December 17, 2020
DJJ Honored by Cobb County Board of Commissioners for Virtual Juvenile Court Hearing Program
DECATUR, GA - On Tuesday, December 15, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and its Marietta Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) received Certificates of Appreciation from the Cobb County Board of Commissioners for its work in establishing a system to conduct virtual juvenile court hearings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cobb County District 3 Commissioner JoAnn Birrell presented the Marietta RYDC staff's certificates on behalf of the Board and Cobb County Juvenile Court Representatives Administrator Adolphus Graves and Judge Wayne E. Grannis. DJJ Commissioner Tyrone Oliver was also in attendance for the brief presentation.
"The Cobb County Juvenile Court wanted to say thank you to the Marietta RYDC team who often worked without recognition while helping to provide virtual access to court hearings so that children and families remain safe through this pandemic," said Administrator Graves. "With close to 80 court hearings per week, often access to a child is needed at a moment's notice, so the work done by the Marietta RYDC is important."
The Certificates declared that the volume of virtual hearings conducted by Cobb County Juvenile Court since March 2020 had far exceeded other jurisdictions across the state. The courts' ability to conduct detention-based cases is largely in part due to the Marietta RYDC staff, who have consistently displayed a commitment to professionalism, consistency, and flexibility to provide timely virtual court access for detained children and their families. During the pandemic, the staff has worked tirelessly behind the scenes as unsung heroes. Cobb County thanks them for all that they do.
"The work that DJJ has done to facilitate hearings has been incredible", said Judge Grannis. "The Juvenile Court is proud to have the opportunity to recognize their accomplishments."
Marietta RYDC staff presented with certificates were Juvenile Correctional Officers Clemment Parker and Edwin Correa, Associate Director of Security Willie Hunt and Director Darryl Denson.
DJJ Commissioner Tyrone Oliver emphasized that it continues to take a village to help our detained youth return to society more productive and a better person. He offered kudos to the entire Marietta RYDC team."
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ABOUT DJJ
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice is a multi-faceted agency that serves the state's youthful offenders up to 21 years of age. The Department's mission is to transform young lives by providing evidence-based rehabilitative treatment services and supervision, strengthening youth and families' well-being, and fostering safe communities.