Date/Time
Date(s) - 01/31/2025
All Day
This all-day training at San Joaquin College of Law focuses exclusively on secure youth treatment facility (SYTF) litigation. Designed for attorneys and advocates, the program provides in-depth guidance on avoiding SYTF commitments through strategic advocacy, case preparation, and effective use of tools like eligibility checklists. Participants will gain practical skills to navigate the complexities of SYTF cases, explore legal standards and legislative frameworks, and learn how to advocate for least restrictive placements. This training is an essential resource for professionals committed to protecting youth and advancing justice in the juvenile system.
Schedule:
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- 9:00 – 9:05 AM: Welcome Introduction
- 9:05 – 10:30 AM: Advocacy before Disposition: Challenging SYTF Commitments and Preserving the Record under 875(a) by Rhyzan Croomes and Richard Braucher
- This training equips defenders with essential tools to advocate effectively for youth facing potential Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF) commitments under Welfare and Institutions Code 875(a). Participants will learn how to address the court’s mandate to find less restrictive placements unsuitable while highlighting developmental, social, and rehabilitative needs to challenge SYTF suitability. The training will also cover strategies for preserving the appellate record, ensuring procedural protections are maintained for future review.
- 10:30 – 10:45 AM: Break
- 10:45 – 12:00 PM: Small Group Exercises – 875(a) Advocacy + Checklists
- 12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch (CBO Presentation + Mingle)
- 1:00 – 3:00 PM: From Disposition to Discharge: Practical Tips to Navigate and Advocate at IRP Hearings and 6-Month Reviews by JoAnna Edwards, Vanessa Pfuff, and Sergio Coronel
- This training will focus on the statutory requirements and advocacy strategies for 6-month review hearings under WIC 875(e). Participants will learn how to present arguments addressing the court’s evaluation of the youth’s rehabilitation plan, baseline term modifications, and suitability for less restrictive placements. The session will also cover practical tips for navigating the hearing process and preserving the record for potential future challenges.
- 3:00 – 4:00 PM: Small Group Exercises – 875(e) Advocacy
Speakers
JoAnna Edwards
JoAnna Edwards is a Chief Defense Attorney with the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office. Ms. Edwards has been with the Public Defender’s Office since 2012 and has overseen the Juvenile Division since 2018. Ms. Edwards is certified by the Gault Center (formerly the National Juvenile Defense Center (NJDC)) as a Juvenile Training Immersion Program (JTIP) Trainer and was one of the JTAP Ambassadors for the Central Valley Regional Training Program. In addition to PJDC’s Advisory Board and Development Committees, she currently serves on the Fresno County Juvenile Justice Executive Committee, Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council, Phased-Response Plan Subcommittee, Restorative Justice Advisory Board, SYTF Workgroup Subcommittee, Human Trafficking Court Steering Committee, and participates in the Foster Youth Network Improvement Community project. In 2024, Ms. Edwards was selected to co-chair the SB 823 Realignment Subcommittee. Ms. Edwards is the 2021 co-recipient of PJDC’s Defender of the Year award.
Vanessa Pfaff
Vanessa Pfaff is a Senior Defense Attorney at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office. She has been with the office since 2015 and has worked exclusively in juvenile defense since 2018. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. Ms. Pfaff has successfully defended against several transfer motions, and currently has multiple youth serving SYTF commitments in Fresno County. She loves working with teenagers and giving them a voice in the juvenile justice system.
Sergio Coronel
Sergio Coronel is a Central Valley native who experienced the juvenile system and gangs as a youth. He is the founder and Executive Director of YoungSTers for Change (YFC), where he runs a credible-messenger mentorship program for “at-future youth” impacted by the juvenile system and gangs in the Central Valley. Mr. Coronel earned his bachelor’s degree as a double major (history and criminology) and his master’s degree in criminology (focusing on youth gangs and incarceration), from California State University, Fresno. He currently works as the Community Director for the Community Justice Center (CJC) in Fresno and consults as an Independent Forensic Gang Expert working with lawyers across California. He is a sitting member of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council and SB 823 Realignment Subcommittee, a gang consultant for schools and probation, and a published author who writes about youth impacted by gangs.
Rhyzan Croomes is the Director of Capacity Building and Training at the Pacific Juvenile Defender Center where she develops and coordinates training programs for youth defenders and juvenile court professionals. Her work aims to strengthen youth defense and reform the juvenile legal system. Prior to joining PJDC, Rhyzan was the Supervising Attorney with Loyola Law School’s Center for Juvenile Law & Policy (CJLP), where she taught law students about juvenile delinquency and provided holistic, client-centered advocacy for youth in Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system. Additionally, she led the Independent Forensic Gang Expert College (IFGEC), a program that trains individuals with personal gang experience to testify in court, offering insights into the factors that drive youth to join gangs.
Since 1998, Mr. Braucher has been a staff attorney at the First District Appellate Project in Oakland, where he represents indigent clients in juvenile and adult matters on appeal. He also trains panel attorneys who are new to appellate practice. In addition to serving on the PJDC Board, he has been an active member of the organization’s Amicus Committee since its inception in 2006, moderating the committee’s monthly teleconferences and writing amicus briefs and training materials. He was appellate counsel in In re Elias V. (2015) 237 Cal.App.4th 568, a seminal juvenile confession case where the Court of Appeal held that the Reid Techniques commonly used by law enforcement rendered Elias’ confession involuntary. Mr. Braucher has also been a leader in devising juvenile trainings for appellate attorneys handling delinquency appeals and is an expert in Eighth Amendment sentencing issues for youth in adult court.
Register for this Event
Bookings are closed for this event.