The Central Juvenile Defender Center is one of the nine Regional Centers of the National Juvenile Defender Center. The Center focuses on juvenile law issues in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Center coordinates regional activities, including helping to compile and analyze juvenile indigent defense data, facilitating organizing and networking opportunities for juvenile defenders, offering targeted, state-based training and technical assistance, and providing case support specifically designed for complex or high profile cases. The Central Juvenile Defender Center is based at the Children's Law Center, Inc., in Covington, Kentucky.
For more information about the activities of any Regional Center or to join its network, please visit the National Juvenile Defender Center website for more information: http://www.njdc.info/regional_centers.php.
To join the email listserv for the Central region, please sign up on the National Juvenile Defender Center listserv page.
NJDC Mission and Vision Statement
To ensure excellence in juvenile defense and promote justice for all children.
We believe that:
- All children in the justice system must have ready and timely access to capable, well-resourced, well-trained legal counsel;
- All children are entitled to legal representation that is: individualized; developmentally and age appropriate; and free of racial, ethnic, gender, social, and economic bias;
- All children have strengths and the potential to become productive members of society and each has the right to constitutional and statutory protections;
- The juvenile defense bar must build its capacity, develop leadership and demonstrate a commitment to professionalism;
- The juvenile defense bar must promote accountability and bring about reform in the juvenile justice system;
- The juvenile defense bar's role in the justice system will be advanced through collaboration and partnership; and
- The juvenile defense system will be enhanced by greater community involvement.
The National Juvenile Defender Center works to create an environment in which:
- Children are treated with respect, dignity and fairness;
- Juvenile courts are knowledgeable, sensitive and responsive to the needs of children;
- Excellence is routine in juvenile defense;
- Juvenile defenders have the capacity to fully protect children's rights, including adequate resources and compensation, manageable caseloads, and sufficient access to investigation, expert and other ancillary and administrative support;
- Juvenile defenders have resources and pay parity with juvenile prosecutors; and
- The representation of children is specialized and adequate opportunities exist for juvenile defenders to fully exercise and enhance their legal, political, organizational, research and advocacy skills.
