Board of Governors Meeting

The Tow Youth Justice Institute research team had the opportunity to present at the Board of Governors Meeting on February 3rd in the Bergami Center for Science, Technology, and Innovation. The Board of Governors Meeting hosted students from the University of New Haven to present on current work in their area of study.

Past and present TYJI Research Team Members, Jessica Morgan, Sudeshna Das, Nicole Kessler, Paul Klee, and Samantha Tosto presented on the topic: Keeping Kids in School: Youth, Education, and Justice. This presentation was advised by Dr. Danielle Cooper, director of research at the Tow Youth Justice Institute. Members of the Research Team spoke about their research interests on various juvenile justice topics such as suspension and expulsion, truancy and chronic absence, diversion, racial and ethnic disparity, and police-community relations.

The students engaged the board of governors through a trivia game related to juvenile justice in Connecticut. In doing so, they spoke on specific things they have worked on during their time on the research team. For instance, Jessica Morgan spoke to the board of governors about her experience conducting focus groups with key stakeholders in the educational field. Sudeshna Das spoke on her experience creating univariate and bivariate analyses of statewide truancy trends.

Furthermore, Samantha Tosto is working towards publishing findings from the Juvenile Review Board, an agency dedicated to serving at-risk youths across the state of Connecticut. Paul Klee spoke on his time designing and conducting an evaluation and assessment for the CT Institute for Youth & Police Relations. Lastly, Nicole Kessler talked about her involvement with the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversite Committee, a committee devoted to the continuous juvenile justice reform efforts in Connecticut.

It was a great opportunity for the TYJI Research Team to speak with the University of New Haven Board of Governors because students were able to inform members about the work that the TYJI is involved in. The presenters were able to engage in conversation about the importance of youth justice and its relation to the TYJI and the state of Connecticut. In doing so, the members of the board got a glimpse of some of the great work going on at TYJI at the University of New Haven.