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98–756 PDF 2016

S. HRG. 113–789 

THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY 

PREVENTION ACT: PRESERVING POTENTIAL, 

PROTECTING COMMUNITIES 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 9, 2014 

PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND 

Serial No. J–113–64 

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 

( 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY 

PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman 

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California 

CHUCK SCHUMER, New York 

DICK DURBIN, Illinois 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii 

CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa, Ranking Member 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama 

LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina 

JOHN CORNYN, Texas 

MICHAEL S. LEE, Utah 

TED CRUZ, Texas 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

KRISTINE LUCIUS, Chief Counsel and Staff Director 

KOLAN DAVIS, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

JUNE 9, 2014, 9:09 A.M. 

STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS 

Page 

Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode Island ...... 1 

WITNESSES 

Witness List ............................................................................................................. 27 

Bedrosian, Honorable Haiganush R., Chief Judge, Rhode Island Family Court, 

Providence, Rhode Island .................................................................................... 10 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 40 

Bryant, Elizabeth Burke, Executive Director, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, 

Providence, Rhode Island .................................................................................... 13 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46 

Duoa, Osbert, Providence, Rhode Island ............................................................... 18 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 50 

Listenbee, Robert L., Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 

Washington, D.C. ................................................................................................. 3 

prepared statement .......................................................................................... 28 

SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Division of Juvenile Correctional Services, Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families, Providence, Rhode Island, testimony ........................ 52 

Rhode Island for Community & Justice, Toby Ayers, Ph.D., Executive Director, and Program Director, Juvenile Justice DMC Diversionary Coalition, 

Providence, Rhode Island, June 12, 2014, letter ............................................... 61 

Rhode Island for Community & Justice, Shanna Wells, M.Ed., Mental Health 

Subcommittee Chair, and Executive Director, West End Community Center, 

Inc., and Toby Ayers, Ph.D., Executive Director, and Project Director, DMC 

Diversionary Project, Providence, Rhode Island, June 12, 2014, letter ........... 65 

Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Janice DeFrances, 

Ed.D., Director, Providence, Rhode Island, June 16, 2014, letter .................... 64 

(1) 

THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY 

PREVENTION ACT: PRESERVING POTENTIAL, 

PROTECTING COMMUNITIES 

MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014 

UNITED STATES SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:09 a.m., at the 

Tides Family Services, 242 Dexter Street, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse, presiding. 

Present: Senator Whitehouse. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, 

A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. This hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee will come to order, which is easy for me to do since I am 

the only Member present, so I bring myself to order. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. It is terrific to be here with everyone. I 

want to particularly thank Brother Michael Reis and the staff at 

Tides Family Services for hosting us here today and for the extraordinary work they do with young people here in Rhode Island. 

This is a field hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. It is a pleasure 

for me to chair this here in Rhode Island and showcase some of the 

strides that Rhode Island has taken when it comes to juvenile justice and to examine what more can and should be done as we reauthorize this piece of legislation. 

I am very honored—I will mention our witnesses later when they 

come on, but in addition to a very distinguished panel of Rhode Island witnesses, I am very honored that we are joined by United 

States Attorney Peter Neronha, by State Senator Roger Picard, by 

Chief Brian Sullivan from Lincoln, Chief Paul King here from our 

city of Pawtucket—where this hearing is taking place—Chief 

James Mendonca from Central Falls, Chief Stephen McCartney 

from Warwick, Superintendent Giovanna Donoyan from 

Woonsocket, and former chief and former head of the Bureau of 

Criminal Investigation Vin McAteer. And I would also recognize 

Teny Gross, whose Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence does such terrific work with young people on our streets 

as well. But everybody here has expertise and something to contribute when it comes to juvenile justice, so I appreciate very much 

that you are all here. 
2 

We are here to try to make sure that we can do our best to keep 

kids out of youthful trouble, both by helping ensure that they have 

the opportunity to achieve their potential and become productive 

adult members of society. 

Juvenile justice is largely a province of the States, but the Federal Government has an important role to play in guaranteeing certain standards for the care and custody of youth. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, which we call ‘‘JJDPA,’’ is the 

most important piece of Federal legislation in this area. It authorizes Federal resources for States and communities seeking to improve their juvenile justice systems and prevent children from coming into contact with those systems in the first place. 

The legislation celebrates its 40th birthday this summer, but it 

has not been reauthorized since 2002, so there are 12 years of more 

experience that has not yet been incorporated in this legislation. 

Reauthorization would allow us the chance to examine current policies in light of recent experience, and I plan to introduce bipartisan 

legislation to do that very soon. 

This hearing will bring Rhode Island voices formally into that 

process, and with these terrific witnesses, we have a lot to add. 

When JJDPA was enacted in 1974, the legislation established 

four core protections: the deinstitutionalization of status offenders, 

removal of most juveniles from adult jails, sight and sound separation from adults for those juveniles who are placed in adult facilities, and a requirement to assess and address disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile justice system. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses how the four core 

protections should be updated or strengthened. Do they adequately 

take into account the needs of all vulnerable populations? Should 

we do more to ensure that mental health and substance abuse 

needs are addressed through State juvenile justice systems? Can 

detained youth continue their education without undue interruption? These are some of the questions I hope Rhode Island experience can help answer. 

As a former prosecutor, I understand the importance of holding 

individuals accountable for their conduct. However, I also know 

that when we are talking about young offenders, the evidence 

shows that treating them like adults and incarcerating them like 

adults increases the likelihood that they will reoffend in the future. 

Scientific research has shown that adolescent offenders are not like 

adult offenders and that risk-taking activity, including criminal activity, is often a transient characteristic of adolescence itself. 

We know that up to half of all juvenile offenders have experienced trauma, with incidences of PTSD particularly high among 

girls, and we know that as many as 70 percent of adolescents in 

the juvenile justice system have diagnosable mental health needs, 

and as many as 80 percent have a history of substance abuse. 

We know that minorities continue to be overrepresented in the 

juvenile justice system, and we know that when a youth is suspended or expelled from school, that youth’s likelihood of becoming 

caught up in the justice system increases significantly. 

We know that a strong juvenile justice system should include a 

continuum of care that incorporates developmentally appropriate 

placement, comprehensive mental health and substance abuse serv-
3 

ices, opportunities for continuity in education, and effective reentry 

planning. 

I am proud to say that Rhode Island is experiencing a downward 

trend in the number of youths referred to family court for wayward 

and delinquent offenses, as well as a steep decline in the number 

of youths placed in the care or custody of the Training School, our 

secure facility for youth in the juvenile justice system. Alongside 

the decrease in incarceration, crime has fallen sharply in this population as a result of the use of such alternative strategies. 

I want to thank Chairman Leahy of the Senate Judiciary Committee for authorizing this hearing to take place in Rhode Island 

and for his support for reauthorization of the JJDPA. 

I also want to thank Ranking Member Grassley for his cooperation in planning this hearing. 

We welcome Administrator Robert Listenbee from the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He has traveled here to participate in this hearing, and he has a longstanding commitment to 

protect public safety while improving outcomes. And I extend my 

warm thanks and appreciation to our Rhode Island witnesses, 

Chief Family Court Judge Haiganush Bedrosian, Elizabeth Burke 

Bryant, and Osbert Duoa, for their willingness to testify and share 

their valuable and varied experiences. Your voices and perspectives 

will help inform our efforts back in Washington. 

I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and to working with 

partners on both sides of the aisle in Washington toward reauthorization legislation that is based on best practices and scientific evidence. 

And now, if I could ask Robert Listenbee to come to the microphone and be sworn in. Do you affirm that the testimony you will 

give before this Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and 

nothing but the truth, so help you God? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. I do. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Please be seated. 

Robert Listenbee is the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 

Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of Justice’s 

Office of Justice Programs. Before his appointment to OJJDP, Mr. 

Listenbee was chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia for 16 years and was a trial lawyer with the 

association for 27 years. He was instrumental in creating the Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania. Mr. Listenbee served as 

co-chair of the Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children 

Exposed to Violence and as a member of the Federal Advisory 

Committee on Juvenile Justice, which advises the President and 

Congress. He received his bachelor of arts from Harvard University 

and his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University 

of California, Berkeley, and we welcome him to Rhode Island. 

Mr. Listenbee, please proceed with your statement. 

STATEMENT OF ROBERT L. LISTENBEE, ADMINISTRATOR, 

OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, U.S. DEPARTMENT 

OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Thank you, Chairman Whitehouse. 
4 

To Chairman Whitehouse and other distinguished Members of 

the Committee, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to 

discuss juvenile justice reform and the Department of Justice’s support for the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. 

I am, as the Senator indicated, Robert Listenbee, Administrator 

of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within 

the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs. As you 

know, and as the Senator indicated, in 1974 Congress enacted the 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act which established 

our office. I am pleased to speak with you today as we approach 

the 40th anniversary of that landmark legislation. 

As a former defender and trial lawyer with nearly 30 years of 

service, I have dedicated myself to seeking justice for youth involved in the juvenile justice system—a system that often revictimized youth in the name of accountability. We know that a number 

of factors place youth at a higher risk of entering the juvenile justice system including childhood exposure to violence, mental health 

problems, substance abuse, and cognitive disabilities. 

Research suggests that more than 50 percent of these kids will 

reoffend and that detention and out-of-home placement can worsen 

preexisting mental and emotional problems. 

During my tenure at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, I 

created a specialized unit to deal with juvenile sex assault cases 

and was instrumental in developing three specialty court programs 

that diverted youth out of the juvenile justice system and reduced 

their risk of residential placement. 

In my role as Administrator, I have drawn from these experiences, and they have informed my priorities and goals for advancing the work of this office. 

OJJDP’s vision is that of a Nation where all our children are 

healthy, educated, and free from violence. Should they come into 

contact with the juvenile justice system, that contact should be 

rare, fair, and beneficial to them. To implement this vision, I have 

articulated five major priorities to support State and local efforts: 

first, maintain public safety; second, adopt a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform; third, integrate evidence-based 

research in all programs, grants, and initiatives; fourth, reduce 

youth violence and its impact on children in homes, schools, and 

communities, while developing programs that address trauma and 

provide trauma-informed care; and, fifth, reduce disproportionate 

minority contact and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. 

The Department strongly supports the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. OJJDP has worked 

closely with Congress in support of their efforts to reauthorize the 

JJDPA. Our office has heard from juvenile justice organizations 

and practitioners who strongly support juvenile justice reform and 

reauthorization of the JJDPA. 

While much can be accomplished through the reauthorization, 

there are some very specific items which OJJDP believes are crucial and critical to juvenile justice reform and public safety. Among 

these are: 
5 

Promote the use of evidence-based interventions and prevention 

programs and provide appropriate services for youth while ensuring safety within communities; 

Provide enhancements to the Disproportionate Minority Contact 

core requirement; 

Enhance services and support indigenous and culturally based 

practices to assist American Indian and Alaska Native at-risk 

youth; 

Improve youth access to qualified legal representation; 

Phase out the Valid Court Order exception; 

Treat youth charged with minor in possession as status offenders; 

Encourage the use of community-based alternatives to detention, 

especially those charged—where youth are charged with status offenses; 

And enhance the availability of juvenile reentry services and provisions that recognize the need for gender-responsive programs. 

As Administrator, I believe that OJJDP has a crucial role to play 

in fostering and encouraging juvenile justice reform. Juvenile justice professionals throughout the Nation have embraced the need 

for evidence-based practices and adopting developmentally appropriate approaches to juvenile justice reform. OJJDP has embraced 

this rising tide of system reform and transformation because it is 

evidence-based, it promotes public safety, and it provides positive 

outcomes for youth. 

In conclusion, I believe we have seen some encouraging trends in 

the decline in youth in custody, the increase in States’ compliance 

with core requirements, and promising reform efforts by the States. 

However, there is still much to be done in a number of areas to 

include the need to address children’s exposure to violence; racial 

and ethnic disparities; and trauma and trauma-informed care, just 

to name a few. Our office is diligently working with our partners 

at the State, local, and tribal levels to address these issues. Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act will 

strengthen the core requirements and provide the necessary funding to support these important juvenile justice programs. I would 

like to thank you for the opportunity to testify before the 

Committee on this important issue. I would also like to thank the 

U.S. Attorney, Providence officials, Pawtucket officials, and Brother 

Michael Reis of the Tides Family Services for welcoming us here 

today. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Listenbee appears as a submission for the record.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you very much, Mr. Listenbee. 

I overlooked, which is really bad of me, mentioning Magistrate 

Angela Bucci Paulhus, who was here from the very beginning, who 

used to work for me in the Attorney General’s office, and we 

worked together in the Attorney General’s office as well, so I want 

to recognize her. 

And I also want to recognize a former DCYF Director, Linda 

D’Amario Rossi, who has come, and she, in addition to being a 

former DCYF Director, is also the Chair of the Board of Tides. So, 

Linda, thank you very much for being here. 
6 

Mr. Listenbee, you have mentioned some very specific changes 

that you would propose that we incorporate in the legislation. In 

terms of the implementation of the VCO sanction, do you see any 

adult models in probation that make sense to use as a template? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Well, Senator, in terms of the valid court order 

exception, this is a provision that allows for status offenders to be 

held accountable by judges if they fail to comply with judicial orders. Our goal in this matter is to phase out the valid court order 

exception so that there is an opportunity for everyone to become familiar with the new rules and regulations. We would also like to 

stress that during the time that this phase-out is occurring, no 

child should be held in excess of 7 days during the phase-out period. 

Specifically, Senator, I am not familiar with any adult practices 

that provide really good models at this time. If there are some, we 

would hope that the field and representatives from throughout 

Rhode Island and other places will provide us with some information on them. We would certainly like to take a look at them. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Okay. It is somewhat of an analogy with 

a probation violation for an adult offender in that you can be 

brought in very quickly and incarcerated for a violation of probation or a violation of a valid court order, correct? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Correct, Your Honor. I mean, correct, Senator. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Too long in a courtroom, Mr. Listenbee. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Senator, I spent a lot of years in a courtroom 

handling thousands of cases, so it does come as a reflex. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Take a look at the HOPE program in Hawaii that was run by Judge—I want to say—I have got Almey on 

the brain, but that is Steve Almey who drives me. He has got a 

name very like that. He was the U.S. Attorney in Hawaii when I 

was there, and I will get you his name. It has, I think, been very 

effective in probation violation by making the system much more 

rapid and responsive. Quick, small sanctions seem to work better 

than a lot of process, and then a big sanction. And treads more 

lightly on both the individual before the court and the system and 

the taxpayer. So we will work with you on that. 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Senator, one of the experiences I had was the 

creation of a graduated response court for young people who violate 

and were charged with violating probation, technical violations of 

probation, and, again, in that situation it was for rapid response, 

graduated, so there was not immediate custody for the child. And 

I think these kinds of responses worked very well with young folks, 

as long as you have a continuum of responses that are appropriate 

and age-appropriate for the young people we are dealing with. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. We are seeing a cultural shift in terms of 

how our country perceives addiction to alcohol and drugs. A lot of 

the shame and stigma is going away, and the success of recovery 

programs is becoming clearer and clearer. And I am working on recovery legislation, recovery and rehab legislation in Washington 

right now. 

What should we be looking at, do you think, in terms of—we 

have had a drug court here that has worked very effectively in 

Rhode Island, and we have other interventions like a new veterans 
7 

court that provide a diversion into recovery services very quickly. 

That seems to me to be a good process. Are there different considerations that the Department perceives when dealing with juveniles? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Senator, with juveniles, I think one of the most 

important things we can do is when juveniles come in contact with 

the system, very early on have appropriate assessments to determine what their needs are. If their needs involve addictions, we 

need to make sure that they get to the right place at the right time 

to get the right services to address those addiction issues. 

Among the possibilities certainly are drug courts. Juvenile drug 

courts have come a long way. We have been focusing on these 

issues within the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the last year. We brought together researchers and 

practitioners to develop standards and practices and procedures 

that are age-appropriate for juveniles. So we are working to develop models that actually work and that can be replicated 

throughout the Nation. We are very fortunate to have funding from 

Congress for this issue, and we anticipate going forward that we 

will be able to be very successful in this area. 

But, again, early assessment, identification of the issue, and appropriate treatment with the right kind of services at the right 

time is really what is critical. And we know that if we do it early 

on, we are not as likely to have young people come back into the 

system if this issue is addressed. 

I was very fortunate to have worked to help create a drug court 

with prosecutors and law enforcement in Philadelphia, and we 

have had over 1,000 kids go through the program. One of the most 

exciting things I have seen in my entire tenure as a public defender was graduation day at drug court where you would see 

young people come and indicate to the court how important it was 

for them to have been through the process, even though many of 

them went into placement for short periods of time, and also to see 

their families there and to recognize that they were getting their 

kids back. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. When you have spent some time in the 

courtroom, the difference between the outcomes of the individual 

before the court going out the back door in silence and in manacles 

and going back out the front door of the courtroom surrounded by 

cheering family and friends is a remarkable contrast, and it is 

something that, when you have seen both, it is unforgettable, isn’t 

it? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Yes, it is, Senator. And one of the things that we 

are able to do, which I would like to stress, for drug courts is we 

were able to take those young people who were in their senior year 

of high school and work with them diligently to ensure that they 

were able to recover credits for their placement time in juvenile 

programs and able to actually get their degrees by having an intensive educational component. 

So being able to do that and watch them both go through drug 

court and graduate there and then go into the high school and 

graduate from the high school was really an honor and a privilege 

to do that. 
8 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. One last question. The role of the Federal 

Government in JJDPA is in some respects secondary to the primary role of State officials. It is viewed as a support and, to a degree, a constraint on State behavior. And because what we do in 

the Federal Government can affect what 50 different States do, 

which may have different ways of addressing the problem, you do 

not want to tighten down the crank too hard so that you lose your 

opportunity for innovation and discovery, particularly if this is a 

statute that is only going to be reauthorized every dozen years. 

So that gives OJJDP an important role in the implementation of 

this. What advice do you have for the Committee in terms of the 

areas in which you think it is so well established that we can afford to be fairly directive versus areas in which we should leave 

more flexibility to the States to continue to find the best way to 

solve these problems and a way, to use your good phrase, that 

causes these encounters to be rare, fair, and beneficial? 

Mr. LISTENBEE. Well, Senator, first of all, I would like to stress 

that the core requirements remain, and that your Committee 

should help us develop sort of a clearer understanding and mechanisms for implementing those core requirements. 

The one that we have had the least success on has been disproportionate minority contact and dealing with racial and ethnic 

disparities. We would like to enhance the requirements to the 

States on that particular requirement. We think that there are a 

lot of new and innovative approaches that are available now. 

Through OJJDP, we are concentrating our resources, our training 

and technical assistance on this particular requirement, and we expect that with the sort of enhanced clarity about what we can do 

in that area, we will make a difference. 

I think the States have been doing a pretty good job of implementing reforms across the Nation. The difficulty they have had is 

developing comprehensive statewide reform as opposed to reform in 

specific areas on specific topics. For example, in some States there 

is reform on the support of school discipline issues, something 

called ‘‘the School-to-Prison Pipeline.’’ In some States there is reform in terms of comprehensive statewide reform, like in Georgia 

and Texas. But it still has not gone throughout every county in the 

State, and I think that what we can do from OJJDP and where I 

would encourage you to have some flexibility is to allow us to use 

training and technical assistance, research guidance, and financial 

support to encourage and incentivize the States to bring about 

statewide reform as opposed to directing them to do it. 

The States have good models in some places. We are borrowing 

from one State, sharing it with another State, and we look to have 

peer-to-peer counseling and support. We have some dynamic work 

going on out there. What we are trying to do at the OJJDP level 

is to consolidate those reforms, set forth a comprehensive strategy 

for them, and then to provide that strategy to the States. But we 

need the encouragement and support of the Committee to do that. 

We hope that States will realign their policies with this new reform 

strategy. But they need to make their own choices. There is a lot 

of wisdom out there in the States. I do not think that we in Washington have all the wisdom necessary to tell them exactly what to 

do. 
9 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. It is an important balance to maintain, 

and I look forward to working with you. You will be the prime liaison with the Department of Justice as we reauthorize this bill, and 

I appreciate very much your terrific work in this area over many 

years. I look forward to working with you as we reauthorize the 

bill, and I am grateful to you for coming up to Rhode Island, and 

I hope you have the chance to stick around, because it will be a 

treat to hear the Rhode Island witnesses. 

Mr. LISTENBEE. I plan to stick around, Senator. Thank you very 

much. I appreciate it. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you very much. You are excused, 

and we take a minute to reset the table for the second panel. 

[Pause.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. I should say as a matter of record, while 

we have a senior Department of Justice official here, how pleased 

we are with our United States Attorney and what an excellent job 

he is doing here in Rhode Island. 

[Applause.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you. Let the record reflect that the 

comment was met with applause from the audience, so not just 

dead silence. Very, very good. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. All right. Let me call the second panel. Do 

you all affirm that the testimony you are about to give before this 

Committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 

truth, so help you God? 

Judge BEDROSIAN. I do. 

Ms. BRYANT. I do. 

Mr. DUOA. I do. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you very much. Welcome and 

please be seated. 

We will hear first from Judge Haiganush Bedrosian, who was appointed chief judge of Rhode Island’s Family Court in December 

2010, having served as an associate justice of the court for 30 

years. She began her professional career after receiving her bachelor of arts degree while teaching elementary school for 6 years. 

After graduating from Suffolk University Law School, she served as 

law clerk to the Honorable Thomas J. Paolino, Associate Justice of 

the Rhode Island Supreme Court. In private practice, she specialized in family law cases, often appointed by family court judges to 

represent the interests of a parent whose children were in the custody of the State or to act as guardian ad litem to the children 

placed in the care of Child Protective Services. 

Chief Judge Bedrosian has taught law courses at local colleges. 

Before her appointment to the bench, Chief Judge Bedrosian was 

employed part-time by the Department of Attorney General in the 

Criminal Prosecution Unit. She was the first woman appointed to 

the family court, appointed by Governor Garrahy, and she was the 

first woman appointed as its chief judge, appointed by Governor 

Donald Carcieri. 

Chief Judge Bedrosian has been a member of numerous boards 

and commissions dedicated to the improvement of justice for Rhode 

Island’s children and families, and I welcome her, and I appreciate 

her testimony. Your Honor? 
10 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HAIGANUSH R. BEDROSIAN, 

CHIEF JUDGE, RHODE ISLAND FAMILY COURT, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Thank you for the invitation. 

Senator Whitehouse, actually I am very pleased to appear here 

today, and I was delighted to hear the comments of Mr. Listenbee 

and the fact that the Federal Government is indeed ready, willing, 

and able to begin talking to the States again about authorizing the 

Act so that we will continue to get the funding that we need to help 

all the youngsters who are so vulnerable in our State, either being 

in the juvenile justice area or in the child protection area. 

But I do want to point out, though, that Rhode Island, back in 

1974, had Associate Justice Edward Healey, who was a member of 

the family court, and he then, that far back, had begun the discussions of how juvenile justice systems had to be rehabilitated with 

new methods of treatments. And he was one of the forerunners in 

the discussion regarding the issues regarding incarceration of 

youth for minor offenses. He was a member of the Task Force to 

Write Standards and Goals for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention for the President’s—of course, then the President—National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice, and he was a past 

president of the National College of Juvenile and Family Court 

Judges. The point that I am making is that for the last several decades, we have been hearing here at the family court about the need 

for advances in how we treat juveniles and children who are in 

need of child protection services. 

As we all know who have been in the system for so long, the 

1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s brought many changes in the laws to 

protect juveniles, and I bring out as the example that In re Gault, 

of course, made sure that children had an attorney when necessary. 

In Rhode Island, we also have been providing attorneys and 

guardians ad litem for children who are in child protection services 

via DCYF. 

Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families had 

become a separate department in our State because of the thoughtfulness of our legislators. And at that time, the State declared that 

we have a basic obligation to promote, safeguard, and protect the 

social well-being and development of the children of the State 

through comprehensive programs. 

So to put all of this in perspective, I am noting that when we 

first started these discussions in the 1970’s, the United States was 

then enmeshed in a war in Vietnam; the feminists were demanding 

equality for good-paying jobs; the NAACP was seeking equality for 

people of color; and as we all know, today the issues regarding children and disproportionate minority contacts is the subject of one of 

our—it will be the subject of one of our discussions today. 

Congress enacted the JJDPA as the Office of Juvenile Justice 

and Delinquency Prevention became part of the Department of Justice. That is why I am appealing to you today. Rhode Island’s Family Court was a special court created in 1960. I practiced there in 

the 1970’s. It was housed in an old building at 22 Hayes Street— 

which is now Nordstrom’s, by the way. 

[Laughter.] 
11 

Judge BEDROSIAN. And the holding cells in that basement held 

adults and juveniles. I visited them there. The juvenile and adult 

cells were separate cells, but indeed they were right next to one another so that the adults and the juveniles were able to converse 

with one another and to see one another. This new Garrahy Judicial Complex, which was built in the early 1980’s, does have a separate area for the youngsters. So the issue regarding sight and 

sound separation certainly has been discussed and accomplished 

here in Rhode Island. 

The Rhode Island Training School has a new state-of-the-art 

building to house incarcerated youth, and as you have pointed out, 

the numbers have changed dramatically. So Rhode Island has 

moved ahead to actively promote the well-being of our children, but 

we still have a lot of work to do. 

In the last 40 years, there were so many changes regarding children in our juvenile justice systems. In Rhode Island at the family 

court, we start our—let me stop. The cases that are referred for juvenile justice issues go to an informal hearing first. And Kevin 

Richard is here. He is the head of that department, and he will 

make a decision as to whether or not the initial cases are brought 

to a judge. Those cases can be handled informally with the assistance of a counselor, and many of those children never return. 

However, we do have those cases regarding the status offenders 

who are charged as well as the wayward and delinquent youth who 

are charged with, of course, wayward and delinquent offenses, and 

these are heard by the family court justices. 

The exception to some of those cases is the family court truancy 

calendar in which those petitions are heard in the schools where 

magistrates preside over the hearings. By having these cases in the 

schools, this assures that not only is the child being heard by a 

magistrate, but the professionals in the schools, such as the principal, the guidance counselors, and if they have social workers, 

they are all present to assist this youngster in finding programs. 

So I also want to discuss the issues of strengthening deinstitutionalization of status offenders because that is an issue that has 

been raised by the Federal Government. And I would like to explain that while the family court may advise a status offender at 

times that violation of a valid court order could result in an order 

for detention at the Training School, that order for detention is a 

rare order in the Rhode Island Family Court. 

However, for those youthful offenders who are detained for long 

periods of time, programs within the Training School are geared to 

educating the youth while treating their social as well as behavioral health issues. Rehabilitation remains the goal for all youth in 

our State, whether they are status offenders or wayward or delinquent youth, or the children who are in child protection services via 

the association with our Department of Children, Youth, and Families. 

I will tell you very truthfully that with proper timely services, 

many youth have become upstanding members of society, and those 

are the youngsters that will sometimes come back and talk to us 

and say, you know, ‘‘I do want to thank the particular judge for 

helping me, because without the assistance of the State, I would 
12 

not have the job that I wanted or go to the school that I am now 

attending.’’ 

Let me also state that youth who receive their high school diplomas are more apt to be employed. More than 10 years ago, these 

special truancy calendars that had been created have invested in 

those children and assigning them to classes so that they can receive their high school diplomas. 

You have referred to the comment, Mr. Listenbee, that sometimes the school dispositions will be referred to as the ‘‘pipeline to 

the prison.’’ I went to a conference a couple of years ago. We had 

2 days’ worth of discussions on that issue, and the family court is 

dedicated to making sure that kids stay in school rather than get 

involved in the juvenile justice area. 

I have pointed out to you the issues that some of the magistrates 

hear at the truancy calendars, but I do want to point out that there 

are times that we do hear truancy cases with the justices. It is not 

an exclusive issue at the schools. 

The funding—and I want to thank you—from the OJJDP for the 

truancy calendars has benefited literally thousands of youngsters 

over the last 10 or more years. These hearings at the schools are 

referred to as ‘‘diversion calendars.’’ There is no prosecutor there. 

There is a school principal perhaps or there is a guidance counselor 

or a truancy officer, and the cases are heard in an informal setting. 

By assigning those hearings at the school, again, I point out all the 

participants who are interested in these youngsters can attend so 

that a proper program can be worked out. 

I do want to also applaud and thank you and, of course, those 

who are in your office, Mr. Listenbee, for the Federal funding for 

the family court’s drug treatment calendars. They have also been 

a benefit for more than 2,400 youngsters over the last 10 years who 

have graduated from the drug treatment calendar. Retired Associate Justice Pamela Macktaz has presided over this calendar over 

the last couple of years, and she has been assisting youth and their 

families in overcoming the problems related to substance abuse. 

We also have our experienced counselors who work with the 

youth and their families. They work to assure the graduation of the 

youngster from the drug court calendar by using helpful and necessary social services in various drug treatments to help the druginvolved youth combat the use of illegal drugs and alcohol. I am 

confident today that I speak not only on behalf of those youngsters 

who have graduated but also their families, who will sometimes return to thank us for working with their youngsters and keeping 

them out of any additional troubles. 

So by virtue of the fact that we have had the funding for the 

drug treatment program, for the truancy programs, and for a mental health clinic that we have at the family court, the family court 

is very proud to say that it has been able to help more than, as 

I said, 2,400 in drug treatment and more than 2,000 in the truancy 

calendars to benefit from programs. 

I applaud the work that the Committee is doing. I certainly am 

delighted to be able to support the work of this Committee in hoping that there is a reauthorization very soon. 

[The prepared statement of Judge Bedrosian appears as a submission for the record.] 
13 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you, Judge Bedrosian. We are 

going to work very hard to make sure that there is a reauthorization and try very hard to make it a bipartisan reauthorization so 

that this is a piece of legislation that can get through the rather 

hazardous legislative environment that prevails in Washington 

right now. But we have seen good success getting bills in a bipartisan fashion through the Judiciary Committee, and I hope to be 

able to find a way to have this follow that same successful path. 

Judge BEDROSIAN. And I am delighted to hear that, and I will 

always stress that the programs and the treatments that we provide at the court are keeping a lot of kids out of detention in their 

adult life. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Our next witness, Elizabeth Burke Bryant, is executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, a children’s policy and research organization founded in 1994 that provides information on child well-being, stimulates dialogue on children’s issues, and promotes accountability and action. Rhode Island 

KIDS COUNT provides policymakers, community leaders, and the 

news media with the best available data and information on children’s health, education, safety, and economic security. The organization produces a quarterly Issue Brief Series, hosts a monthly 

cable television program, and publishes the annual famous Rhode 

Island KIDS COUNT Factbook. 

For 20 years, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT has tracked data on 

juvenile justice in partnership with the Rhode Island Department 

of Children, Youth, and Families and the Rhode Island Family 

Court. The organization also coordinates the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives initiative. 

Ms. Bryant is an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Brown University’s A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American 

Institutions. A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Ms. Bryant received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Vermont 

and a law degree from the George Washington University Law 

School. Previous positions include policy director for the city of 

Providence, housing court prosecutor, consultant to the Rhode Island Housing Mortgage Finance Corporation, and the Rhode Island 

Foundation and the Women’s Prison Mentoring Project. 

Ms. Bryant has been actively involved in several organizations, 

including Voices for America’s Children, the United Way of Rhode 

Island, the Rhode Island Foundation, and the Local Initiative Support Corporation, and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Florette Angel Child Advocate of the Year Award, 

the Rhode Island Foundation’s Community Leadership Award, the 

Paul W. Crowley Educational Advocacy Award, the Rhode Island 

Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition Silver Rattle Award, the 

Classical High School Distinguished Alumni Award, and the John 

Hope Settlement House Sterrett Award. 

So we are very, very glad to have Elizabeth Burke Bryant. 

STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH BURKE BRYANT, EXECUTIVE 

DIRECTOR, RHODE ISLAND KIDS COUNT, PROVIDENCE, 

RHODE ISLAND 

Ms. BRYANT. Thank you very, very much, Senator. It is really an 

honor to be asked to testify today. Is this on? Great. 
14 

Thank you, Senator Whitehouse, and also many thanks to Chairman Leahy and Members of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary for inviting me to testify regarding the reauthorization of the 

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, JJDPA. I would 

also like to extend my appreciation to Administrator Listenbee for 

his leadership at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

Prevention and his visit to Rhode Island—it is great to have you 

in our State—as well as to Brother Michael Reis and Tides Family 

Services for hosting this important hearing. 

As an organization working to strengthen communities and improve the lives of youth and their families in Rhode Island, Rhode 

Island KIDS COUNT asks the Committee to reauthorize the 

JJDPA and make it work even better on the path to juvenile justice 

reform and success for our young people in the system. 

States across the country, including Rhode Island, have made 

considerable progress reducing the use of incarceration for juveniles over the past several years. I am going to just give you a few 

statistics from Rhode Island to set the stage and set some context. 

In 2010, the latest year for which national data are available, the 

rate at which States hold youth in secure confinement reached an 

over-35-year low, with almost every State reducing the number and 

percentage of youth held in secure facilities. 

Here in Rhode Island, between 2004 and 2013, the annual total 

number of youth in the care and custody of the Rhode Island Training School during the course of the year declined from 1,069 to 498. 

We have a chart in our testimony, Senator, that is one of those indicators going in the right direction. It shows a line graph pointing 

straight downward, although we still have work to do. Some of 

this—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. I should say that the full statement with 

the graph will be made a part of the record, as will the full statement of all of the witnesses. 

Ms. BRYANT. Thank you, Senator. 

Some of this decline is due to the cap that was placed on the population at the Training School in July 2008. The cap was for 148 

boys and 12 girls on any given day. The population has further declined by 44 percent between 2009 and 2013. The new facility, 

Training School facility that the chief judge mentioned, which was 

filled to capacity when it was opened in 2009, had an average daily 

population of 83 youth during the first quarter of 2014. And just 

for comparison’s sake, Senator Whitehouse I know you remember 

the days of youth sleeping on the mattresses of our Training 

School. In fact, we have looked into DCYF data, and the high in 

2006 was 220 youth, and now we are down to 83. So that kind of 

shows the dramatic progress that did not happen overnight. It happened by a large number of strategies that were trying to prevent 

the incarceration of youth and started much earlier with prevention strategies, which I will get to in a moment. 

As you noted, Senator Whitehouse, in your opening remarks, 

crime has also fallen sharply over the past decade as juvenile justice systems have utilized more effective intervention and prevention strategies. In Rhode Island, the number of youth referred to 

family court for wayward and delinquent offenses declined 45 percent between 2007 and 2013, from 5,275 youth referred to family 
15 

court to 2,926. During the same time period, the number of juvenile 

offenses declined by 40 percent, from 8,301 to 4,964. 

The use of community Juvenile Hearing Boards and the family 

court’s diversionary program that the chief has remarked about 

have been instrumental in preventing low-level and first-time offenders from the formal juvenile justice system, as have been many 

coordinated best practice, community-based, and family centered 

efforts in the community, such as ones that are used right here by 

Tides Family Services, others that are used by the Institute for the 

Prevention of Nonviolence, and many more. For youth who do become formally involved in the system, there is a growing recognition in Rhode Island that they can often be better served in the 

community utilizing alternatives to detention. 

Between 2007 and—actually, I am going to skip that because it 

is the chart that I just described. 

In 2009, Rhode Island juvenile justice stakeholders joined in 

partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to become a statewide Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, which we call 

JDAI. JDAI promotes the vision that youth involved in the juvenile 

justice system are often best served using proven, family focused 

interventions and creating opportunities for positive youth development. JDAI is now active in over 250 sites in 40 States throughout 

the country. 

The Rhode Island JDAI effort, coordinated by Rhode Island KIDS 

COUNT, includes the support and participation of the family court, 

the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, the Office of the 

Attorney General, the Public Defender’s Office, the Providence Police Department, Tides Family Services, the Institute for the Study 

and Practice of Nonviolence, Rhode Island for Communities and 

Justice, Family Services, Child and Family, and many, many more 

social service providers dedicated to preventing the escalation and 

overall youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Together, we 

have used JDAI’s strategies to focus on reducing unnecessary and 

inappropriate use of secure confinement and enhancing communitybased alternatives to detention. 

And the other remarkable thing about this initiative, Senator, is, 

as you well know, when you have people who are working in all 

parts of the system who seldom come together around the same 

table, you can really make a lot of progress, and that has been our 

experience with this initiative. 

Like many states, however, Rhode Island still has much work 

left to do to develop a comprehensive array of services that can prevent the need for overnight and brief stays in detention while appropriate alternatives are found. 

During 2013, more than half—around 54 percent—of stays at the 

Rhode Island Training School lasted less than 2 weeks. 

The positive trends that are occurring in Rhode Island and other 

States can be reinforced and supported by updating the JJDPA, 

which establishes minimum standards and provides critical funding for State and local juvenile justice systems. As you noted, the 

Act was last reauthorized in 2002, but few changes were made 

even at that time. More than a decade later, much more is known 

about what works and does not work to keep our communities safe 
16 

and provide more opportunities for young people to reach their full 

potential. 

We recommend that the JJDPA reauthorization include the following policy improvements: 

First, keep youthful offenders and adult offenders separate—and 

some of these things I do want to point out, Senator, are meant to 

be national in scope and are not saying that we still have some of 

these things existing in Rhode Island. So in no way do I want to 

conflict with anything the chief has said, but we think it is important at these hearings to really speak out for all American youth, 

not just those in our State. 

Keep youthful offenders and adult offenders separate. The 

JJDPA, as you mentioned, requires sight and separation of juvenile 

and adult offenders held in secure facilities; however, this protection is not extended to youth tried or punished as adults. The reauthorization of the JJDPA should require States to house youth 

charged or convicted as adults in juvenile facilities until they reach 

adulthood. 

Next, prevent the confinement of status offenders by strengthening the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders, or DSO, core 

protection—another item you also mentioned, Senator—which prohibits the locked detention of status offenders. In recent years, 

many jurisdictions throughout the country have allowed the confinement of status offenders who violate a court order—for example, court orders not to truant. We recommend that this valid court 

order exception be eliminated. 

Next, strengthen the disproportionate minority contact core protection by requiring States to take concrete steps to reduce racial 

and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. We recommend that States be required to use data to plan and implement 

strategies to reduce DMC and publicly report on progress. We have 

made major strides in reducing the number of young people at our 

Training School. However, we still report on disproportionality with 

our population here in Rhode Island. 

Next, provide safe and humane conditions of confinement for 

youth in State or local custody by prohibiting use of JJDPA funds 

for dangerous practices and encouraging States to adopt best practices and standards to eliminate dangerous practices and unnecessary isolation. 

Next, provide a research-based continuum of mental health and 

substance abuse services to meet unmet needs of court-involved 

youth and their families, including diversion and reentry services. 

Next, establish accountability measures and data collection requirements that incentivize the timely transfer of educational 

records and communication with a youth’s home school district or 

LEA so they do not lose school credit while they are incarcerated. 

These measures should also require that States demonstrate that 

incarcerated youth are reenrolled back in their schools or LEAs or 

other career training upon release. 

It would be remiss of me if I did not say that education reform 

is at the epicenter of our goals to reduce the pipeline of young people that ever enter the juvenile justice system. Sometimes these reauthorizations are in silos, just like some of our work is in silos. 

However, when we look at the education level of youth in the 
17 

Training School, we know that these youth have been disconnected 

from their schooling or have been on the radar screen for years and 

years in terms of youth that are falling behind and need further 

intervention at the educational level. The average reading level of 

youth in the Training School is seventh grade. The average math 

level is sixth grade. And we know that 80 percent of low-income 

children in this country are not reading at grade level by the end 

of third grade. That is part of this work. And how you link the reauthorization to some of the really important work of education reform I think maybe is a key new ground that this reauthorization 

can make more explicitly about reducing the pipeline. 

Next, assist States in compliance with the JJDPA by establishing 

incentive grants to encourage States to adopt evidence-based and/ 

or promising practices that improve outcomes for youth and their 

communities. For States that are deemed to be out of compliance 

with any of the core protections, the reauthorization should require 

JJDPA funds withheld for noncompliance to be set aside and made 

available to those States as improvement grants to help them with 

those particular protections. 

Next, enhance the partnership between States and OJJDP by expanding training, technical assistance, research and evaluation. 

Enhance the partnership between OJJDP and Congress by encouraging transparency, timeliness, public notice, and communication. 

The last one is to incentivize juvenile justice systems to ensure 

that all policies, practices, and programs recognize the unique 

needs of girls. Girls in the juvenile justice system enter with different personal and offense histories and needs than their male 

peers. Effective programs for girls in the juvenile justice system 

promote healing from trauma and abuse, address mental and physical health issues, and meet the needs of pregnant and parenting 

girls. 

Thank you, Senator Whitehouse, for your lifelong commitment to 

juvenile justice reform. And thank you to all of the Members of the 

Committee for the opportunity to testify today and for all of your 

work to improve the lives of youth involved in the juvenile justice 

system. 

As I close, I would like to especially thank you for conducting 

this hearing at Tides Family Services. Brother Michael and his 

staff are doing extraordinary work with youth and their families to 

help young people have a chance for a successful future. I often say 

this, he knows I say this everywhere around town: The work Brother Michael and his team do is life-saving work, and so is the work 

you are doing, Senator and Members of the Committee, to improve 

the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act through reauthorization. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Bryant appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Thank you very much. 

Our final witness is Osbert Duoa who is a 20-year-old resident 

of Providence, Rhode Island. He is employed as a retail sales manager for Harvest Kitchen, and he acts as a mentor to young people 

at Tides Family Services, where he himself received services while 
18 

in the juvenile justice system. Mr. Duoa? How did my pronunciation do? 

Mr. DUOA. I was just about to tell you, a point of correction. It 

is ‘‘du-o.’’ 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. ‘‘Du-o.’’ 

Mr. DUOA. The ‘‘A’’ is silent. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. The ‘‘A’’ is silent. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF OSBERT DUOA, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND 

Mr. DUOA. I would like to say good morning to everybody. 

Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me. My introduction is I am 

Osbert Duoa. I am 20 years old. I was born in Liberia in 1994. I 

came to the U.S. with my mother when I was 5. We lived in Pawtucket. 

After a few years, my dad and my three brothers was sent to the 

U.S. I began getting in trouble when I was 14. I first got on probation, and during that time I was sent to California to stay with my 

dad. Me and him was not getting along as I was younger, so I 

hustled the best way I can to get some money because me and him 

was not getting along, so I figured let me go back to my mother’s. 

And that is what I did. I earned up enough money, took the Greyhound, which was one trip, I believe. It was 200 and some change. 

I was 14. I did not know what I was doing, so I just took the bus. 

I stayed on the bus. I did not get off the bus. I asked people—it 

was—I ate McDonald’s, so it was fun. 

When I arrived back to Providence, Pawtucket, nobody knew that 

I came back. So I was staying with a couple friends, and—which 

I already had broken my probation, violated my probation. So I was 

ordered to spend some time in a Training School for 7 months. And 

then there was a guy named Charles who also came to the Training School, introduced me to Tides Family Service. Being in Tides 

helped me grow and learn. 

There were different people. The Tides worker was very different. 

They really—they showed care, love. They was there for me. When 

I did not want to go to school, they would help me go to school on 

time, take me to work, and they took me to Six Flags, which I really liked. 

When me and my mom was fussing sometimes, they would take 

me out, talk to me, give me some advice. It was not like other counselors where you get they are just there for you and just take you 

out and not express theirself and tell you about, like, their life and 

how they was growing up. So for me, I kind of related to what they 

were saying and what they wanted to—where they wanted to see 

me in life. 

I began to learn about life, and what I needed most was my 

mom, my job, people who cared about me. I started working with 

Harvest Kitchen, which is a culinary program. It was very good, 

awesome. I never knew how to make applesauce. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. DUOA. Three kinds of flavors: original, strawberry, and cranberry. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. DUOA. So I go there and I go home. My mom would say, 

‘‘What do you do at work?’’ ‘‘Make applesauce.’’ I would go to my 
19 

other job. ‘‘What do you do at work?’’ ‘‘Make applesauce.’’ I am, like, 

‘‘I am going to turn into applesauce.’’ 

So one of my conductors is Jen Scott. She is real cool. She is here 

to support. So today I am a retail sales manager at Farm Fresh, 

which we do the farmers’ market. If you are not familiar, I am 

there selling applesauce. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. DUOA. And I am also selling some other products, produce. 

I really like doing the salesmanship and the business type of 

things, so I am involved in that. I am going on my third year. It 

has been fun. 

I am off probation. I got off at the age of 18, and I do not plan 

on going back on probation or getting in trouble. 

A good man once told me that you cannot be on both sides of the 

line. Either you are going to be in trouble, stay with the old 

friends, or you are just going to go straight ahead and just be a 

positive role model and be just like everybody in this room trying 

to do their job and wake up and help everyone else. 

So for me, when I do the farmers’ market, I may not be in the 

best of moods because it is very early and I am trying to sell stuff. 

So I just got to put myself in that position where, if I can make 

somebody smile and I sell nothing that whole day, that is my—that 

is what I like to do. 

Well, thanks for having me. Thank you, Senator. I hope you go 

back to the White House and tell them about us. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. DUOA. Thanks to everybody in this room again. Thanks to 

Tides Family Service. I would have never been able to do it without 

you. And also thanks for me getting in trouble because without me 

getting in trouble, I would not be able to be here in front of you 

all. So thank you, everybody. And thank you for coming from Philadelphia. If I missed you, I am sorry. Thank you. I know my story 

was not the best, but I am kind of nervous, so I am trying to explain. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Duoa appears as a submission 

for the record.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. I think it was fine. I think it was fine. 

Very well done. Thank you, Osbert. I really appreciate it. 

Mr. DUOA. Thank you. Any questions? I am not nervous no more. 

Any questions? 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Good. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. We will get there. 

Let me start with Judge Bedrosian. The downward trend that we 

have talked about and that Elizabeth documented, what do you 

think have been the key successful elements to that? 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Well, locally we have had the juvenile boards 

in the various cities and towns with—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. The juvenile hearing boards. 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Yes, which have taken on the cases of youthful offenders, first-time offenders usually, and been able to resolve 

whatever the issues were. And I think that has been of great benefit to some youngsters. I am very much a believer that when kids 
20 

are in school and doing well, their opportunities to get out and get 

into trouble lessen. And I think the schools are doing a more comprehensive job of looking at kids who are truant and trying to assist them to make sure they stay in school. I can tell you that because I have the statistics from our truancy calendars that many 

of the youngsters that we see do not get involved in our juvenile 

justice cases. 

So I believe that that is also a benefit, the fact that we have 

taken a very long, hard look at the issues regarding truancy and 

brought them right into the schools to make sure the kids—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Including the middle schools. 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Yes, to make sure that they stay in school. In 

fact, Angela Bucci Paulhus is one of the best representatives of the 

magistrates who have been in the schools because she has done 

this for a few years—I do not think I will give you all the years, 

but Angela has been doing this, and she has been a star, as far as 

I am concerned, in terms of helping all the other magistrates and 

the principals and all of the educators that she has worked with 

in finding ways to keep kids in school. I applaud people like Angela 

who are so dedicated, and the teachers as well as all of those educators who are so dedicated to making sure that kids stay in 

school. It is a very different atmosphere now. As you know, I started life as a school teacher, so I still have friends in the business, 

so to speak. But the atmosphere now is that we will do everything 

we possibly can, short of getting to the home and dragging the kid 

out of bed, to get them into school. And, frankly, one of our truant 

officers that we are very familiar with has done that a few times. 

So the issue has been raised. How do we keep kids in school? 

Every school comes up with some novel approach on how to make 

sure we get kids there. People have bought alarm clocks for the 

kids. There are those that call them. Those are obviously the very 

literally hands-on methods. But there is also the dedication of special education teachers who have worked out courses so that youngsters who have some learning disabilities will be able to accomplish 

what they need to accomplish. It is a benefit, as far as I am concerned, when sometimes the kids do get into the truancy programs 

because they find all these people who are willing to help them. 

So I give the people who work in those areas a lot of credit. I 

give the educators a lot of credit. The special education people are 

wonderful. So there are a number of things that I am understanding that the numbers of offenses are down, and the kids who 

are referred to the family court, those numbers are down also. 

But my understanding more recently, though, is that at Training 

School, I am told that there were 12 girls in the unit for a period 

of time, and they do receive some very good treatments, from what 

I have been told, and we have had the discussion that there is 

more attention being paid to the females who are part of the population of the Training School. But, frankly, it would be great if we 

could get the special funding for the girls. It took several years before they moved into the new state-of-the-art Training School. 

And one of the things that I always have found to be very offensive is the fact that I hear, well, there are not enough girls to create programs. That is not true. And the people who are working 

there now are creating the programs from what I have been told. 
21 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. There are two takeaways that I remember 

from looking at this issue as Attorney General. One was that when 

we looked back, we very often found, as you have said, that truancy 

was the first really strong signal of bad things to come and that 

it usually cropped up first in middle school. So it is terrific that you 

have responded to that. 

The other thing was the time spike during the course of the day. 

It was those hours between when school let out and when parents 

came home that caused a huge spike in activity. And have you noticed that the improvement in after-school programs has made a 

difference in—— 

Judge BEDROSIAN. I do not have any stats on that, Senator, so 

I do not believe I can comment on whether or not the after-school 

programs have made a change. We usually have our stats as to 

what is going on in school. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Elizabeth, what is your observation on 

that? 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Do you have anything on that? 

Ms. BRYANT. While we do not have a cause-and-effect study, we 

do know that during this time of decline, just in Providence alone, 

the Providence After-School Alliance has made good places for kids 

to be after school at the middle-school level for thousands of Providence kids a reality, and at the same time we have seen these 

numbers come down. So you are absolutely right that those bewitching hours of 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock, having youth engaged in 

programs where there is a caring adult and a sense of their future 

that are somehow connected to schools so that the people in the 

schools know that these good things are going on after school are 

just a great recipe for reducing the pipeline. And you are right, it 

starts early. 

We track chronic absence in the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT 

Factbook, we track chronic early absence, K through 3rd grade, and 

there is a disturbing number of young children that are absent 

more than 10 percent of the school year, and schools across the 

State are really trying to get at that issue very early. We are also 

tracking middle and high school chronic absence. So all of these 

things, I think, when the numbers see the light of day and really 

people understand the significance of the problem, then community-based solutions can occur. 

I also want to thank Senator Picard and his colleagues at the 

General Assembly because last year or the year before, a law was 

passed in Rhode Island that said that out-of-school suspensions 

cannot be used by reasons of absence. It sounds like an obvious 

thing to do, not to give people an out-of-school suspension for the 

issue of absence. And I think the Rhode Island law is a model for 

that, and many school boards across the State are really paying attention to that issue as well. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. The question of reentry is one that at the 

adult side has received very good bipartisan attention in Washington with the Second Chance Act, and we are working on that 

in sentencing reform as well, and we had, I think, some very good 

work on that in the bill that just passed out of the Senate Judiciary 

Committee in a very bipartisan fashion, 15–2. Even the two were 
22 

bipartisan. It was a Republican and a Democrat who voted against 

it. So that was a pretty good sign. 

Let me start with Osbert. When you were leaving the Training 

School, how did you feel about the transition from that back to 

school? And what observations did you have about that experience? 

Then I will ask Ms. Bryant and Judge Bedrosian. 

Mr. DUOA. It was kind of difficult going back to school after being 

in there. Like I said, Tides helped me get to school and from school. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. What time of year did you come back to 

school? 

Mr. DUOA. I believe it was when school had just begun. I think 

I missed a month, like maybe in October or something. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. So everybody else had gotten to know each 

other in that first month, and then you show up. 

Mr. DUOA. Yes. It was—I was not really comfortable going back 

to school because it felt different from being incarcerated and having like the freedom of I do not have to go to school as when I was 

in there, I had to wake up every morning and go to school, and if 

I did not go to school, I would probably fight somebody and then 

get sent back to my room or—you know. So it felt like, all right, 

I am not going to go to school and blah, blah, blah, but Tides 

helped me. They took me back and from school. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Judge, what do you think about the reentry concerns that we should be looking at, the transition from 

Training School or incarcerative settings back out to the community and to school? 

Judge BEDROSIAN. What I will tell you candidly, usually it depends on one or two persons who will encourage a youngster to 

think about completing their school assignments, and it is very important to have a mentor, and that is what I have learned over 

these many years, that mentoring is a very big issue. And if we can 

find someone who is dedicated to assisting a youngster, usually 

that person can convince them to get back to getting an education 

or looking for a field that you would like to work in. And it is very 

important to find that person. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. There is an observation I have heard repeatedly, so much so that it has really finally sunk in, and that is 

that kids who succeed in school can identify an adult in the school 

community who they believe really cares about them. And it is not 

a hypothetical question, yes, there is an adult out there that really 

cares about them. It is Mr. Smith, it is Mrs. Jones. They have that 

personal connection. And a lot of people have said that if that is 

there, then everything is on a much better slope; and if that is not 

there, you really are in trouble. And what you are saying is that 

that is true—— 

Judge BEDROSIAN. That is a reality. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE [continuing]. Not only in school but it’s 

particularly true for this transition. 

Judge BEDROSIAN. It is. It really is. And there are mentoring programs out there to try to assist kids in either staying in school or 

going back to school. And the few times that I have talked to adults 

who have finally completed an education, that is what I have 

heard, that I had a particular teacher or a guidance counselor or 

even a truant officer who finally got to me and said, you know, if 
23 

you just do X, Y, and Z, you can get a diploma and maybe go on 

to a trade school or to a college and get a job, and you do not have 

to be on probation for the rest of your life. And, of course, they are 

maturing at that point, too, a little bit. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. What are you seeing? 

Ms. BRYANT. Well, I think this brings up a couple of points that 

should be emphasized, Senator. 

First of all, there is no question about the link between how children are doing academically and the possibility of them getting involved with the juvenile justice system, so the better work we do 

to keep them connected at school, doing well in school—and that 

does come by virtue of knowing, caring adults in the building. I see 

Superintendent Donoyan who tries to be doing that every day in 

Woonsocket. There is real research behind that, people knowing 

you and wanting you to succeed in the school building as well as, 

as we have said, some of these after-school programs, summer programs that really engage all of our young people with a vision of 

what they can be in life. 

I also think it is important to emphasize that when I mentioned 

community-based programs—and we are sitting in one right now— 

it is the relationships that those programs have with the young 

people and their families both to try to prevent incarceration and, 

if incarceration in a juvenile detention facility does happen, working with them in a step-down way to get them back integrated into 

the community and with a transition plan that works. 

And so I think oftentimes, not just in Rhode Island but in the 

rest of the country, when you look at those per young person costs 

of incarcerating them in the Training School—a few years ago in 

Rhode Island it was about $106,000 for one person. And when you 

think about what community-based alternative programs such as 

outreach and tracking here, what Teny Gross does, what Child and 

Family and Family Service do, it is a fraction of that. And yet those 

community-based programs are the ones that have to just every 

year fight for the dollars to even stay open. 

And so it is really time to look at cost-effective nature of what 

we are doing with our juvenile justice funds and ensure that those 

kinds of anything it takes and more, real family engaged, youthengaged relationship building that these community-based programs do are supported. And not all of them reach high standards. 

So I think we need to be clear in our field that there needs to be 

accountability and results that are required of these communitybased programs. They are not created equal. But for those that 

work, it just seems like it is not sensible for them to not feel as 

though sometimes they do not even have the dollars to know how 

many kids they are going to be able to help in the next year, given 

the dollars that saves in States, not just in Rhode Island but across 

the country, for every youth that you prevent from being in the 

Training School, how those dollars could be redirected. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. While we are on the subject of dollars, the 

OJJDP dollars have been more and more taken up with the four 

core elements that we talked about, and it is required—or provided 

less funding in other areas. Are you seeing reductions, Judge 

Bedrosian, in available funding for—— 

Judge BEDROSIAN. Yes. 
24 

Senator WHITEHOUSE [continuing]. Things like training? How 

has that played out for you? What has been most painful or difficult? 

Judge BEDROSIAN. I do not know about the painful and the difficult, but what I can tell you is that, as you know, we have a great 

interest at the family court in maintaining our truancy calendars 

in the schools and being able to provide whatever services are necessary for the youngsters who are on the calendars, Senator. So if 

they have a need for some mental health services, then we want 

to make sure that there is a continuum of care for mental health 

services for youngsters in Rhode Island. 

We also want to make sure that we have places like Tides Family Service where they have the programs that the social workers 

go out every day to see the family. That daily response is critical 

to keeping a kid at home. 

And I can tell you candidly that about 3 or 4 years ago, I went 

out one night with one of the social workers, and we went to several of the homes here in Pawtucket. And I watched that social 

worker talk to those youngsters and get information out of them 

that no one could have gotten but for the fact that they had a special relationship. 

So I am very much a believer in the kinds of services that provide a person or persons who are specially known to these youngsters, and I would suggest very strongly that when the Act is reauthorized that everybody take a look at the programs where the kids 

see somebody, the same person or person, every single day. It 

works. I have known that there are kids that have been with Tides 

who stayed at home, who very well could have been at the Training 

School or in some other placement but for the fact that they had 

a social worker coming out every single afternoon or evening to see 

the family and to talk to them to find out what their needs are and 

to actually make sure that they are complying with whatever services have been afforded to them. 

So I feel very strongly about keeping kids at home if it is possible 

and not decimating the funding to these kinds of programs, which 

are so important. So I will leave you with that thought. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Okay. Same question, Elizabeth. 

Ms. BRYANT. I could not have said it better than she for that 

point. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Perfect. Osbert, were there particular moments or circumstances that were kind of a turning point for you 

that you look back on and think of as a time when your thinking 

changed, your point of view changed, your attitude changed? Anything you can identify that would be helpful to this discussion 

about how to get kids going in the right direction? 

Mr. DUOA. Wow, that is—— 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. Or was it more kind of a slow and steady 

process with Tides of working around? 

Mr. DUOA. I think she said it. Have Tides and the social worker 

go out there for the kids. But more likely for me it was—it was just 

like an experience. I think we need more programs and stuff. It is 

just more of an experience for certain kids. Certain kids are going 

to listen and participate with the programs and the process that we 

are trying to do. It is more they have to do it or go through it them-
25 

selves to understand that Tides is there for them or Harvest Kitchen is there for them or other programs are there for them. 

Senator WHITEHOUSE. All right. Well, let me thank everybody for 

being here. I appreciate it very much. I understand that Chief 

Tavares from East Providence has joined us, too, so thank you very 

much for joining the other chiefs who are here. 

This is an official hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and the record of it will remain open for an additional 

week, and anybody who wishes to add anything to the record is 

welcome to coordinate with my office. Lara Quint is behind me, and 

she is coordinating this, so if there is anything else you would like 

to add to the record, please feel free to do that. 

And let me again thank all of the witnesses who have shared 

their experience and their knowledge. I really think this has been 

very, very helpful, and I have known Judge Bedrosian and Elizabeth Burke Bryant for many, many years, and I am very proud of 

the service and the skill and the compassion that they bring to 

their work. 

Osbert, thank you so much for joining us, and congratulations on 

the choices that you have made. 

And, Mr. Listenbee, we thank you for coming to Rhode Island. 

As I said, you are a key player in these negotiations as they go forward, and we look forward to working very closely with you to 

drafting a bipartisan, effective JJDPA reauthorization that can 

move smoothly through the Senate. 

And, Brother Michael, again, thank you to you and Tides for 

hosting us and for all the terrific work that you do. 

Thank you all very much. The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:33 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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A P P E N D I X 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF ROBERT L. LISTENBEE
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF JUDGE HAIGANUSH R. BEDROSIAN
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH BURKE BRYANT
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PREPARED STATEMENT OF OSBERT DUOA
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