Developed in July of 2004, the Fulton County Juvenile_Court’s Educational Advocacy Initiative is a three-pronged intervention that intervenes with youth at the judicial and community levels, while executing policy change at the local and state levels to benefit youth with diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities.

Based on National Center on Education Disability and Juvenile Justice data, between 30% and 70% of youth in the corrections system have a special education disability. There has long been speculation that youth with disabilities have a propensity towards Juvenile_Court involvement (Rutherford, et. al., 2002). A majority of these students come from economically depressed backgrounds, are predominantly Black, Latino, Native American and poor, and have significant behavioral and learning problems (Quinn, Rutherford, Leone, Osher, & Poirer, 2004; Lyons, Baerger, Quigley, Erlich & Griffin, 2001). Researchers have identified school failure as a strong predictive factor of juvenile delinquency and eventual contact with adult prison systems. Therefore, an educational intervention is critical if one seeks to stem the flow of students from schoolhouses to jailhouses (Chrsitle, Jolivette & Nelson, 2005; Schroeder, Giun, Chaisson & Houchins, 2004).

As of March 16, 2007, the Office of the Education Advocate has served 837 youth with disabilities or other educational concerns. The educational advocacy program has received numerous awards and recognition from national educational policy experts including the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. Numerous court jurisdictions from New Mexico to New Jersey have requested information about the Educational Advocacy Program for the purposes of replicating this program in their jurisdiction. The Cook County Juvenile_Court in Chicago Illinois has successfully adopted the Educational Advocacy Initiative into the daily operation of their Juvenile_Court.

For more information on this successful Juvenile_Court innovation, please contact: