By involving young people from diverse backgrounds in the policymaking process, the program empowers them to become active participants in shaping policies that directly impact their lives and communities. This empowerment fosters a sense of ownership and agency among youth, leading to more meaningful and sustainable change. Policy-by-Proximity ensures that the voices and perspectives of those most affected by policies are heard and prioritized. The program provides a platform for marginalized and underrepresented communities to share their experiences, concerns, and recommendations directly with policymakers. Engaging with communities at the grassroots level allows policymakers to gain a deeper understanding of the social, economic, and cultural contexts in which policies are implemented. This firsthand insight enables more informed decision-making and helps tailor policies to better meet the needs of the communities they serve.

By directly involving youth in the policymaking process, the program facilitates the development of policies that are responsive to the evolving needs and priorities of young people. This dynamic approach ensures that policies remain relevant and effective in addressing the challenges faced by youth today. Policy-by-Proximity fosters trust and collaboration between policymakers and communities by creating opportunities for meaningful dialogue, cooperation, and partnership. This collaborative approach helps build bridges between different stakeholders and promotes collective action towards common goals. Overall, the Justice Ambassador Youth Council program at Columbia University serves as a model of Policy-by-Proximity that prioritizes community empowerment, authentic representation, contextual understanding, responsive policy development, and trust-building collaboration, all of which are essential for effective and inclusive policy-making.

Implementing poorly conceived policies can erode public trust in government institutions. By carefully selecting proposals based on evidence, analysis, and consultation, policymakers can demonstrate their commitment to serving the public interest. Policies can have long-lasting effects on society, the economy, and the environment. Careful consideration of the long-term implications helps avoid short-sighted decisions that may lead to future problems. Policies should promote fairness and social equity by considering the needs of all segments of society. Careful selection ensures that proposed measures do not disproportionately benefit or harm specific groups.

Policy proposals must navigate political realities, including support from stakeholders and feasibility of implementation. Careful selection takes into account these factors to increase the chances of successful adoption and implementation. In summary, carefully selecting policy proposals is essential for ensuring their effectiveness, optimizing resource allocation, maintaining public trust, considering long-term impacts, promoting social equity, and navigating political realities.

Tyler Campbell, Diovianne White, Janine Gilbert, Nilda Hofmann – 1st cohort

A significant step toward reforming the criminal justice system would be to value our knowledge about the impact of trauma and childhood adversity to inform our responses to youth who are system involved. Our proposal would require local precincts – in partnership with outside social work agencies – to conduct comprehensive bio-psycho-social assessments (with parental/ legal guardian consent) for every youth who is arrested under age 25. The assessment will not only focus on their criminal behavior, but will examine the youth’s entire life history, including his family history from birth; his history of caregivers; exposure to trauma, stress, and instability; educational history; medical history; and social history. When a child enters the program, ACE specialists measure each child’s stress and behavioral needs. ACE coordinators use this evaluation to develop a customized program of wrap-around services designed to help each child achieve success and avoid new criminal offenses. These services may include but are not limited to: Individual and family therapy, Youth Mentoring, Academic Tutoring, Mental-health treatment, School support, Recreation i.e. sports, dance, etc.

To ensure the success of the program and incentivise law enforcement cooperation, officers would be required to make a certain amount of referrals to diversion programs and/or youth serving nonprofit organizations each month. The number can be determined by the precinct commander but should ideally be no lower than half the number of youth under 25 who are arrested and logged in police records in monthly periods. With this valuable information, we can intervene when youth first enter the system and develop meaningful programs that provide our youth with what has been lacking in their lives until that point: trauma-focused treatment that includes psycho-education about how their trauma exposure has impacted them, support around developing positive coping skills for their overwhelming negative feelings and symptoms; as well as mentoring programs that will give youth opportunities for higher education; as well as options for achievable and reliable employment training in mastery-based vocational programs in fields such as healthcare, cosmetology, computer technology, the hotel and restaurant industry, apprenticeship programs to become a master plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, etc. Success does not have to be defined by a college education, which may not be realistic, appealing, or within reach for many at-risk youth.

This level of well-planned policy implementation of the Bio- Psychosocial will do more than just help black boys and men who are, by the numbers, the most ravaged by the systems currently in place in NYC. Such policies and programming will benefit members of all races and genders by offering a more holistic and thorough look into the roots of criminal behavior and will provide the keys to both prevention and rehabilitation. The first response needs to be an immediate and thorough look at what has happened to our youth as at their first misstep, with a priory on truly understanding their life experiences. When we use this trauma-informed perspective, accountability becomes the smallest piece. The overarching goal is to learn about and address the struggles and challenges our youth are facing through innovative programs that utilize research and best practices.

Arjun Subakeesan, Joshua Laub, David Peters, Jose Palacios – 1st cohort

Currently, schools are not nurturing environments for children. Children are poorly treated by school safety agents, leading to an increasing number of arrests among children. 92% of children arrested and handed criminal summons are black and hispanic. Below are four solutions that focus on restorative justice practices. First, Restorative Justice Partnership (RJP) would provide mediation services to parties inside schools and would serve schools on a needed basis. Restorative Justice Designation (RJD) would instruct CBS to train staff members in schools such as guidance counselors in restorative justice practices. Peer Facilitated Circles/Councils would see students themselves participate in circles that practice restorative justice. They would be advised by a faculty member. And lastly, Uniform Restorative Justice Training (UJRT) would see that all faculty members are trained in restorative justice practices. This can be woven into any city mandated training module, and cash incentives can exist to entice faculty to undergo training.

Jaden Burton, Aboubacar Diaby, Ana Bermudez and Rodney Levy – 1st cohort

This proposal would mandate that all youth service providers complete a five day training course. This would include adults in the education system, at alternative to incarceration sites, administration of child services, the department of probation, and youth recreation centers. On the first day of the training, the trainees would interact with youth to learn cultural differences and create a culturally diverse curriculum or program structure. Day 2 would be when concrete strategies to entice learning are outlined. This would include establishing a reward based system for participation and positive behavior. On day three the program would promote and sustain engagement. The leaders would host meetings to discuss classroom engagement strategies and establish the norms of the sessions. On day 4, trainees would learn how to utilize a restorative justice approach to de-escalate conflicts. This would include designating classroom therapeutic space for disruptive students to recollect composure, and the presenter would use check-in moments to answer questions and reiterate the main points of the presentation. And on the last day, the presenters would outline clear expectations of what should be shared/revealed in sessions and what is inappropriate, and establish cultural sensitivity, sexuality and social class boundaries.

Loverstar Rogers, Emanuel Daudo, Chauncey Parker, Estelle Santiago, Sade Folks – 1st Cohort

Currently, justice-involved-youth are alone and without an advocate when they are involved with the criminal justice system. This proposal would place social workers directly in the court process involving justice-involved-youth as they would be appointed to a youth before the arraignment. The social worker would be a resource for everybody involved in the process, providing a report of the personal narrative of the justice-involved-youth to the judge, probation officer, defense attorney, and district attorney’s office. Social workers have the unique ability to not only recognize trauma within youth, but also help them cope with it. This proposal would broaden the role of social workers in the criminal justice system by assigning them to work with youth and help judges make a more “justice-informed” decision regarding the case.

Nigel Farinha, Sara Weiss, Cecilia Williams, Chloe Pae, Jarrell Daniels – 2nd Cohort

Project Restore (PR) is a novel 18-month violence intervention program aimed at ending gun violence in low income communities and fostering pathways to success for street affiliated and gang involved individuals. The program focuses on transforming their lives through employment, education, life skills training, trauma-healing, accountability, socioemotional skills building and community engagement. Project Restore is a groundbreaking gang violence intervention model designed to redirect individuals facing community challenges towards a path of purpose and opportunity. By seamlessly connecting participants to employment, supportive services, and mentorship, the program aims to resolve scarcity and reconcile safety concerns within communities.

Background: Project Restore originated from a policy proposal in the Justice Ambassadors Youth Council program at Columbia University and was developed in collaboration with Columbia’s Center for Justice, the King’s County District Attorney (KCDA), The New York City, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), Inside Circle and Bridgestreet Development Corporation. Project Restore was piloted through Columbia University’s Center for Justice, demonstrating a new public safety philosophy through a targeted street violence intervention model.

Pilot Program Implementation: With an initial $2.5 million seed funding commitment from MOCJ, Project Restore commenced in January 2023 as a 12-month gang intervention demonstration pilot program. It focused on assisting 30 rival street-affiliated young men from Brooklyn housing departments involved in long-standing gun violence conflict. The program offered a holistic approach, including case management, life skills training, credible mentorship, trauma healing circles, educational and employment pathways.

Mackenzi Tugeon – 3rd cohort

Today, there exists a problem involving the lack of teacher diversity in America. A major driver behind the reason that there is a lack of black and brown male teachers in the classroom is because black and brown men have a higher rate of felony convictions. Formerly incarcerated people are unemployed at a rate of over 27%, which is 5x the national average. Under this proposal, aspiring teacher candidates would be granted a hearing to express their desire to teach and the impact that they will have on students. As long as the candidate does not have convictions related to minors or crimes directly related to teaching responsibilities, the candidate should be granted conditional clearance after the hearing. If the candidate does not have any other further justice involvement for a period of two years, the conditional clearance should be lifted. Hearings should be granted automatically to any candidate who qualifies. Additionally, panelists should reflect the diversity of the students and faculty in the school, and the process must be transparent. This is vital because Educators who have served their time are not given a fair chance to serve children in need of mentors they can relate to. Those most impacted by incarceration can help guide youth in their communities toward a brighter future. Teachers play a pivotal role in youth socialization. The school-to prison pipeline begins when schools and teachers see students as more likely to be incarcerated than to achieve academically. Disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline begins by creating classrooms that do not mimic prisons. Teacher diversity serves to benefit minority students, as Exposure to at least one Black teacher in grades 3-5 increases the likelihood that persistently low-income Black students of both sexes aspire to attend a four-year college. This proposal would further society’s goals of increased employment, improved student mental health, higher graduation rates, and decreased incarceration rates.

Tykim Watson, Kerry Chicon, Charles Watson, Steven Goldstein, Samantha Kleinfield – 4th cohort

There is a problem with gun violence across the country. Every 16 hours in America, a woman is killed with a firearm by an intimate male partner, and more than 20 people. in the U.S. are abused by their intimate partner each minute. Black boys and young men ages 15-34 are 20x more likely to die of GV than white counterparts. The cycle of trauma and violence can not break itself. Addressing gun violence requires us to use a trauma-informed approach and led by people directly impacted by gun violence. Students 4 Justice (S4J) is a 14 week intensive life skills development after school program for middle and high school students. Credible messengers (i.e. formerly incarcerated, gang-involved or directly impacted by community challenges) will use a social justice/social studies curriculum to facilitate the instructional programming sessions. The curriculum is designed to:

1. Introduce students to healthy coping strategies to build resilience after being exposed to trauma.

2. Build critical skills like: conflict resolution/ de-escalation, using effective communication, navigating emotional responses, professional development and job readiness

3. Raise social and political awareness.

The overall goal is to provide students with strategies to reduce their probability of being in a conflict, particularly situations that can lead to violence. S4J is structured as a ‘train-the-trainer’ model where students who complete the program are invited to co-facilitate cohorts with their peers.

Eryn Brown, Danielle Jackson, Lauryn Duvalle – 4th cohort

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) provides public housing in New York City to over 400,000 people in 320 NYCHA developments. Persistent quality of life issues exist for NYCHA residents, especially surrounding cleanliness, mold, and paint chips. These issues are caused by a lack of oversight and accountability. To reimagine NYCHA, this proposal would result in institutional change for NYCHA in order to maintain the cleanliness of NYCHA housing to foster a better living environment for stakeholders. This would include assigning ambassadors in each development to raise awareness of these issues and hold staff accountable. The ambassadors would also staff a hotline and schedule accountability meetings.

Jayden Leone, Dorian Garrett, Kassim D, Kathleen Baer, Jomaire Crawford, Indiana Porta – 4th cohort

There is a problem in our communities that centers around a lack of activities and resources for youth and young adults. This lack of resources affects youth and young adults in NYCHA housing projects, and is the result of inadequate allocation of resources by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development. This proposal aims to support underfunded community centers, granting access to the activities and programs that are available at community centers in higher-income communities. Potential programs include mentorship and motivation, employment support, housing guidance and referrals, fun activities and safe and comfortable spaces. Community centers are vital because mentors provide guidance to youth and many programs keep children engaged and out of trouble.

Juvanie Piquant, Pamela Diaz, Porsha Shaf'on Venable, Sherene Crawford, Yusif Usman – 4th cohort

The problem is that there is a lack of resources for crisis prevention in the school system. This is the result of authoritative systems, poverty, inadequate school funding, lack of training for school officials, and a lack of crisis identification ability. First, this proposal includes restorative justice work, which would hold individuals accountable without focusing on punishment. It also includes opportunities for mediation, where seniors and students in the community can help aid the youth with crisis intervention. There would also include student focus groups so students can share their needs, and a fair where students can meet agencies and organizations that can serve as resources for them. And lastly, students will learn techniques to prevent and manage crises, setting students up for success. This will create an environment where students feel safe when they experience a crisis by having trained professionals give students immediate access to techniques and tools. In time, we hope that implementation of this proposal and support from parents, students, and community members will lead to a culture of safety.

Kenyatte Reid, Danielle Mindess, Jossie Mendez, Roldy Mendez – 4th cohort

There is a problem of police targeting and harrassing Bronx youth as gun violence has gone up across the Bronx. There is a long history of racial profiling and targeting of youth by police officers. Additionally, police are given incentives to fulfill quotas, and youth who live in highly policed communities are treated unfairly, further contributing to the problem of mistrust of police among youth. The problem is mainly among black and latinx teens across the Bronx. This proposal would facilitate conversation between NYPD and youth through a five day intensive program that includes mediated discussions that allow each group to share their experiences to achieve a greater understanding of each other. Both groups would learn about the other in classes through lesson plans that explore the power dynamics and systems of oppression that inform the history of law enforcement. The program will build community because police will be encouraged to change the way they interact with people as a result of an understanding of what they have been through. In the short term, there will be a level of trust built between teens and police, and youth will go out into the community feeling safer and the police will have more respect for community members. In the long term, we hope to see this program as a built-in part of police training. Program success will mean reduced crime and arrests, increased trust, and law enforcement seeing themselves as part of the community.

Ana, Ben Different, Kawan Clinton, Pauline Ross, Phaedra Perry and Regina Paul – 5th cohort

This proposal would address many problems in our community such as youth on the streets and in poverty, and youth missing out on education and being unproductive in using their time. Currently, black males with no children or college degree between 16 and 24 have the highest unemployment rate of any group. This proposal would see The City University of New York and the New York City Council work together to create a Sustainable Youth Employment Fund. The fund would provide support for CUNY students to become local entrepreneurs through courses and training, seed money, and mentorship from industry advisors.

Suekanya Meaks, Joshua Rejouis, Jonathan Arroyo, Nadia Jean-Francois, Jack Wild, David Romero – 6th Cohort

There is a widespread lack of after school programming and student support, safety immediately after school hours, and a lack of ‘common sense,’ non-academic resources for youth. This can leave youth feeling that school is more punitive than helpful. This all points to the need for more academic support and enrichment for disconnected youth (e.g. at-risk students and out-of-school/out-of-work). The Safe Village Youth Empowerment slogan is “it takes a village, a safe village,” inspired by the African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Safe Village will take a holistic approach to improve the lives of young scholars. It aims to expand scholars’ post-secondary options & career awareness, create a positive space to help them build on their strengths, and prioritize scholars’ wellness, social skills, & professional development. With the creation of this program, Safe Village will work to: 1) reduce susceptibility to juvenile violence and school misconduct through structured programming and reduce out-of-work-out-of-school youth, 2) Identify student strengths and interests through strength-based testing and interest surveys, increase student self-esteem, 3) Improve student relationships with their teachers and school leadership, 4) Expand the number of supportive and available adults in students’ lives through program staff, professional contacts and community volunteers or “credible messengers,” and 5) Connect academic with real-world outcomes and expand career awareness and identify students’ postsecondary plans.

Al Young, Ava Kamdem, Reginald Green, Zoe Shea, Mallah-Divine Mallah, George Depountis – 6th Cohort

The gap between Black-White incarceration rates has widened from 2016-2021. Additionally, low SES criminal defendants receive the most severe sanctions. Lastly, incarcerating juveniles over life sentences requires decades of public expenditures.This database aims to make the processes of our criminal legal system more transparent. By tracking and publishing sentencing data, we hope to facilitate space to improve upon the operation of the justice system. The data can be used by prosecutors to evaluate office policies, refine prosecutor training, measure performance, and allocate resources. It can also aid defense attorneys in advising clients and aid judges to reduce bias in sentencing. Policy makers can use the data to pursue fact-based, common-sense legislation. Transparency helps build community trust and can help counter false media narratives. The Transparent Justice Data Repository of NYC can modernize and bring equity in sentencing to the government, bring equity in negotiation and reducing the effects of a trial tax to defenders, and facilitate data centered appellate review and legislative analysis for students and researchers.

Madison Vazquez, Jeremy Casso Garcia, Minah Whyte, Miguelina Camilo – 6th Cohort

Existing student advisory committees or student leadership teams operate with a select representation of the student body. Students who are underperforming academically because of outside social pressures (housing insecurity, food insecurity, violence in the home to just name a few examples) are not given a voice on such committees. Our policy is intended to bridge the gap in staff and student culture to amplify the experience in school for all our young people. We believe with certain implementations in place, school behavior and attendance will improve if students feel a sense of belonging. Establishing a task force that enables marginalized students with the ability to advocate for themselves alongside well-performing students. The S.T.A.R task force will allow an honest representation of the entire student body and the administration to create solutions.

Antonio Avila, Cyril Francis, Justin Bonilla, Jewel Ortiz, Karina Christiansen, Jethro Antione – 6th Cohort

Police Officers are harassing 13-30 year-old Black and Brown folks with frequent stops, eroding community trust towards police. Meanwhile, millions of stops in the last two decades have shown no evidence of improving safety. Studies have found that frequent youth stops are associated with heightened mental distress and PTSD. We propose Community Roll-Call: A Neighborhood Call to Action to facilitate better communications between the NYPD and local residents, to build relationships, and elevate community incident responses. During “roll-call,” police gather for 15-20 minutes at the start of the day to plan their approach. We wish to launch a cohort of Community Advocates who attend police roll calls biweekly and can serve as liaisons between the community and the police about community conditions. Advocates' presence can help coordinate a more community-centered response and build trust between communities and police.