Criminal Justice Advocacy Program

What is Criminal Justice Advocacy?

There are at least 25,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the nation's prisons, and some studies indicate that the actual number may be twice that. This means that approximately 1 out of every 20 prisoners in the United States has a developmental disability. Offenders with a developmental disability face certain disadvantages at various stages while involved with the criminal justice system. The Criminal Justice Advocacy Program (CJAP) provides alternatives to incarceration on behalf of individuals with developmental disabilities who are defendants in the criminal justice system, and is the only program of its kind in New Jersey.

The CJAP serves as a clearinghouse for information about offenders, victims and witnesses with developmental disabilities and serves as a liaison between the criminal justice and human service systems, monitoring the quality of care and service provided to those with developmental disabilities as they move from one system to another.

Please be advised that The Criminal Justice Advocacy Program does not provide legal advice or services. Legal service references can be found here. For more on what we do and how we can help, please click here.

View our program brochures below:

• Understanding the Criminal Justice System
• Critical Stages

Additional Material:

• Understanding the DDD Determination for Eligibility Process
• DDD Intake Application 
• Working with & Identifying an Individual with an I/DD
• Attorneys Guide was designed to assist attorneys in understanding the possible presence of an I/DD in someone involved in the criminal justice system. 

Our Intake and Release of Information Form is required to advocate for an individual with intellectual and developmental disabilities that has been incarcerated and/or currently has pending charges.  Please return the completed forms to cjap@arcnj.org or via fax # 732.733.6804.  Download our Intake and Release of Information Form.

Quick Resources:

• A Guide for Attorneys
• Archived Webinars
• Archived Podcasts
• Archived Newsletters
• CJAP Intake with Release of Information Form
• DDD Intake Application
• Understanding the DDD Determination for Eligibility Process
• Working with & Identifying an Individual with an I/DD

What does developmental disabilities include?

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cerebral Palsy
• Epilepsy
• Intellectual Disability
• Other neurological impairments (e.g. traumatic brain injury, Spina Bifida, Prader-Willi syndrome, Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders or FASD)

NJSBF Civics & A Plea for Help

Help get the word out about all the great FREE Civics resources that The New Jersey State Bar Foundation has to offer educators by sharing this video below.

- New Jersey State Bar Foundation

Here’s how you can find the Foundation on various platforms: 

• @NJStateBarFdn on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter 
• NEW JERSEY STATE BAR FOUNDATION on LinkedIn 

The Arc of New Jersey is looking for motivated individuals with developmental disabilities for a work based learning experience in Monmouth County.  Selected candidates participate in internships located within law enforcement agencies overseen by a "Cadet Mentor."  This mentor is a designee working for the municipality who determines and assigns tasks for the cadets to complete throughout their shift. 

Click here for more information!

Registration for this program is currently closed. 
Thanks to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and participating Monmouth County law enforcement agencies for making this program a success.  At this time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no assignments of new cadets.  Please check this site in the future for new developments.

Left to right: Thomas Baffuto, The Arc of NJ; Ashley Brompton, Vera Institute; Jessica Oppenheim, The Arc of NJ; Leigh Ann Davis, The Arc of US; Robert Laurino, NJ Clergy Abuse Task Force; Leone Murphy, Trinitas Regional Medical Center; Michael Brower, DRNJ; Elizabeth Shea, Porzio Bromberg Law Firm

Partners in Justice Law and Law Enforcement Summit

On March 2, The Arc of New Jersey hosted a Partners in Justice Law and Law Enforcement Summit entitled, "Preventing Sexual Abuse and Harassment of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities." The event, held at the New Jersey Law Center, included an opening keynote highlighting national efforts on this topic, a morning panel on communications between individuals with I/DD and law enforcement, and an afternoon panel which focused on guardianship and sexual consent. This project is co-sponsored by the NJ State Bar Association, The NJ Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the NJ State Bar Foundation, and made possible through funding from the IOLTA Fund of the NJ State Bar. We would like to thank our speakers, sponsors, attendees and funders for helping make this event happen.  

Speaker's Presentation Handouts

Equal Justice Talks

From the Criminal Justice Advocacy Program of

The Arc of New Jersey

This monthly webinar series hosted by The Criminal Justice Program presents experts on a broad range of issues related to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who become involved in the criminal justice system as defendants, victims and witnesses.  On the Third Thursday of each month, from 2pm to 3pm EST, you can register free of charge to hear live presentations about Medicaid/SSI rules and regulations as they apply to people with criminal histories; sexual civil rights; cognitive capacity to consent; guardianship issues; defending the client with disabilities; interview techniques when working with a person with disabilities and many other topics.

The 2020-2021 Equal Justice Talks Webinar Series will begin on September 17, 2020.  The first speakers will be Brian Kelmar and Jude Harrison of the LRIDD, Legal Reform for People with IDD Organization, who have been instrumental in the passage of some criminal justice reform bills in Virginia. They will discuss the work done to effectuate these legislative changes as well as discuss their families' journeys through the criminal justice system. Join us for this free webinar and then every Third Thursday until June 2021. Click HERE to join our mailing list or send an email to cjap@arcnj.org. Make sure to check out our archived webinars and our newly posted podcasts!

To see more information on the current and past archived webinars: click here

Never miss a webinar again! Click here to receive future webinar announcements

Equal Justice Newsletter- A Newsletter for the Disability and Criminal Justice Communities
This newsletter was created to bring information to you when we are not able to conference and train in person, full of links, articles and information to help you work with people with I/DD. Our hope is that this newsletter can keep you apprised of many of the issues that we have worked on together and will continue to address as we go forward.

Resources

Court & Lawyer Referral Services

• Self-Help Resources Main Page
• Overview of the Courts
• Overview of the Court Process
• Courthouse Addresses & Contact Numbers
• Forms and Instructions
• County Bar Associations, Lawyer Referral Services