Click here to register for the 2013 Washington State Becca Conference
October 7 and 8, 2013 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington
The 2013 Washington State Becca Conference is hosted by Clark County and will highlight their Restorative Approach to Truancy as well as other Becca reforms across the state. Topics will include:
Check-in and registration begins at 9:30am on October 7th. Programming begins at 10:30am and runs until 5pm. Programming begins at 8am on October 8th and ends at 3pm.
Register before September 20, 2013 to receive the early-bird $100 pricing. After September 20, 2013 prices go up to $115.
Keynote Speakers
It is with great pleasure that we announce the keynote speakers for the 2013 Washington State Becca Conference: James Bell and Kristine Buffington. Mr. Bell is the Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute and will be presenting the morning of October 8th on the issue of racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system and the values of restorative justice. Ms. Buffington is an experienced trainer on best practices in trauma informed care and will be presenting on October 7th. Please see their bios below for more information on each speaker.
Kristine Buffington:
Kristine Buffington is a cum laude graduate of Eastern Michigan University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Western Michigan University. She has 28 years of experience in the field of social work as a case manager, clinical therapist, agency administrator, and a national trainer and consultant regarding issues of child traumatic stress and trauma-informed care. She is an affiliate member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and has been a participant and chair of a number of national and state level committees to address traumatic stress, child welfare, and juvenile justice issues. Her current focus is to advocate for trauma-informed care system transformation. She believes that saving a youth and their education is about saving lives, and how critical it is to look at the role of traumatic stress when addressing these issues.
James Bell:
James Bell is the Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute.
Since 2001, Mr. Bell has been spearheading a national movement to address racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The BI, which is named after civil rights pioneer W. Haywood Burns, was recently awarded the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The award is presented to select organizations worldwide that have made a “remarkable impact in their fields.”
Mr. Bell and his colleagues at the BI work with juvenile justice systems across the country to reduce the disproportionality of youth of color. Mr. Bell guides the BI's Community Justice Network for Youth (CJNY), a national network of programs working successfully with young people of color. Mr. Bell also works closely with the Casey Foundation’s JDAI jurisdictions and the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative.
Mr. Bell is being recognized this year for his “profound contribution to human rights,” by the American Education Research Association Human Rights Award Committee, which has selected him to receive the second annual Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award.
Mr. Bell has appeared on Nightline and the Tavis Smiley show. He also authored the Unequal Justice section of the Covenant with Black America, a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African Americans today by Tavis Smiley, as well as the Criminal Justice Policy Paper for the National Black/Latino Summit.
Mr. Bell has extensive experience in the international juvenile justice arena: He assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa; recently worked with Chinese officials and policymakers on alternatives for proven risk youth moving from the countryside to the cities; and worked closely with officials in New Zealand and Australia to analyze the principles and practices that form the foundation of their restorative justice systems.
Mr. Bell is the recipient of a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, the Livingstone Hall Award from the American Bar Association, Attorney of the Year from the Charles Houston Bar Association, the Advocate of the Year from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Moral Leadership Against Injustice Award of the Delancey Street Foundation and the Local Hero Award from the San Francisco Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award.
He received his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law.
October 7 and 8, 2013 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington
The 2013 Washington State Becca Conference is hosted by Clark County and will highlight their Restorative Approach to Truancy as well as other Becca reforms across the state. Topics will include:
- Characteristics of Truant Youth and Cross-System Youth
- Reengagement Practices for Gang-Affected Youths
- Lessons from the Clark County Threat Assessment Program
- Practical Tools for Working with Traumatized Youth
- The ABCs of a CHINS/ARY Petition
- A Psychologist’s Perspective on Truancy
- Restorative Justice Practices in a High School Setting
- Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and its Intersection with Becca Youth
- Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders/Valid Court Orders
- Educational Advocacy – What Works
- Why Girls Run Away
Check-in and registration begins at 9:30am on October 7th. Programming begins at 10:30am and runs until 5pm. Programming begins at 8am on October 8th and ends at 3pm.
Register before September 20, 2013 to receive the early-bird $100 pricing. After September 20, 2013 prices go up to $115.
Keynote Speakers
It is with great pleasure that we announce the keynote speakers for the 2013 Washington State Becca Conference: James Bell and Kristine Buffington. Mr. Bell is the Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute and will be presenting the morning of October 8th on the issue of racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system and the values of restorative justice. Ms. Buffington is an experienced trainer on best practices in trauma informed care and will be presenting on October 7th. Please see their bios below for more information on each speaker.
Kristine Buffington:
Kristine Buffington is a cum laude graduate of Eastern Michigan University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Western Michigan University. She has 28 years of experience in the field of social work as a case manager, clinical therapist, agency administrator, and a national trainer and consultant regarding issues of child traumatic stress and trauma-informed care. She is an affiliate member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and has been a participant and chair of a number of national and state level committees to address traumatic stress, child welfare, and juvenile justice issues. Her current focus is to advocate for trauma-informed care system transformation. She believes that saving a youth and their education is about saving lives, and how critical it is to look at the role of traumatic stress when addressing these issues.
James Bell:
James Bell is the Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute.
Since 2001, Mr. Bell has been spearheading a national movement to address racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. The BI, which is named after civil rights pioneer W. Haywood Burns, was recently awarded the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. The award is presented to select organizations worldwide that have made a “remarkable impact in their fields.”
Mr. Bell and his colleagues at the BI work with juvenile justice systems across the country to reduce the disproportionality of youth of color. Mr. Bell guides the BI's Community Justice Network for Youth (CJNY), a national network of programs working successfully with young people of color. Mr. Bell also works closely with the Casey Foundation’s JDAI jurisdictions and the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative.
Mr. Bell is being recognized this year for his “profound contribution to human rights,” by the American Education Research Association Human Rights Award Committee, which has selected him to receive the second annual Ella Baker/Septima Clark Human Rights Award.
Mr. Bell has appeared on Nightline and the Tavis Smiley show. He also authored the Unequal Justice section of the Covenant with Black America, a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African Americans today by Tavis Smiley, as well as the Criminal Justice Policy Paper for the National Black/Latino Summit.
Mr. Bell has extensive experience in the international juvenile justice arena: He assisted the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa; recently worked with Chinese officials and policymakers on alternatives for proven risk youth moving from the countryside to the cities; and worked closely with officials in New Zealand and Australia to analyze the principles and practices that form the foundation of their restorative justice systems.
Mr. Bell is the recipient of a Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship, the Livingstone Hall Award from the American Bar Association, Attorney of the Year from the Charles Houston Bar Association, the Advocate of the Year from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Moral Leadership Against Injustice Award of the Delancey Street Foundation and the Local Hero Award from the San Francisco Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award.
He received his J.D. from Hastings College of the Law.
