About the Junior Defender Program
The Junior Defender Program coordinates with school administrators to reach out to students in neighborhoods that have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. The program provides these students with a foundational understanding of the youth justice system in Philadelphia.
We work alongside middle and high school students to develop age-appropriate and culturally responsive teaching materials that will improve our young clients’ understanding of youth justice system and court-ordered obligations.
The goal of the program is to reduce the impact of the school-to-prison pipeline, and instead build a pipeline of young people interested in pursuing careers dedicated to the legal defense of adjudicated youth.
The videos below are one of the ways we introduce students to the issues and topics discussed in our Junior Defender sessions:
