The Memphis City Schools

School House Adjustment Program Enterprise (S.H.A.P.E.) aims to reduce the number of Memphis City Schools students sent to Juvenile Court for minor infractions. It is funded through the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Pilot Project. This state grant is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Act. It requires all states to address overrepresentation of minority juveniles detained or confined in secure detention facilities, secured correctional facilities, jails and lock-ups throughout the country. The Pilot Program is to decrease the number of minority students sent to Juvenile Court for committing minor infractions. Similar programs have shown success in Chicago and New Jersey.

How did this program get started in Memphis?

The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) is charged with implementing the OJJDP requirements and looking at the overall societal issues that contribute to the disparate number of youth who encounter the juvenile justice system in Tennessee. Here in Memphis, a collaborative effort by Shelby County Mayor’s Office, Juvenile Court, Public Defenders Office, City of Memphis Mayor’s Office, Memphis Police Department and Shelby County Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force was instrumental in Memphis City Schools receiving grant funding to launch this pilot program in Memphis City Schools. What does the School House Adjustment Program Enterprise do? The SHAPE curriculum consists of homework assistance, tutoring, mentoring, counseling, and social and life skills training. Students stay in the program for 90 days. This program is an alternative method that Memphis City Schools is using to work with juvenile offenders who have committed minor offenses. The intent of the School House Adjustment Enterprise Program is to provide immediate consequences, such as community services or restitution and a prompt and convenient resolution for the victim. At the same time, it benefits the juvenile by avoiding the stigma of a juvenile record. In many instances, this early intervention will deter the youth from continuing negative behavior and divert the youth from progressing into the juvenile justice system.