About the Coalition

JUSTGeorgia is a statewide juvenile justice coalition created in 2006.  Its purpose is to advocate for change to Georgia’s juvenile code and the underlying social service systems to better serve Georgia’s children and promote safer communities.  

 

The lead partners that formed JUSTGeorgia are Georgia Appleseed, The Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic of the Emory University School of Law, and Voices for Georgia's Children. Their efforts were launched by philanthropic funding.

 

The primary goal of JUSTGeorgia  is to create a long term coalition that will advocate, monitor, and report on the conditions, laws, and policies that affect the justice and safety of Georgia's young people.

 

 

Our two core objectives are:

 

1) To work for the passage of a new Juvenile Code that reflects best practices and the latest research and scientific findings in the child and adolescent brain development field; and

 

2) To identify and change policies in Georgia's underlying social services system that can prevent detention and sustain healthy behaviors outside the juvenile justice system.