Some juvenile court judges feel left out of reforms | www.myajc.com

Repairing Georgia’s juvenile justice system will be a lot rougher than expected.

Some judges interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution applauded the concept behind changes the Legislature passed this year. But they’re confused about the rules and anxious about losing detention as a threat for the kids who simply refuse to cooperate. And they don’t have the money.

“A lot of that is unplowed ground so I’m not sure who is in charge of running the ship,” said Judge Benjamin Brinson, one of three part-time judges assigned to the six-county Atlantic Circuit in southeast Georgia.

The goal of the overhaul, to take effect Jan. 1, is to address home lives or addictions that are at the root of a juvenile’s problems with the law and lock up only the most dangerous.

The idea is to “catch the kids and get these services in place way before they are standing in front of the judge” with a felony charge, said Joe Vignati, administrator of the justice division of the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. The key is to use assessments that will help identify the kids who can be saved as well as those who are unlikely to be saved.

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