Kit has joined a new Cobb County Juvenile Courts program that seeks to block the pipeline between schools and prisons. In response to rising gang-related offenses in Cobb County, Juvenile Court Judge Wayne Grannis has established a new specialty court called R.I.S.I.N.G. This court will assist first-time, gang-related offenders and high-risk youths, and offer counseling services and life skill resources to them and their families. R.I.S.I.N.G. stands for each phase of the program process: Rebuild, Invest, Support, Integrate, and Graduate. This new accountability court will involve ongoing collaboration with local law enforcement, school officials, the District Attorney’s office, and other support agencies. Kit brings twelve years of experience working in the toughest prisons with rival prison gangs, and his extensive work in schools with at-risk youth, to catch these kids before they make a big mistake that sends them away for a very long time. This second-chance program can become a model for incentive-based corrections and restorative justice, and will give these kids a chance to have all their charges dropped upon completion of the twelve-month accountability process. It’s time to interrupt and redirect a young generation who are lining up to go to prison. Help is on the way.
