April 2023 Hot Topic — Future of Juvenile Justice in Nashville
Speaker: Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews, Jr. and Judge Sheila Calloway, his self-proclaimed “Partner in Justice.”
The speakers focused on shifting the culture of the juvenile court systems and operations to prepare for the opening of the Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment. Juvenile Court is responsible for making sure that every child and parent who passes through our court is met with justice, fairness, and hope. Williams provided data and commentary on the reduction in youth intersections with law enforcement and the courts and a detailed overview of the new development project and goals for continued reduction in harms.
As described by Tennessee Code Annotated Section 37-1-101, the purpose of juvenile court is: “To provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental and physical development of the children coming within its provisions.” Clerk Matthews and Judge Calloway go further to note that their roles at the Juvenile Court are responsible for making sure that every child and parent who passes through the court is met with justice, fairness, and hope.
The current Juvenile Justice Center, located on Woodland Street opened in 1994 with just 4 judicial officers, one elected juvenile court judge and three appointed juvenile court magistrates. Today, it houses 10 judicial officers, one elected juvenile court judge and 9 appointed juvenile court magistrates. The Juvenile court handles petitions to cover custody, visitation, establishing parentage, child support, guardianship, child abuse, neglect, dependency, delinquency, unruly and other juvenile related issues. In addition, the pre-trial housing facility houses an average of 35-40 justice-involved youth daily. Clerk Matthews noted that two-thirds of the court’s business is devoted to family-conflict issues while one-third of the cases involve delinquency, unruliness or status offenses. Contrary to public perception, juvenile delinquency has decreased from 4745 cases in 2013 to 1921 cases in 2021 and can be partly attributed to the de-incarceration strategy of providing treatment, training and rehabilitation over criminalization.
The new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment (“NYCE Campus”) on Brick Church Pike will be “a family-oriented, trauma-informed campus designed to support the intrinsic value of all members of our community. In addition to serving as the home of the Davidson County Juvenile Court and a pre-trial housing facility for justice-involved youth, the NYCE Campus will house resources and agencies that can provide immediate service delivery to families in need. A 24-hour Assessment Center will support youth in crisis, while maintaining the safety of the community. Spacious meeting rooms and courtrooms will allow Court staff, community partners, litigants, and attorneys to conduct private meetings and mediations to peacefully resolve family conflicts with dignity and respect. A safe exchange facility will allow for therapeutic custodial visitation to help strengthen families and build resilience in children. In short, the NYCE Campus will provide a center of growth, opportunity, and empowerment for young people in our community from birth through adulthood.”
The 14-acre site was chosen based on its proximity to additional resources for children and families, easy access for attorneys and other court partners, accessibility to public transportation, adequate space for free parking for staff and the public.
View and read the entire master plan document at this link: Nashville Juvenile Justice Center Master Plan.