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Awards & Recognition
The Youth Advocacy Project and its staff have received numerous awards and recognitions over the
years. Below is a list of awards and recognitions given to YAP,
and its staff. There is also information
about the Jay D. Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy, along with a list of its annual recipients.
YAP Awards & Recognition |
The Blitzman Award & Recipients
YAP AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2008 Youthie Award
In March 2008, the Youth Advocacy Project was the first recipient of the
Youthie Award for achievement in advocacy and networking from the The Medical Foundation,
an organization working with nonprofits and community organizations to
advance public health and medical research.2007 Boston Bar Association's John Brooks Award for Outstanding Public Service:
In September of 2007, YAP Supervising Attorney Cecely Reardon was awarded with the
Boston Bar Association's John Brooks award at the annual meeting luncheon. Cecely has become a public
policy leader for CPCS, for Massachusetts and for the country. She represents YAP and CPCS
on every available committee which deals with juvenile justice issues, including the Teen
Prostitution Prevention Project and the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative. She
serves as vice chair of the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, and she is
the Commonwealth’s representative on the National Coalition for Juvenile Justice.
2007 Massachusetts Bar Association's Defender of the Year
In 2007, Juvenile Defense Network Coordinator Wendy Wolf was awarded with the
Massachusetts' Bar Association's Defender of the Year award at the annual Access to Justice luncheon. Wendy was awarded for her
contributions to the field of juvenile justice.
2006 Massachusetts House of Representatives and Boston City Council Recognition
Jenny Chou, Project Coordinator of the EdLaw Project, received awards from the Massachusetts House of Representatives
and the Boston City Council for her work with the Jamaica Plain Parent Organizing Project (JPPOP).
JPPOP is a grassroots parent organization representing the interests of special needs students in the Boston
Public School system.
2001 CPCS Extraordinary Performance Awards
In 2001, Antoinette DaGraca, Administrative Assistant, and Anna Bulkin, former Social Work
Coordinator were awarded the Committee for Public
Counsel Services Award for Extraordinary Performance.
2001 President's Award from the National Association of Sentencing Advocates
In 2001, Christine Fiechter, former Assistant Director of the Youth Advocacy Project received the
National Association of
Sentencing Advocates' President's Award for dedication and service to the
organization.
2001 Clara Shortridge Foltz Award
In November 2001, the Youth Advocacy Project was the first juvenile defender agency to
receive the Clara Shortridge Foltz Award for outstanding achievement in public defense
delivery from the National Legal Aid and Defender
Association, the nation's largest and oldest public defender membership agency.
2000 Project for the Future of Equal Justice
In 2000, the Project for the Future of Equal Justice
listed the Youth Advocacy Project as one of 27 examples of holistic advocacy programs in
the US. The Project for the Future of Equal Justice is a joint initiative of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the Center
for Law and Social Policy. Its mission is to strengthen and expand the provision of civil legal
assistance to low-income people through the collaborative efforts of a community of advocates that
includes legal services programs, the private bar, social service and community organizations,
law schools, courts, advocacy groups at the state and national levels, and poor people as
advocates for themselves. The Project provides a national forum for coordination and planning,
and generates and supports the development of national capacities to meet the evolving needs of
equal justice advocates.
Indigent Defense 2000
In June 2000, the Youth Advocacy Project was chosen by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of the few juvenile
defender agencies in the country to participate in Indigent Defense 2000, a two-day working conference in Washington,
DC that focused on promoting relationships between the indigent defense bar and other key stakeholders in the justice
system.
1999 Ultimate Advocacy: A Defender's Guide to Strategic Management
In March 1999, the Vera Institute of Justice recognized
the Youth Advocacy Project as a model program, with particular attention to its use of
community-based strategies.
1999 Joe Murphy Award
In September 1999, Anna Bulkin, the Youth Advocacy Project's former Social Work Coordinator,
received the Joe Murphy Award for outstanding social work performance from the
Committee of Public Counsel Services.
1998 Massachusetts Bar Association Access to Justice Award
In 1998, Joshua Dohan, Esq., Director of the Youth Advocacy Project, received the
Massachusetts Bar Association's Access to Justice Award.
1998 Innovative Approaches to Juvenile Indigent Defense
In December 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice recognized the Youth Advocacy Project as
one of the seven most promising model juvenile indigent defense programs in the country.
YAP is profiled in the Justice Department's Juvenile Justice Bulletin, Innovative
Approaches to Juvenile Indigent Defense. Click here
to read the report on YAP.
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THE JAY D. BLITZMAN AWARD FOR YOUTH ADVOCACY
Click here for a list of recipients.
Established in honor of YAP's founder, the Jay D. Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy is
presented annually to a person who has demonstrated a commitment to juvenile rights, which
is the hallmark of Judge Blitzman's long career as an advocate. The award honors an advocate
who has exhibited both extraordinary dedication and excellent performance to assure that
children accused of criminal conduct, or otherwise at risk, are treated fairly and with
dignity in the courtroom, in the community, and in the custody of the state.
Judge Blitzman spent 20 years as a public defender. No one has been a more zealous advocate on behalf
of indigent defendants. At the same time, Judge Blitzman worked tirelessly to educate the legal community
regarding the importance of providing high quality representation to children accused of criminal conduct.
Judge Blitzman's twenty-year crusade on behalf of children and their advocates culminated with the creation
of the Youth Advocacy Project in 1992. In founding the Youth Advocacy Project, Judge Blitzman showed us
that children can be best represented by combining legal services with a variety of human services.
The Youth Advocacy Project's methods reflect Judge Blitzman’s belief that much delinquent
and/or criminal conduct is preventable through appropriate family or community intervention.
He demonstrated that lawyers, working in conjunction with other community members, can assist
in rehabilitation and crime prevention. The success of the Project has proven his thesis that
zealous legal advocacy is a necessary first step in the rehabilitation of court-involved young people.
In recognition of this achievement, this award honors people who have excelled in furthering collaboration
between courtroom and community advocates.
The honoree should exemplify Judge Blitzman's philosophy that everyone in the community has a role to
play in helping young people grow into happy and productive adults. The work of the honoree should
also reflect the zealousness and perseverance that marked Jay Blitzman's singular career as an
advocate. For that reason, lawyers, social service providers, psychologists, teachers, youth-workers,
medical professionals, parents, private citizens and any others who exemplify this spirit are eligible
for the Jay D. Blitzman Award for Youth Advocacy.
Blitzman Award Recipients
2008
Kristyn Snyer
2007 Richard Bowen
2006 Glenn Daly
2006 Laurie Jo Wallace
2006 Mo Barboza
2005 Patricia Downey
2004 Lael Chester, Citizens for Juvenile Justice (Boston)
2004 Robin Dahlberg, ACLU (New York)
2004 Sam Williams, Youth Opportunity Boston (Roxbury)
2003 Jenny Chou, EDLaw Program
2002 Second Thoughts
2001 Ken King
2000 Habiba Davis
1999 Scott Busconi
1998 Tony Vuong
1997 Children's Law Center of Massachusetts
1996 Ernest Hughes, Jr.
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