Introducing TCAP’s New Middle School Model

By: Michele Hong CFCC has been operating the Tackling Chronic Absenteeism Project (TCAP) (originally the Truancy Court Program) since 2005. In recent years, the TCAP Team has observed higher rates of engagement from our middle school students. After reviewing the data and undergoing a comprehensive strategic planning process, CFCC decided to embark on a new…

Meet Bano Syed, CFCC Fellow

Hello! My name is BI am a second-year law student (2L) at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Before law school, I earned my undergraduate degree in Marketing from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park.  During my undergraduate studies, I volunteered with the Court Appointed Special…

CFCC 2024 Symposium: “Keeping Youth in Community: Policies, Practices, and Programs to ​Promote Youth Justice,”

The CFCC’s 2024 Symposium, “Keeping Youth in Community: Policies, Practices, and Programs to ​Promote Youth Justice,” aimed to center the conversation about youth justice around data, humanity and community.  The courts have consistently affirmed that the goal of the youth justice system is rehabilitation. Reforms that advanced the rehabilitative goal have led to a long…

CFCC 2024 Symposium Blog Series: Art and Poetry Showcase

By Arion Alston Working with middle school students and young adults for the Art and Poetry Showcase was a considerably rewarding and educational experience for me. The five middle school students I had the privilege of coaching were diligent, self-directed, enthusiastic, and above all they exhibited one of the most important aspects of performance studies:…

CFCC 2024 Symposium Blog Series: The Community is the Key to Preventing Youth Legal System Involvement, CFCC Symposium 2024

On Tuesday, October 1, 2024, CFCC hosted its annual symposium, with the theme, Keeping Youth in Community: Policies, Practices, and Programs to ​Promote Youth Justice, at the University of Baltimore School of Law.  The first panel discussion, “The Community is the Key to Preventing Youth Legal System Involvement,” focused on strategies to keep youth out…

Reflections from a Volunteer TCAP Judge

By Hon. Miriam B. Hutchins, Associate Judge, District Court of Maryland, District 1, Baltimore City (Retired) and TCAP Volunteer Judge for over nine years Volunteering as a judge in the Tackling Chronic Absenteeism Project (TCAP) has been a challenging and engaging experience, one full of eye-opening interactions with students and the TCAP team. I have…