Please enjoy this short animated film, describing The Justice CORPS Initiative:
The Justice CORPS is an oversight and transparency model to mend the loophole which has allowed institutions to hide and conceal incidents of abuse for decades. By giving schools the opportunity to reduce the true incidence of abuse on campus by 50% or more in three year cycles, it offers a lasting solution to the cover-up problem. It tracks both incidents and quality of response by school officials when abuse happens. The model proudly integrates work done by the Independent School Task Force of 2018, with Recommendations for School Leaders, and includes a Restorative Justice component.
The Justice CORPS provides a template for prevention that empowers kids and places decision-making power back in the hands of families.
The Justice CORPS model was compiled by Vanessa Osage, in collaboration with professionals in education and child abuse prevention around the country, from July 2018 to February 2019. It originates from the understanding of a current cover-up problem at Lawrence Academy of Groton, Massachusetts – and extends to address and end the practice nationally, from the Independent School League of New England, to the west coast of the United States, and beyond.
Please carefully examine this screenshot of current policies at Lawrence Academy for a clear example of this loophole.
Implicit in this language is the suggestion that the school can override a child or family’s rights by a simple decision.
Inversely…
Inherent in the Justice CORPS Initiative is the belief that all families have the primary right to decide how matters are handled, regarding their own children.
The model also gives schools the opportunity to earn a Seal of Excellence in Child Safety by tracking a true record of incidents – and quality of response by school officials – striving to lower that number by 50% or more in three year cycles, until there is none.
Please enjoy this article about The Justice CORPS Initiative, published April 2, 2019.
**New!** Now, watch the 45-minute presentation on The Justice CORPS Initiative at the Association of Title IX Administrators, ATIXA, East Coast Conference, October 2020
“The AMENDS Project, and Justice CORPS Initiative, are pioneering a model for how schools can work towards accountability and reconciliation related to adult-student boundaries, while building cultures of safety and inclusivity. In order to provide safe and inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive, schools need to move beyond risk mitigation and crisis response and build school cultures, systems and policies that actively prevent sexual harassment, relationship violence and boundary violations and promote health and wellbeing. Bravo to Vanessa Osage for courageously leading this important work.” – Justine Finn, Founder of Relation-Shift at the Harvard Innovation Lab
You can read the 9-page Initiative, as proposed on February 19, 2019 here: Justice CORPS Initiative 2.19.19
For questions, please email: theamendsproject@gmail.com
Our goal is to secure adequate funding for the program to run simultaneously at two private schools, from anywhere around the country, starting in the 2022-2023 school year. Please visit Support the Movement! to be part of bringing this solution to life now.
The Amends Project 