Events
Virtual Town Hall
Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 and
Michigan's Youth Justice System
Friday, June 12 at 10:00 AM
Join us for this virtual town hall on the statewide juvenile justice system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. MCYJ will host three expert panelists who bring their unique experiences and perspectives to this serious public health crisis. Participants will have a chance to ask questions of panelists following their presentations. MCYJ’s Jason Smith will serve as moderator for our guest panelists:
Elizabeth T. Clement, Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Thom Lattig, Juvenile Court Director (20th Circuit Court)
Terri Gilbert, MSW, Juvenile Justice Projects Manager at the WSU Center for Behavioral Health & Justice
Please let others in your network know about this interactive event, and bring your questions! We look forward to your presence.
Panelist Bios:
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth T. Clement joined the Michigan Supreme Court on November 17, 2017, becoming the 113th Justice and the 11th woman to serve on the bench. She serves as the liaison to the 188 Problem-Solving Courts in the state of Michigan, which include drug and sobriety, mental health, veterans, and other nontraditional courts. These special court programs focus on providing treatment and intense supervision to offenders, resulting in improved quality of life, reduced crime, safer communities, and avoiding costly incarceration. In addition to her role with Problem-Solving Courts, Clement also serves as the Court’s liaison to the State Court Administrative Office Department of Child Welfare Services and Michigan Judicial Institute. Child Welfare Services provides assistance to juvenile courts on child welfare matters, including child protective proceedings, foster care, adoption, termination of parental rights, permanency outcomes, and data collection and analysis. The Michigan Judicial Institute is the Court’s training arm for the judiciary. Prior to her election to the court, Clement served as Chief Legal Counsel in the Executive Branch, advising on a wide variety of legal, legislative, and policy matters. Her duties as Chief Legal Counsel also included working with the Attorney General’s Office on litigation affecting the state of Michigan, negotiating tribal compacts and settlement agreements, and interviewing and recommending appointees to Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judicial vacancies. She previously held the positions of cabinet secretary and deputy chief of staff, as well as deputy legal counsel in the Governor’s Office. Clement served as legal counsel in the Michigan Senate in 2010 where she provided legal research, analysis, and advice on legislation and management of the office. In addition, she was responsible for the State Senate advice and consent process including providing reports and recommendations on appointees. Prior to this role, she served in the Senate Majority Policy Office from 2006 to 2010, where Clement provided analysis and research to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Health Policy Committee, and the Senate Local and State Affairs Committee. Clement owned and operated Clement Law, PLLC, from 2002 to 2006, where she represented individuals and businesses primarily in the areas of family law, adoption, probate, estate planning, and criminal law. Prior to working in private practice, Justice Clement worked as a legislative aide to the Senate Majority Leader in the Michigan Senate. Clement was licensed to the State Bar of Michigan in 2002. She graduated from the Michigan State University College of Law that same year, where she served as an executive member of the Moot Court Board. She attended Michigan State University on an academic scholarship and graduated in 1999 with a B.A. in political science. Justice Clement lives with her husband and their four children in East Lansing.
Terri Gilbert, MSW, Juvenile Justice Projects Manager at the WSU Center for Behavioral Health & Justice has held executive level positions in both public and private non-profit organizations, directing programs serving vulnerable families, children and adults. Her experience spans the service array from child welfare and juvenile justice to mental health and developmental disabilities, workforce training and development. Ms. Gilbert previously served as the Director of the Child Welfare Improvement Bureau, dedicated to improving outcomes for children in the child welfare system, and as the State of Michigan Director of Child Welfare Funding and Juvenile Justice, supervising statewide juvenile justice programming, federal funding and compliance for the State of Michigan. Ms. Gilbert was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Michigan Committee for Juvenile Justice representing practitioners involved with juvenile justice. She has specialized in turning around failing programs, launching new programs and working toward a statewide juvenile justice agenda.
Thom Lattig, Juvenile Court Director (20th Circuit Court) started his career at Eagle Village in 1992 and shortly thereafter as a Child Care Worker in the Ingham County Youth Center in Lansing, MI (1992-1996) and from 1996 – 2007, he was a Juvenile Court Officer/Senior Juvenile Court Officer at the 30th Judicial Circuit Court in Lansing. Director Lattig started working for the 20th Circuit Court (Ottawa County) as the Casework Services Manager in July, 2009. In November, 2014, he was promoted to the Assistant Director – Field Services position and as of June 1, 2020, he is the Juvenile Court Director. Director Lattig holds a Bachelor of Science – Social Justice from Olivet Nazarene University and a Master of Science from Kaplan University. He has been actively involved locally, representing the Court on the Ottawa County Child Death Review Team, Community SPOKE Team, Ottawa County Truancy Collaborative Team, and the Advisory Board for Public Safety Program (OAISD). He served as the Vice President for the Michigan Association for Family Court Administration from 2018 – 2019, and recently assumed the position of President for that organization in January, 2020.