01 Apr

Jacksonville Faith Community To Push City Leaders On Criminal Justice Reform

Posted by in ICARE, Minority Rights, Public Education Improvement, Racial Justice

April 1, 2019. WJCT.

People from more than 38 Duval County religious congregations are expected to come together Monday night to push city officials on criminal justice reform at the Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office and in public schools.

The Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment (ICARE) will be hosting what they call a Nehemiah Assembly Monday night, April 1, at the Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church, 10325 Interstate Center Dr., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. to address transparency at JSO and the State Attorney’s Office as well as discipline at Duval County schools.

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04 Jan

Friday Editorial: ICARE remains a powerful voice

Posted by in ICARE, Public Education Improvement, Racial Justice

January 4, 2019. The Florida Times-Union.

The scene for an ICARE meeting is impressive.

There is a sea of people in the church pews, but they aren’t all from one congregation or faith: there are Christians, Jews, Unitarians, Baha’is and more, making up a wonderful human quilt of Jaclsonville.

And the meeting they’re attending in this church won’t take hours: it’s a highly structured one with just a few minutes reserved for every speaker.

It’s appropriate, because ICARE has always been about turning words into real, tangible action.

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26 Jun

Report: Duval poised to be a state leader in juvenile civil citation use

Posted by in ICARE, Minority Rights, Racial Justice

June 26, 2018. Florida Times-Union.

For years, juvenile justice advocates slammed Duval County for arresting dozens of kids each month who could have avoided court and entanglement in the juvenile justice system altogether if they’d been offered a simple alternative.

But, a new report released Tuesday highlights the upward trend in the last year in that alternative — pre-arrest diversion, also called a civil citation — in the area judicial circuit. The progress followed the signing of a new memorandum of understanding among 22 local agencies, including the State Attorney’s Office of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and agencies from Clay and Nassau counties. Now, the report says, Duval County could be among the top-performing counties statewide in 2018.

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23 Apr

Jacksonville sheriff meets with religious leaders

Posted by in ICARE, Minority Rights, Racial Justice

April 23, 2018. News4Jax

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s sheriff and other elected officials were pressed on local issues, including “Walking While Black,” at an annual event Monday night that calls elected officials to accountability.

Sheriff Mike Williams attended the meeting of church leaders hosted by the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment (ICARE), an organization of 38 local religious congregations of all denominations representing about 30,000 people in Jacksonville. 

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10 May

More kids in trouble will be eligible for second chances under new civil citation policy

Posted by in ICARE, Minority Rights, Racial Justice

May 10, 2017. Florida Times-Union.

Wednesday afternoon marked a “historic” time for juvenile justice in Northeast Florida as State Attorney Melissa Nelson fulfilled a campaign promise long-awaited by reform-minded advocates.

The use of civil citations, an alternative to arrest for juvenile misdemeanor offenders, is expected to expand in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties, as the leaders of 22 agencies, including law enforcement, child services and the judicial system, signed on to an agreement for new rules.

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