Delaware County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge David Hejmanowski has been named to the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, the federal committee that directly advises the White House and Congress on juvenile justice issues. Created by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, the committee meets four times per year, three electronically and one in person. Hejmanowski will join the board at their Washington meeting on March 22.
The FACJJ consists of only 28 members, who are chosen based on their knowledge and experience in the area of juvenile law, and selected to be geographically and demographically diverse. The committee includes law professors, psychologists, prosecutors, defense attorneys and child advocates. Judge Hejmanowski will be one of only three sitting juvenile court judges on the board, and was selected for that honor out of more than 3,000 juvenile and family court judges in the United States. He will be the only representative from Ohio.
“Our understanding of juvenile justice, and particularly of the role of adolescent brain development in juvenile behavior, has changed dramatically in the 20 years I’ve been practicing law,” Hejmanowski said. “In an era in which our financial resources are stretched so thin, and in which there are so many worthwhile needs, it is important that we make sure those limited resources are being used wisely and in programs where they can do the most good. I’m thrilled to have one small voice in policy-making in that area, particularly since I can do it while only having to be away from the court one day a year.”
Hejmanowski was also recently appointed to the advisory board of the research oriented National Center for Juvenile Justice, re-appointed to Ohio’s Governor’s Council on Juvenile Justice, and was also recently reappointed to the National Council of Juvenile Family Court Judges curriculum committee, which plans educational offerings for more than 30,000 professionals in the juvenile justice system across the United States. He currently serves on 14 boards or commissions at the local, state or national level, serving as chair or vice-chair of six of them.
For more information about the Delaware County’s Juvenile Court, please go to: https://juvenile.co.delaware.oh.us/.