile justice involvement. Their philosophy is that “juveniles who commit crimes can learn from the mistakes they made with the correct guidance as well as the education needed and choose the right direction to take their lives instead of living a life of crime”.

While Judge Warren and her team are in the infancy stages of juvenile court development, with the challenges and learning that entails, they have a commitment to seeing Youth and families succeed and are willing to explore alternative paradigms of justice to support and assist Youth with achieving success. Early indicators of their success include their low juvenile detention rates (intakes and days used) of Youth who are under their supervision. Additionally, in 2023, Division 8, supported Division 3 efforts to reduce long term confinement of Youth and committed a mere 1.11% of the total commits, to the State of AR, via the Arkansas Division of Youth Services, while serving in the third largest County in the State (Washington County, AR).

Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center | Chicago, IL

She understands and promotes the importance of community partnerships for youth in detention. She truly believes that all detention centers need solid programming. She works hard to bring programming to the facility which is often done via relationship-building when there is no budget.

Organization: Washington County Circuit Court | Location: Fayetteville, AR

Jean served as Washington County Juvenile Detention Center Administrator from 1990-2018 and is an amazing advocate for Youth and their families. During her tenure with three County Administrations, she was a leader in Washington County and the State of Arkansas, who continued to learn and grow and to stay abreast of the latest research in juvenile justice to ensure adherence to evidence based practice. She actively help write legislation for detention standards in Arkansas (1998, 1991, and 2014); helped develop and launch Standardized Training for Juvenile Detention Officer in the State of AR and trained multiple Counties in the State; introduced the Annie E Casey Foundation to Washington & Benton County Juvenile Justice; founded and served as president (1996-1998 & 1999-2001) of the AR Juvenile Detention Association; implemented and assisted with implementation of multiple non-detention programming initiatives; established the Social Work Department at Washington County JDC; maintained robust, developmentally supportive programming for Youth at the Juvenile Detention Center; assisted in the design of multiple juvenile detention center facilities in the State; assisted in the development of prevention curriculums for Youth, justice stakeholders, and justice professionals; and routinely consulted for State officials and other juvenile justice stakeholders. In retirement, she continues to be a resource for the State of Arkansas.

Utah State Board of Education | Salt Lake City, UT

Benji is a State Coordinator at the USBE, he leads our Youth in Care team at the USBE his leadership and vision has taken the partnership with JJYS, Educators, DCFS and Foster Care to the next level. With a clear vision and an equitable approach providing an high quality education for all students who fall under the YIC umbrella. “If a public school can provide a high quality educational approach and service, so can we for these students” this vision has led to many more opportunities for students in Youth In Care. His passion and love for all students has created a culture of creativity and thinking outside the box mentality. Benji is truly an asset to the State of Utah.