The petition
Judge Adams earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University in 1981 in the area of Criminal Justice and a law degree from the University of Georgia Law School in 1983.
Judge Gregory A. Adams……….
... served as the Chief Judge of the DeKalb County Juvenile Court for ten years where he presided over a staff of 103 employees with an annual budget of nearly 6 million dollars
... was honored with a portrait that will hang in the DeKalb County Juvenile Court; thereby making him the first African American jurist in DeKalb County to have a portrait displayed in a county building
... Worked closely with CEO Vernon Jones and the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to convene a Building Authority for the Juvenile Court and spearheaded the largest capital building project in Juvenile Court history; the building of a new $37.5 million Juvenile Court facility and parking deck that all DeKalb County citizens can be proud of; to replace the current aging facility
... Through the implementation of an HHS/SAMHSA “Communities That Care” grant, created a County-wide collaborative composed of various agencies that targeted resources and energies on assisting, in a coordinated manner, “youth who touched many points in the system”
... Implemented immediate, on-site mental health survey screening and assessment procedures for DeKalb County youth at the Juvenile Court directly at Intake, when youth first enter the juvenile justice system.
... Judge Adams led the move to collaborate and partner with the Community Service Board; which directly led to the daily and on-site availability of a crisis counselor at the Juvenile Court to offer quicker access and services to youth and families in the criminal justice system with mental health issues
... Obtained over $6 million in federal, state and local grant funds to assist youth and families involved in the juvenile justice system, since becoming Chief Judge of the Juvenile Court including, but not limited to the following:
o Awarded a competitive grant of $600,000 from the United States Department of Labor as part of an ongoing demonstration project designed to provide young offenders, gang members and at-risk youth with the preparation and training they need to secure long term employment and become positive forces within their communities. The County of DeKalb was one of only 29 grantees nationwide to be awarded funds to support their youth offender programs
o Secured over $1 million in federal, state and local grant funding directly related to therapeutic and counseling services for youth
o Secured over $150,000 in grant funding to directly address the issue of “throwaway youth”; that is, youth whose parents refused to take them home when they were ready to be released by the Court. This funding provided prompt crisis-intervention and short-term counseling services to the families with parent refusal and serves as an alternative to detention
o Secured over $100,000 in grant funding to put in place substance abuse and other prevention and early intervention programs for youth
... Led the implementation and transition to the new case management process for the Juvenile Court; including the successful conversion of tens of thousands of existing Court records
o Implemented an imaging component to the overall Juvenile Court records retention process; aiding in the automation of the Court
... Actively sought to address the issue of over-representation of minorities detained in the juvenile criminal justice system by actively pursuing and adopting policies, goals and objectives, at the highest levels, that led to providing the Juvenile Court with more alternatives to secured detention, especially for non-violent offenders
... Spearheaded “in-home” assessments, to reduce the number of non-violent offenders being put into detention, ensuring that critical detention slots are available for the most violent of offenders
... Increased, to their highest level in history, the collection of court-ordered fees, fees which are immediately recycled into programs for youth or are directly given to crime victims
o Began the collection of fees for informal probation services, mediations and curfew violations. As mentioned above, fees collected are then used to provide program and therapeutic services for youth in the juvenile justice system
... Directing and leading an interdisciplinary team through the complex process of creating, planning and implementing a Juvenile Drug Court, to specifically treat youth with drug problems.
... Led move to cross-train and cross certify probation officers in Mediation training.
... Adopted policies which allow for the provision, free of charge, of translator services in over 16 languages for youth and their families that require them for court hearings.
... Implemented first-ever “Business-Person’s Breakfast”, to share with DeKalb business leaders specific information regarding employment of youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
... Created an environment conducive to the provision of “outside learning” opportunities for the staff, including participation in national satellite videoconferences sponsored by the United States Department of Justice
... is the only person who has served both as the president of the DeKalb Lawyers Association and as president of the DeKalb Bar Association
... was the first African American to serve as president of the DeKalb Bar Association, which is the second largest bar association in the state of Georgia with over 500 active members
... is a graduate of The National Judicial College
... was a member of the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court's Commission on Professionalism (1994 - 1997)
... has served as a member of the advisory board for the Junior League of Decatur (2001 – present)
... is currently a member of the Decatur Rotary Club
... has made appearances on CNN and Public television as an expert in his field
... was the judicial recipient at The Seventh Annual Justice Robert Benham Award Ceremony of THE BENHAM AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE which was established in 1998 to highlight the spirit of volunteerism in the legal community
WE PROPOSE THAT THE NEW DEKALB COUNTY JUVENILE COURT BUILDING BE NAMED AFTER JUDGE GREGORY A. ADAMS TO HONOR HIM!
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