1 1 2 3 4 5 JANET RENO 6 ABA DISPUTE RESOLUTION CONFERENCE 7 HYATT REGENCY 8 CRYSTAL CITY, VIRGINIA 9 JUNE 7, 1996 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2 1 MS. RODRIGUEZ: Good afternoon, 2 ladies and gentlemen. My name is Raquel 3 Rodriguez. I'm the chairperson of the ABA 4 Young Lawyers Division. 5 It is my privilege and honor this 6 afternoon to present to you a fellow Miamian, 7 the Attorney General of the United States, who, 8 prior to becoming Attorney General in 1993, was 9 the state attorney for Dade County for many 10 years. 11 Although she was initially appointed 12 by our Governor in 1978, afterwards, she was 13 re-elected overwhelmingly five times. For 14 anyone who is familiar with our community, in 15 Dade County, you know that it is one of the 16 most politically and culturally diverse 17 communities in the country. 18 But there is always one thing we 19 could all agree on, and that was that we wanted 20 Janet Reno as our state attorney. 21 Ever since the late 1970s and early 22 '80s, Ms. Reno has been extremely consistent in 3 1 her observations of the need to start with 2 children when they are young. And I remember 3 her saying at all of these meetings, "You can't 4 wait until they're 12 years old or 14 years old 5 to start. You have to start at a young age." 6 And I'm happy to see that the rest of 7 us are now catching up with her. She is an 8 excellent role model for all of us as attorneys 9 and an excellent role model for our children. 10 Ladies and gentlemen, the Attorney 11 General. 12 (Applause) 13 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Thank you so 14 much, Raquel Rodriguez. And thank you, Judge 15 Harris and Mr. Davidson, for your great work. 16 Thank you all for your commitment to showing 17 people how we can resolve conflicts without 18 knives and guns and fists and how we can 19 problem solve working together. You are an 20 example for all lawyers. 21 And I, as Ms. Rodriguez says, have 22 had a focus on children. And I particularly 4 1 appreciate this conference and your work. 2 I'd like to put it in context, to 3 talk about where we're at, and what we're 4 talking about in terms of -- 5 (Interruptions) 6 Can you hear me now? Well, this is 7 going to be short. How's that? 8 Sometimes, we get involved in what 9 we're doing and we don't see ourselves in terms 10 of a bigger picture. Yesterday, I was in 11 Boston to focus on what Boston was doing about 12 youth violence, since they seem to have been 13 able to come together better than many cities. 14 There was a district judge who worked 15 with the local hospital. The local hospital 16 had developed a program for children who were 17 witnesses to violence, in order to teach them 18 how to cope and to address issues of conflict 19 resolution, to and address issues of how to 20 cope with conflict. 21 There was a Youth Violence Task Force 22 headed by a lieutenant who worked with street 5 1 workers in not only reaching out to enforce the 2 very serious offenders, but to work with other 3 offenders to resolve their conflicts 4 peacefully, and to pull them back from drugs 5 and gangs. 6 It was so exciting to see a community 7 start to blend together. And it made me think, 8 as I thought about what I was going to say to 9 you today, that we have to look at the context 10 that we're in. 11 We look at more and more children 12 born into families that don't know how to cope 13 from the day the child is born: A crack 14 addict, a mother who is overwhelmed, a single 15 parent struggling to make ends meet and not 16 knowing how to cope without extended family. 17 And I have never appreciated it as 18 much in understanding what infancy to 3 years 19 old means, as I have now at a distance from 20 observing my great-niece and great-nephew, ages 21 2 and 4. And when they come to visit me, or 22 when I come home for that brief visit, they 6 1 watch how conflict is resolved by a parent who 2 is with them every hour of the day if their 3 grandparents aren't there, and to see what can 4 be done from an early age. 5 But too many children in America do 6 not have that now, do not have that nurturing, 7 do not have that bonding. They just don't have 8 anything in their lives in those early years. 9 It is worth sharing with you -- and 10 some of you have heard these figures -- what 11 the child development experts in our largest 12 hospital in Miami told me. I tried to figure 13 out what to do about crack-involved infants and 14 their mothers. 15 They pointed out to me that 50 16 percent of all learned human response is 17 learned in the first year of life, that the 18 concept of reward and punishment and a 19 conscience is developed during the first three 20 years of life. 21 It is very difficult to address your 22 tasks with a 6 year-old, or a 9 year-old or a 7 1 12 year-old, if they did not have a strong 2 foundation formed in those first three years. 3 That's the reason I have been such a major 4 proponent of what I call "educare" and a major 5 proponent of the school system recognizing that 6 if we're not to put all our monies into 7 remedial programs, we have to develop 8 comprehensive educational programs for our 9 early years, if we are going to make a 10 difference. 11 So as you approach this task, you 12 can't start too young. I think we can learn a 13 lot as we learn through educare facilities, and 14 through programs where children witness 15 violence. I would urge you to go back to your 16 community and talk to police officers who form 17 safe street units, talk with the local hospital 18 and public health specialist, and see what can 19 be done to focus on youngsters who are the 20 witnesses to violence, to see if we can't make 21 difference both in dealing with the trauma of 22 the violence, and in teaching them and then the 8 1 whole family how to resolve without conflict. 2 This is particularly necessary in 3 whole area of domestic violence. Clearly, 4 violence is a learned behavior. And one of the 5 best places to learn it in America today is in 6 the home; we have watched over the years an 7 escalation of domestic violence. 8 There are monies that you may be able 9 to tap into that can make a difference in this 10 area. This past year, through the Violence 11 Against Women Act, we were able to distribute 12 $425,000 to each state. For some states, that 13 is just a drop in the bucket, but it was meant 14 as a down payment. 15 This year, we will distribute $130 16 million to all the states with each state 17 guaranteed a minimum amount. This money is to 18 be distributed through the State Criminal 19 Justice Councils in each state. But I urge you 20 to look into that, to see what could be done to 21 develop a component of domestic violence that's 22 focused on resolving the conflict that children 9 1 see and the trauma that children see, and 2 teaching the family, as a whole, how to work 3 through that violence and to move ahead with a 4 particular focus on children. 5 As we watch children grow older, 6 though, as we watch them come to school, we 7 also learn startling things. A 1992 study 8 conducted by the Carnegie Foundation determined 9 that only 60 percent of an adolescence 10 non-sleeping time is taken up by school, 11 homework, chores, meals, or employment. 12 Many adolescents spend the remaining 13 40 percent of their non-sleeping time alone or 14 with peers without adult supervision or with 15 adults who may negatively influence their 16 lives. It is no surprise, therefore, that we 17 see juvenile and conflict escalating 18 immediately after the school doors close at 19 3:00 in the afternoon. 20 The more recent Carnegie Foundation 21 reports says that children are more alone and 22 unsupervised than at any time in our history, 10 1 and more children are at a risk for so many 2 factors, whether it be drugs, alcohol, or 3 whether it be conflict itself. 4 How do we develop programs that can 5 focus on these kids? I urge you to link with 6 youth services authorities and with schools in 7 terms of developing programs that can focus on 8 those children in after-hours programs. If the 9 school doesn't have it, find out what we can do 10 in terms of teaching conflict resolution, in 11 terms of mediating disputes, in terms of 12 working out neighborhood problems, in those 13 after-hour times. It becomes increasingly 14 critical if we are to address the problem as a 15 whole. 16 But what I urge you to do is to look 17 at the whole picture. What has troubled me so 18 often in these last years, as I've grappled 19 with the issue of children, is that somebody 20 will develop a perfectly wonderful program over 21 here. They will have thought it out. They 22 will develop it. They will implement it. It 11 1 will be well thought out, but then there won't 2 be anything else to go with it. 3 There won't be other afternoon 4 programs. There won't be positive activities. 5 You will teach them to resolve conflict. But 6 then they go out and they're alone, they are 7 unsupervised, and your work goes for naught. 8 Or perhaps there will not be a 9 truancy prevention program that gets them back 10 into school, or there will be substandard 11 housing, or there will be a drug problem in the 12 family that can't be addressed. We need to 13 look at the whole picture. 14 And as you return to your 15 communities, I would urge you to figure out how 16 your community can reweave the fabric of 17 society around all our children in a 18 comprehensive way, with the schools, the 19 police. The police functioning both from the 20 law enforcement prospective, as well as from 21 the prevention perspective. Parks and 22 recreation specialists can be wonderful allies 12 1 in your endeavors. The business sector can be 2 a marvelous ally. 3 One of the complaints that I get from 4 the business sector, for example, when they 5 talk to me about giving young people job 6 opportunities is, "Janet, they don't know how 7 to get to work on time. When they get to work, 8 they don't know how to take instruction, and 9 when they get frustrated, they act out, and 10 they get mad at everybody, and they don't know 11 how to work with others." 12 This is a wonderful setting to 13 demonstrate what we can do in terms of 14 problem-solving and conflict resolution in that 15 type of setting. 16 And for example, yesterday in Boston, 17 I was told of a program that John Hancock had 18 developed with the Boston Police Department 19 that provided for a summer of opportunity. 20 Young people who had been in a program, 21 supervised by community police officers and by 22 probation officers, developed the idea that 13 1 these children needed job opportunities as 2 well. 3 But they didn't need just job 4 opportunities, they needed life skills to 5 prepare them for job opportunities. So for six 6 weeks, children were brought to the John 7 Hancock Program, given these life skills, and 8 taught how to interview. And just think what 9 could happen if we had a conflict resolution 10 and a mediation component to that, and what we 11 could teach children to do in terms of 12 preparing them for job opportunities. 13 Then they take those skills that have 14 been developed during the summer program, and 15 provide an internship for the remainder of the 16 school that follows from October through May, 17 in a program that works from about 3:30 in the 18 afternoon until 7:00 at night. 19 Again, if we look at our work in the 20 context of the whole, we can make it ever so 21 much more effective. 22 President Clinton has made a 14 1 commitment to put 100,000 community police 2 officers on the streets of America. We have 3 17,000 on the streets now; 43,000 are 4 authorized. And it so exciting to travel this 5 nation and to see the difference that these 6 police officers are making. 7 What if you came to those police 8 officers and said, "We would like to work with 9 you. In developing skills, you can teach us 10 something about policing, and how we may be 11 supportive of you. And we can teach you 12 something about how to work with children in 13 helping them resolve their conflicts peacefully 14 instead of getting into gang fights"? 15 I urge you to contact your local 16 police department and see if they have a 17 community policing component or a DARE 18 component where you could provide extraordinary 19 benefits based on your knowledge and your 20 experience. There is so much that can be done 21 if we look at the problem as a whole. 22 But even then people are telling me, 15 1 "It just won't work. It's too big. My one 2 program can't make a difference." I have now 3 had the opportunity to travel across the 4 country, to listen to the concerns of young 5 people, to talk to people about what's working 6 and not working. And I can tell you that what 7 you do is making a difference. And I see it 8 happening. 9 I have never felt so encouraged. I 10 have never felt so sure that we could turn the 11 problem of youth violence around and that we 12 could give our children a future as I have 13 during these last six months. 14 As I have seen community after 15 community come together, trying to fit all the 16 pieces of the puzzle together in a whole that 17 can truly make a difference. 18 But I've heard of specific programs 19 that are working, where those that have been 20 the beneficiary and those who have watched the 21 program in action tell me it is making a 22 difference. 16 1 For example, young people in the "We 2 Can Work It Out School Program," developed by 3 the National Institute for Citizen Education 4 and the Law and the National Crime Prevention 5 Council, are making a difference. 6 Because of their peer mediation 7 program, they have reduced school suspensions, 8 detention, and expulsion. They've decreased 9 the need for teacher involvement in student 10 conflicts. And they have improved the climate 11 in the school. 12 The New Haven Child Development 13 Policing Program is another example of 14 community policing working, with real experts 15 in the area. These officers are working with 16 children and their families to prevent the 17 violence in the first place. 18 In Miami, I listened to a public 19 health nurse tell me that, 30 years ago, she 20 used to go knock on the lady's door, the lady 21 would invite her in for a cup of coffee, and 22 she would tell this brand new mother about 17 1 infant feeding, about formulas, about nurturing 2 and bonding, as they sat around the breakfast 3 table. 4 She said, "I'm afraid to go anymore." 5 And it gave me the idea, why don't I develop a 6 team of a community police officer, a public 7 health nurse, and a youth counselor, who can 8 make the home visit together to find out why 9 the child might be truant, or what problems 10 might have developed, or has what caused the 11 conflict? That was very successful as I was 12 leaving, despite Hurricane Andrew. 13 But the major conflict that had 14 developed, and where they so needed help in 15 that particular context, was they were getting 16 calls from the mother of the teenager. And the 17 conflict existed between mother and son, and 18 they didn't know how to resolve it. 19 Again, your work could become such a 20 marvelous component of what so many people face 21 in these communities. 22 Similarly, Big Brothers and Big 18 1 Sisters are giving youth at risk someone to 2 talk to and guide them into adulthood. This 3 program has made young people less likely to 4 start using drugs and alcohol, less likely to 5 hit someone, improved their school attendance 6 and performance, and improved their peer and 7 family relationships. 8 There are programs that are working. 9 And we are trying to build on that through the 10 National Juvenile Justice Action Plan, in which 11 we have tried to describe the threads that are 12 necessary to pull all of this together. 13 One of our objectives is to provide 14 opportunities for young people to engage in 15 positive activities, to make sure that there is 16 someplace to go to and someone to talk to. We 17 can, again, make a difference, if there's a 18 mentor. But if you teach that mentor and if 19 you develop, with a mentoring program in your 20 community, the skills that you possess, you can 21 enhance that mentor's ability to help that 22 child cope with growing up. 19 1 Just last week, I participated in 2 what I thought was one of the great examples of 3 new technology and what it can do. The Office 4 of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 5 sponsored a national satellite teleconference 6 on conflict resolution programming and school, 7 community, and juvenile justice settings. 8 This satellite teleconference 9 provided information to over 485 sites and 10 approximately 10,000 participants on conflict 11 resolution programs that have reduced the 12 number of violent juvenile acts in schools, 13 homes and neighborhoods, decreased the number 14 of chronic school absences, reduced the number 15 of disciplinary referrals and the suspensions, 16 and increased academic instruction during the 17 school day. 18 I was on the hook-up for a bit by 19 telephone. And it was so interesting to hear 20 from people around the country who had either 21 started or wanted information on how to get 22 conflict resolution and peer mediation programs 20 1 started. 2 For those who had started, they were 3 so encouraged. But they were already branching 4 out to other parts of the community, what can I 5 do to get this student back into the mainstream 6 of education? What can I do about truancy 7 prevention? What can I do to teach somebody 8 about job skills? 9 And you realize that when we talk 10 about these issues, we've got to look at the 11 problem as a whole, and we've got to teach that 12 child problem-solving skills. 13 It is exciting, though, to see how 14 people are relating together, to see the ABA 15 and the AMA come together to talk about what we 16 can do in the area of youth violence, what we 17 can do in the area of domestic violence, and to 18 see so many people focused on this issue and 19 willing to make a difference. 20 One of the areas that I urge you to 21 concentrate on is developing evaluation 22 techniques that can ensure that what you're 21 1 doing is in the right direction. I've seen 2 some conflict resolution programs just kind of 3 develop like out of whole cloth, without too 4 many people giving too much thought to what the 5 best way to do it is. 6 Set yourselves some standards, 7 understand research that is being done in the 8 area, find out what other programs are doing, 9 and see if you are truly making a difference. 10 And if you are, then share. Share with others 11 because that is we are really building, I 12 think, success in this country. 13 But there's still going to be 14 children and trouble. They're still going to 15 be children who hurt each other. 16 One of the most tragic programs that 17 I saw developed -- and I have been told that it 18 is no longer -- but one area that I ask you to 19 focus on is in the older children who are 20 victims of violence. 21 I went to a hospital, while I was in 22 Washington, to an emergency room where there 22 1 was a high incidence of youth violence victims, 2 and they were mostly teenagers. Those victims 3 were going to be perpetrators in another three 4 to four weeks, when they got out of the 5 hospital and got mad with each other and went 6 back and sought retribution. 7 This is a perfect place to intervene, 8 if we could develop with doctors, with nurses, 9 with schools, a comprehensive intervention 10 program for victims. 11 I just cannot tell you how much I 12 admire what you do. I want to be as supportive 13 as I can. One of the things I never liked was 14 for the federal government to come to town, to 15 tell me what to do without asking me in the 16 first place what our ideas were, because we 17 understood our needs and resources far better 18 than the federal government did. 19 I'd like to take this time to answer 20 any questions you might have but, more 21 importantly, to hear from you who are on the 22 front line, what we might do in the Department 23 1 of Justice to better support your efforts both 2 in this area and in any other area that you 3 might think of. 4 I come away with a great wealth of 5 information that I think has helped shape much 6 of what the Department is doing. And I would 7 be very greatful for your answer to this 8 question, If you were the Attorney General of 9 the United States, what would you do to 10 improve -- 11 (Laughter) 12 -- conflict resolution amongst 13 children, and address the issue of children as 14 a whole? Now, don't be shy. 15 (Laughter) 16 I always wanted this opportunity with 17 an Attorney General. 18 (Laughter) 19 PARTICIPANT: Would you tell us how 20 the ABA can get involved in the consortion that 21 other (inaudible) around the issue of conflict 22 resolution in the schools? 24 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Just tell me 2 who to have to call tomorrow. 3 PARTICIPANT: Jack Hanna. He's the 4 staff representative on dispute. 5 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Jack, you'll 6 give me your number, before I leave. 7 MR. HANNA: Oh, yes. 8 (Laughter) 9 PARTICIPANT: It seems like we're 10 repeating that question from this morning, but 11 much of what I do is in frustration in dealing 12 with kids. Some of their basic need aren't 13 met. And we create programs, and put money 14 into it, and we don't do things like get them 15 clothing, get them food, and get them more 16 child care. 17 And I think we structure programs 18 around professionals more than we do around 19 needs of the kids. I guess the question is, 20 how can you, on a federal level, break down in 21 the perception that poor kids are undeserving? 22 We're fighting ten years of rhetoric 25 1 from President Reagan about the undeserving 2 welfare mother and, now, the undeserving 3 neglected child. It's an oxymoron. The child 4 is in the dependency system. The child is 5 dependent on us. 6 And I think the federal government 7 needs to do something to say it's okay to 8 support kids. Give them the help that they 9 need, including food, clothing, shelter, and 10 direct services. 11 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Here is the 12 message that I have conveyed from the time I 13 took office to a major businessman's council, 14 and even last night, to the Hartford Downtown 15 Business Council. 16 The first way I sell the idea that we 17 have got to make an investment in children is 18 to talk about how the doctors took me to our 19 public hospital, to look at the crack-involved 20 infants, and taught me about how much is 21 learned in the first three years of life. 22 And my response was "What good are 26 1 all the prisons going to be 15 years from now 2 if the child doesn't understand the concept of 3 punishment and hasn't developed a conscience?" 4 And then I say to them, "if you live 5 behind a stone wall in a gated community and 6 you don't think crime is a problem, what good 7 -- you are not going to have a work force in 8 15, in 20 years, even in 5 years if we don't 9 make an investment in children, in the whole 10 child, and develop in these children the skills 11 necessary to fill the jobs to maintain America 12 as a first-rate nation. 13 Then I ran into senior citizens who 14 used to say, "Janet, you're a nice girl, and I 15 know you like children --" 16 (Laughter) 17 "-- but I've done my part. I've sent 18 my sons to college. I sent my grandsons to 19 college. I've even helped with my 20 great-grandsons. I don't want to be bothered 21 anymore." 22 (Laughter) 27 1 And my response to them is, "Our 2 pensions are not going to be worth the paper 3 they're written on if we don't make an 4 investment in a workforce that can fuel the 5 economy and that can maintain those pensions." 6 Then I get some doctors that say, 7 "I've got a middle-class practice. I don't 8 have to worry about it." And I say, "Health 9 care institutions will be brought to their 10 knees unless we make an investment in 11 preventative medical care and a life that can 12 give a child a chance to grow in a strong and 13 healthy way." 14 And it is fascinating to me. It was 15 fascinating last night, with an audience 16 composed primarily of businessmen. They 17 understand this. 18 We've got to make that message heard 19 loud and clear here. They laughed at me when I 20 first took office, but nobody has called me a 21 social worker recently. And I think more and 22 more people are beginning to understand. But 28 1 we still have a long way to go, and the 2 requires that all of us speak out. 3 But I think what you put your finger 4 on, what the problem is, and that's the reason 5 I talked earlier about the need for a 6 comprehensive approach, and that your conflict 7 resolution program and other children advocacy 8 issues won't make any difference if there are 9 other essentials in that child's life that are 10 omitted. 11 Each community is going to be 12 different because there may be a private, 13 not-for-profit that performs a function in one 14 community but not in another. And one of the 15 ways that I see is just demonstrating to people 16 how cost-effective it is to make an investment 17 early on in children, whether it be clothes, or 18 housing, or conflict resolution, or educare, or 19 afternoon and evening programs. And the money 20 we eventually save shows the the necessity for 21 developing that comprehensive approach. 22 That's what impressed me so much 29 1 about Boston and what Boston is doing. It 2 still has a way to go, but it is the most 3 comprehensive approach that I have seen. And 4 what they have done with the Justice's 5 Department money, for its comprehensive 6 community program, is take that and develop a 7 youth services network in which a number of 8 different agencies are involved. 9 And the community policy officers are 10 linked into that network. If they find a child 11 adrift, in need of a particular service, they 12 know where to call and what to do. There's a 13 case management component built into it. My 14 question was, "The police call. How do we know 15 the child doesn't fall between the crack of the 16 17 or 18 different service agencies"? 17 We follow up and we have a case 18 manager that follows up with community programs 19 to see that it's happening. It's not perfect. 20 But the more that we can focus on 21 neighborhoods, on particular communities as 22 parts of cities, the greater difference that we 30 1 can make. 2 I'd like the Bar Association, too, to 3 consider a concept that I think is going to 4 become an almost everyday concept, and that's 5 community-based justice, particularly for areas 6 that have a high incidence of delinquency and 7 abuse, a high incidence of domestic violence, 8 and have a judge, a community prosecutor, 9 community probation officers, community police 10 officers linked with businesses in the 11 community to provide these services and to 12 ensure, both in a court setting and in 13 community initiatives, that these services are 14 provided. 15 There is so much that we can do. 16 It's not going to happen overnight. But the 17 difference that exists between now and three 18 and a half years ago, in this nation, is enough 19 to give me great encouragement that it will 20 happen. 21 You're going to have to continue to 22 speak out loud and long. And the best way to 31 1 get people to invest is to show them that 2 they're going to have a great return on their 3 investment if they do it now, and a lousy 4 return if they wait until the crisis occurs. 5 PARTICIPANT: First of all, thank you 6 for the question. I appreciate it. 7 I'm with a group in San Francisco. 8 We've always done parent-child abuse. But 9 recently, we've been working with parents and 10 children, with youth who have been involved 11 with problems that have gotten them into 12 juvenile hall, perhaps arrested, perhaps in 13 coming out of the county juvenile facility. 14 It's a wonderful time to get the 15 attention of a family and talk about what's 16 going to happen next. 17 So, again, it goes to tying in 18 conflict resolution, and support to the family 19 as the family -- the young person, particularly 20 -- is coming out of a situation. 21 The other thing is a that lot of work 22 is done in conflict resolution with youth is 32 1 sort of youth-directed. There's a real 2 different mix directed towards single or 3 smaller groups. There's a possibility to 4 combine youth organizing and conflict 5 resolution in our families. 6 We're really beginning to help youth 7 organize around their own issues, and come to 8 grips, and negotiating with others, including 9 adults, for their own needs which is real 10 interesting. I know they call it "violence 11 prevention." I think that word is overused a 12 bit. You could say "conflict resolution" in 13 the same sentence. 14 Well, we want to respectfully ask 15 what you think should be done. And we've used 16 community mediations before, but it makes 17 mediation very broad if you simply say to us 18 make agreements. 19 My question is, we're also working on 20 community policing. I've been looking to find 21 out where does one go, perhaps, to the federal 22 government courts in this area in tying 33 1 together community policing and community 2 conflict resolution. I don't see where you can 3 go, or where there's funding for it. 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Let me get 5 our card and see what we can do in terms of 6 tying -- a year ago, I could have told you 7 where to go. 8 (Laughter) 9 Congress changed it a little bit. 10 But there's going to be some block grant money 11 coming that's available to local police 12 agencies. And let me get you -- the parameters 13 of that have not been precisely defined yet. 14 We're trying to work through the issues because 15 it's just part of the appropriations bill 16 that's passed. 17 If you have a county, and then 26 18 different municipalities in the county, how 19 does the money get down? Does it have to have 20 county agreement? We're working out the 21 regulations. 22 But that can be used for crime 34 1 prevention. And I think you would find a 2 number of police agencies that would be anxious 3 to participate. 4 But let me find other dollar sources 5 to link you with community policing, and the 6 conflict resolution area. 7 I think, on the community 8 organization or youth organization issue, you 9 have come to a critical point. 10 If the children are as alone and as 11 isolated as the Carnegie Foundation suggests, 12 they are gravitating towards the only people 13 that they're around, which are their peers. 14 And the peers or adults that are 15 oftentimes pulling them are pulling into gangs. 16 And it is very disconcerting, for example, to 17 see the enticement of the gang, see them form 18 gangs because they don't think -- the gang 19 leaders who are adults don't think anything is 20 going to happen to the juvenile, and they just 21 throw the juvenile -- the juvenile is a throw 22 away. 35 1 If we can use all the techniques that 2 are at our disposal and develop organization 3 for kids that is positive, then we've come a 4 long way. And to make that positive, we've got 5 to teach them to work together in a 6 constructive way for other goals, other than 7 just the feeling of belonging to the only 8 organization that's around. 9 Yes? 10 PARTICIPANT: I was just wondering 11 how we stop the loss that is already working in 12 the system. All the money is just going away. 13 Any federal funds that are available, it seems 14 that there are all kinds of strings, whereas 15 non-profit organizations who aren't tied to the 16 state cannot reach this money. I just wanted 17 to know what you thought about that. 18 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Well, I think 19 it depends on the state, and I think that's one 20 of the frustrations with block grants. For 21 example, with the COPS program, I can shape 22 that and work with police agencies and make 36 1 sure that money gets out the right way because 2 I'm responsible for getting it out to the 3 agency that's going to use it. And we have 4 some discretionary monies. 5 Other states have marvelous plans and 6 I think distribute their money in a fairly 7 decent way. If you can afterwards give me the 8 name of the state, I'll try to follow up with 9 you, and give you some suggestions. 10 PARTICIPANT: In answer to your 11 question, I think it would be beneficial if 12 there were legislation coming out of the 13 Justice Department that said to local 14 governments and the state government, "We're 15 not going to give you any more money. The 16 juvenile detention system leads to jail or to 17 prisons." Until you show that you have tried 18 this resolution and the option of -- 19 (Applause) 20 PARTICIPANT: The point is that jails 21 and prisons are being filled not because we 22 need to put away a good kid who might do a bad 37 1 act, but because it's big business. And we 2 need to face that reality. We need to 3 challenge it even if it's unpopular. 4 And we need to say to localities, "If 5 you tell us that you've tried all things, and 6 you still need jails and prisons, we'll help 7 you. But we would rather give you money for 8 alternative programs and correctional options 9 for treating violence and abuse." 10 It is a community problem. And the 11 problem is, if we build more jails and more 12 prisons, the same localities will fill them. 13 And we can't afford to be locking our youth 14 anymore. 15 (Applause) 16 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: The Congress 17 has foreseen that because there is a prison 18 grant program that does not provide for such 19 strings. And what we're trying to do is, 20 through our community policing initiative and 21 through what monies we can get into prevention, 22 try to do everything we can at the earliest 38 1 stage as possible to teach these issues. 2 PARTICIPANT: The Juvenile Justice 3 and Delinquency Prevention Act is up for 4 reauthorization this year. It provided some 5 important federal standards in terms of the 6 institutionalizing of the status offenders, 7 from moving children from jail and keeping them 8 separate from adult prisoners. 9 What is the administration and 10 Justice Department doing, and how can we all 11 help so that we retain the emphasis on 12 prevention and on some the issues that this 13 woman raised, rather than focusing on youth 14 predators, and rather than moving toward a 15 system that does not adequately deal with the 16 issues you raised earlier? 17 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: I think we 18 have all got to work together in these days 19 because Senator Thompson and Senator Biden are 20 working on this area. 21 Our position is that we have reached 22 out to advocates, we've reached out to 39 1 community groups to hear how the Act might be 2 finetuned and improved, and we have made 3 recommendations. And we will continue to work 4 with Senator Biden and Senator Thompson to 5 ensure that the best parts of the Act are 6 carried forward. 7 PARTICIPANT: Nancy Palmer from 8 Florida. 9 A lot of the focus here appears to be 10 on the juvenile and so forth. And I just hope 11 as you travel, you will remind people that we 12 find that a lot of these problems, as far as 13 high school dropouts and so forth, relate to 14 the decisions by adults such as the board. 15 And it's very important that we teach 16 children communication and conflict resolution 17 in terms of their male/female relationships 18 from a very young age, so that at some point, 19 we can preserve our families. 20 Since there areso many problems as 21 people marry, divorce, remarry, and so forth, 22 that the children become the people that lose 40 1 in that situation. So I hope we won't focus 2 just on the children, but on the adults that 3 make decisions that impact their kids. 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Well, that's 5 the reason I suggested that you look at it from 6 a comprehensive point of view, as opposed to 7 just a focus on the child. If violence is a 8 learned behavior, it's going to be learned in 9 the home, as probably the first place. And 10 that's the reason it is so important to focus 11 on what you might do with those violences 12 against them with monies that will be coming to 13 the state this year. 14 Yes, sir. 15 PARTICIPANT: One of the problems 16 that we're facing is that -- the enormous 17 amount of volunteerism and a lack of true 18 involvement in the community really makes a 19 difference, and some of the questions designed 20 around the lack of incentives for that. 21 Perhaps the Attorney General might 22 drop a word to the President that we could have 41 1 a tax break for voluntary work. 2 (Laughter) 3 PARTICIPANT: There are certain kinds 4 of activities of individuals that were donated, 5 in terms of time. 6 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: My sense is 7 that before the tax breaks -- because that's 8 going to mean less money for the programs that 9 you want -- I find that there is a tremendous 10 spirit of volunteerism, but people don't know 11 how to do it. 12 We're grappling with that in the 13 Department of Justice because I've announced a 14 pro bono policy that suggests 50 hours of pro 15 bono services and aspirational goals. 16 They want to do it. And I have been 17 to orientation programs with young lawyers in 18 the Department, who want very much to 19 participate. But how can they? For example, 20 in Washington, if they are not a member of the 21 D.C. Bar, what can they do as an alternative? 22 Where can they go? What kind of work they do? 42 1 What type of conflict might they have with the 2 Department of Justice? What type of case are 3 they going to handle? 4 The more we can spell that out and do 5 it in the right way, and make it easy for them, 6 and make them feel comfortable in their 7 volunteering, I think the more we can support 8 that effort. 9 I will pass your suggestion along to 10 the President, but I would like to concentrate 11 on how we can make volunteerism easy for 12 people. 13 In Miami, for example, we have a 14 significant elderly population in the 15 northeastern condominiums. They would love to 16 volunteer, but they are hampered because of 17 transportation difficulties. Let's think about 18 some of those problems. 19 This question, then I'm going to have 20 to leave. 21 PARTICIPANT: Your theory is a 22 primary example of individual achievements. 43 1 And it's needed to set examples. And I 2 personally commend you. 3 (Applause) 4 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: It's not me. 5 There are just some very wonderful people 6 involved. And one of the reasons I have to 7 leave is to get back to call them, to tell them 8 what a wonderful job they're doing. 9 (Laughter) 10 PARTICIPANT: Although there may not 11 be funding times, I think, as Attorney General, 12 you could make it clear that there are not bad 13 children out there. They are children, and the 14 distinction between delinquency and dependency 15 is a very dangerous and a harmful distinction 16 we make through our entire system. 17 Children need rehabilitation support. 18 They are dependent on us. And if they don't 19 have a family to rely on, they need to rely on 20 all of us. And that is a message that you as 21 Attorney General can provide, even if we can't 22 necessarily find funding. 44 1 ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO: Well, that's 2 the message that I have tried to convey since I 3 took office when I was state attorney in Miami, 4 and I will continue to try to convey that it 5 begins when a parent conceives. I mean, just 6 in terms of ensuring prenatal care, and 7 ensuring preventative medical care, ensuring 8 child care that's educational and thoughtful 9 and sharing afternoon and evening programs in 10 the most nurturing family possible. And that's 11 the message I will continue to convey. 12 But I want to thank you all for the 13 wonderful work you do. And just know, you are 14 making a difference. 15 (Applause) 16 * * * * * 17 18 19 20 21 22