The Professional Journey

Like many aspiring lawyers graduating from law school, Shay Bilchik wanted to be a successful litigator, rising through the ranks at a prominent law firm. At the time, his long-term aspiration was to become a judge. Mr. Bilchik mapped out his journey and began his career as an assistant State's attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in Miami. In this position, he started out by working on cases in traffic court, then moved up to juvenile court, and eventually worked on felony cases. After 3 years, he reflected on his experiences and realized that the job often lacked the personal reward that he desired. But this had not been the case during his tenure in juvenile court.

Despite knowing that a long tenure in the juvenile court system might be a detour on his path to becoming a successful litigator, he decided to pursue further options in this area. With the intent of resigning his position as an assistant State's attorney, Mr. Bilchik shared his new career aspirations with his supervisor. Instead of resigning, he walked out of that meeting with a promotion as the new Juvenile Division Chief for the 11th Judicial Circuit Court; his predecessor coincidently had resigned the day before the meeting. In this position, he supervised a team of trial lawyers and started to explore more effective means of intervening and preventing juveniles' encounters with the system. Mr. Bilchik quickly acknowledged that a multisystemic approach would be the best means of doing this. In a multisystemic approach, several systems (e.g., justice, education, behavioral health, and child welfare) work together to meet the needs of juveniles and interrupt their cyclical encounters with the justice system that often continue into adulthood.

Since leaving his work as a prosecutor, Mr. Bilchik has worked in a number of interesting related positions. In 1993, Mr. Bilchik joined the U.S. Department of Justice and in 1994 received a political appointment to serve as the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in that Department. In this position, he continued to promote a multisystemic approach to supporting youth in the justice system. At the time, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was cited as a critical barrier to collaboration. To overcome this, and under Mr. Bilchik's leadership, OJJDP joined with the U.S. Department of Education to publish Sharing Information: A Guide to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Participation in Juvenile Justice Programs (PDF). His tenure at OJJDP was marked by the initiation of dozens of demonstration and research projects exploring this more holistic approach to preventing delinquency and intervening more effectively when it occurs. In 2000, Mr. Bilchik moved to a new venue, serving as the President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America. Here, he continued his focus on removing barriers between systems to best serve children.

Today, Mr. Bilchik maintains this momentum as the founder and director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute. The center promotes and supports national, State, and local efforts in juvenile justice reform by disseminating papers on key topics, conducting topical symposia, and offering a certificate program at Georgetown University. To learn more, visit the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Web site.

Major Issues Facing the Field of Juvenile Justice

Mr. Bilchik identified three issues that the field of juvenile justice faces today:

• Workforce. Mr. Bilchik proposes that if you ask children who have successfully transitioned out of the juvenile justice system about their personal catalyst, most would point to an adult who took a significant interest in them. He has observed that while a number of adults offer this type of support to youth, this number must increase drastically to truly have a large scale impact. He offers some practical strategies to do this, including
  • Recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff through the provision of adequate compensation, supportive supervision, and quality professional development;
  • Decreasing the caseload and workload of staff; and
  • Maintaining high standards for all staff—lifting up those who are qualified and caring, and weeding out those who are not.
• Multisystemic approach. Mr. Bilchik highlighted the need for an increased emphasis on providing appropriate education services to youth who are at risk or involved in the juvenile justice system. For instance, under the accountability system of the No Child Left Behind Act, he has observed that some schools don't always welcome at-risk youth or those returning from the juvenile justice system because such students could have a negative impact on school performance measures. Instead, schools should be an essential ingredient in prevention and reintegration efforts. This is just one example of the type of cross-system approaches for which Mr. Bilchik advocates; others include behavioral health, child welfare, labor, and housing.
• Rehabilitative vs. punitive. Mr. Bilchik also advocates that the juvenile justice system continue to move from the more punitive approach it adopted in the 1990s to one that is more balanced through an increased focus on rehabilitation. Behavioral health acknowledges that change is not always a linear process: On the road to recovery or personal change, one might falter or stumble. At those times, externally imposed consequences are not always the most effective means to promote continued growth. Likewise, Mr. Bilchik asserts that the juvenile justice system cannot react to every setback (e.g., minor probation violation) in a punitive nature.

Overall, Mr. Bilchik hopes the field continues its current trend toward a more data-driven and research-based approach to addressing delinquency and that the barriers between professional disciplines continue to blur. Professionals should not think of themselves exclusively as educators, social workers, attorneys, or judges. Instead, everyone should think of themselves as part of a broad field that serves children. Mr. Bilchik contends that the effectiveness of services will increase as barriers are overcome.

Conference Takeaways

At the 2009 NDTAC National Conference, Mr. Bilchik was impressed with participants' commitment to improve the educational services for children and youth who are neglected, delinquent, or at risk for academic failure. Mr. Bilchik saw participants as being uniquely positioned to effect positive change for youth in the juvenile justice system. Based on his conversations with many participants, he was impressed with the level of expertise and commitment of attendees and believed that they have the capacity to make change through the programs they oversee and the ability to influence those with even greater authority (e.g., at the State level).

Inspiration To Continue

Despite the trials and tribulations that Mr. Bilchik has experienced throughout his career, he is motivated by the youth that he has had the privilege to get to know as a prosecutor in Miami and now as he travels across the country. Although the routine practice of law can be appealing, he looks forward to continuing his professional journey—advocating for systemic change that will improve the lives of youth who are at risk of entering or who have encountered the juvenile justice system.

• 2009 NDTAC National Conference
• Download Shay Bilchik's keynote presentation notes (PDF)

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