A new statewide coalition called JUSTGeorgia will host a town hall meeting in Rome on Thursday as part of a push to modernize institutions governing juvenile justice.
The meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at The Forum, is one of several scheduled across the state.
Plans are to collect local ideas for what the coalition describes as badly needed revisions of decades-old laws and regulations covering juvenile offenders or victims of abuse.
“We want to prepare some legislation for the next Georgia General Assembly session,” said Marc Marton, communications director for Voices For Georgia’s Children — one of the lead partners of JUSTGeorgia.
“The meetings are to introduce the organization, detail its initiatives and seek public input,” he said.
In addition to legislative changes, the group is pressing for changes in system practices. Marton said areas in need of updates include health, education and social services that can help kids stay out of trouble, minimize the risk of abuse in homes and promote safer communities.
The coalition also is anchored by the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and the Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic of Emory University.
The two-hour town hall meetings will be held across Georgia’s 10 judicial districts in October and November and facilitated by the Fanning Institute of the University of Georgia.
Other meeting locations include Savannah, Macon, Conyers, Albany, Columbus, Atlanta, Gainesville, Athens, Milledgeville, Griffin and Cobb County.
