WHEREAS, North Carolina's juvenile justice system provides public safety intervention for all children and youth who are alleged or found to have committed an undisciplined or delinquent offense in the state of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, the Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, within the Department of Public Safety, is committed to reduce and prevent juvenile delinquency by intervening, educating, and treating youth, strengthening families and increasing public safety; and
WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Strategy of North Carolina's juvenile justice system allows for graduated therapeutic responses based on a youth's seriousness of risk, behavior, or crime, including history of offending, and his or her family or support systems within the local community; and
WHEREAS, Juvenile Justice staff and community partners endeavor to continuously improve the operations and structure of services to provide optimal service delivery to North Carolina’s youth and families while improving public safety by requiring strong, effective partnerships in local jurisdictions to serve children and adolescents in their communities rather than in institutions as soon as delinquent behavior occurs; and
WHEREAS, juvenile justice staff provide many services to youth and families; including courtroom and case management services, risk and needs assessment, referral to community programming, operation of secure detention and commitment centers, medical, clinical and mental health services, educational, vocational and life skills development; and
WHEREAS, the dedication and hard work, especially during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, of these nearly 1,400 full-time Juvenile Justice professionals and community partners aided in decreasing the juvenile crime rate in North Carolina to 12.05 per every 1,000 children under age 16, which is by far the lowest recorded rate since tracking juvenile data began in North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, on December 1, 2019, lawmakers raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction for nonviolent crimes to age 18, and began serving this new population of young people in North Carolina's juvenile justice system; and
WHEREAS, the state of North Carolina recognizes Juvenile Justice Week to encourage public understanding of our juvenile justice system, and to commend the Juvenile Justice Section of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, law enforcement partners, advocacy organizations, and all who work with children and adolescents in our juvenile justice system and their families, crime victims, and communities;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim October 17-23, 2021, as “JUVENILE JUSTICE WEEK” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.