The Mudcat Report: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community News & Guests
The Mudcat Report was an idea developed a few years ago from the Mississippi flathead catfish with a little tradition put into this about the blues, government and local community news. Decades of experience will be given to adopt the idea created in this podcast.
Over the last few decades, Americans have been increasingly doubtful about the outlook of government and the quality of the local community's reaction by them. The creation of the Mudcat Report is an evaluation of the local government so the community has a realistic acknowledgement.
HOST: Hunter Dawkins - Owner/Publisher of the award-winning newspaper - The Gazebo Gazette, SuperTalk Mississippi News contributor, Congressional Staffer, Public Relations for the Attorney General's Office
The Mudcat Report: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community News & Guests
The Mudcat Report Episode 29: Youth Court
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The Mudcat Report Episode 29: Youth Court
HOST: Hunter Dawkins - Owner/Publisher of the Award-Winning Newspaper - The Gazebo Gazette, SuperTalk Mississippi News contributor, former Congressional Staffer, former Public Relations for the Attorney General's Office
PRODUCER: Jeff Clark - Award-Winning Journalist, Multimedia/Podcast Host, Director for the Harrison County Senior Services
GUESTS:
- Ashley McKnight - Harrison County Attorney, Chancery Court Guardian Ad Litem
- Kim Haney - South Mississippi Chancery Court Attorney, Mediator, Guardian Ad Litem
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SPEAKER_04Welcome to the Mudcat Report, community news, politics, and culture with a local twist. Here's your host, owner and publisher of the Gazebo Gazette, Hunter Dawkins.
SPEAKER_06Good afternoon. My name is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the Mudcat Report. This is the 29th episode of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community News Podcast. Sponsored by the Gazebo Gazette, Harrison County's independent newspaper, the Beau Revage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Nine Toes Brewing Company in Pasquershan, O'Dwyer, Realty Agent, Stephanie Mankowitz, Joseph Kelly, attorney at law, Coast Casual in Pasker's Chan, the Insurance Barn in Gulfport, Hook'em for Heroes Block Party, and we're always in the U.S. Marine Inc. Studio. I'm here with my wonderful producer of the show and my good friend Jeff Clark. Jeff is a well-accomplished award-winning journalist and the director of the Harrison County Senior Services. Jeff, how are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_05I'm well, Hunter. Looks like you're in the uh U.S. uh Marine League studio somewhere in a hotel in Tampa, Florida, correct? That is the code.
SPEAKER_06On the road. That is correct. You know, we uh we have I have quite a few uh other things that I have to do, not just the paper, not just the podcast, but you know, in uh in the SEC media football world, which we'll be talking about this upcoming weekend on the on the other podcast we have, we'll we'll do some discussion of that.
SPEAKER_05And here's what you're missing at home uh possible storm, tropical storm bertha. Probably not going to do a whole lot, thank goodness. And uh we're we're glad for that. Hunter, what's our what's our topic tonight?
SPEAKER_06Jeff, our theme of the day is youth court. The state legislature just finished last week a special session, and the governor signed a youth court reform package Friday that installed full-time judges to handle youth court cases and added capacity to the state's correctional youth facility, otherwise known as the youth jail, it would be the the best way to put it. But additionally, there were funds provided to build more youth detention centers and create statewide intervention centers. That's a whole lot, but give me your thoughts.
SPEAKER_05You know, we're all as a village responsible for for our youth and for for helping them and for for for being mentors, but uh, I'm sure you have some subject experts who will have a lot to uh say about it.
SPEAKER_06We have quite two great guests who exactly can describe and go into details where it looks like you and I are just following in the lead with whatever they're saying. So yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_05That's why we have the experts on here. You and I, we stay out of uh of those discussions and uh we'll let let them talk about the subject matter. So, that said, we're gonna pause for a commercial break and we'll be right back with our first guest.
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SPEAKER_06The Gazebo Gazette is Harrison County's only independent newspaper, publishing news from Gulfport to Bay St. Louis every Friday. Hi, this is Hunter Dawkins, owner of the Gazebo Gazette. If you're looking for local news without the hassle of sorting through story after digital story, log on to thegazeboGazette.com. Add your name to the digital audience of 250,000 plus coastal residents who already know where to find the stories that matter to them. Our first guest is Ashley McKnight from the McKnight Law Firm LLC. Ashley is a Harrison County attorney and a Chancery Court ad lightum. Welcome, Ashley. How are you?
SPEAKER_01I'm doing well. How are you?
SPEAKER_06I'm doing great. Thank you very much. Ashley, talk to me about the state legislature's special session that was called and whether you agree with the final result after the governor signed the reform package into law.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So the point of the special session, because there were certain youth court reform that, you know, some of the House and some of the senators wanted to address, but it just didn't get addressed in the regular session. So they called the special session to help address certain issues. Um there are there are a lot of, in my opinion, a lot of good things that came from it. And it seems to be going on across a lot of different different counties within Mississippi. So for example, a lot of the youth court proceedings, well, all of the youth court proceedings have always been closed proceedings. So, for example, with circuit court, chancery court, you can just walk into a case, sit and listen in and on what's going on. Youth court, you can't do that because we're dealing with children. And information regarding children, that's going to be protected, confidential. However, from the special session, they've completely flipped it. Whereas before it was automatic that youth court proceedings were closed. Now youth court proceedings are open. And the judge can, it can be like on a case-by-case basis for that particular judge to determine okay, well, is this case one that should be closed and why? And they have to make written findings on that. Um, but it is important to point out though, that just because the hearings are open does not mean that the records are open as well. The records are still confidential. So that's something that is a huge change from what historically youth court has been like.
SPEAKER_06That was definitely something that I did not hear about. You know, I read some of the articles that were written about it, and they did not clearly indicate that the records would not be open. Now, of course, you know, me being from a community newspaper, I'm not really going to go throw anybody under the bus, of course, unless there's a felony or something that is is a seriously criminal. However, even then, I I still find it kind of hesitating on the ability to report that if you don't know all the details. So tell me about that at least.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so again, whenever it comes to these types of proceedings, um, and you know, they do vary. Some of the proceedings they deal with child welfare, like abuse or neglect, and some of them also deal with the delinquency of a child. You know, Mississippi is a mandatory reporting state. Everybody has a duty to report issues regarding the children. So when these issues do go to court, then you know, and there of course is also issues concerning, well, if I report something to CPS, then am I allowed to know about what's going on with the child after the fact? Because you have situations with teachers, for example, they'll see certain things regarding their students, they'll report things, but the teacher sometimes has issues in whether or not they are allowed to know what happens later on with the child, to see is the child being protected, are the issues being addressed. So that's why it's in it's something that's important. And again, there are people that are for youth courts being opened, there are people that are against it, and there are good arguments on both sides, but this is at least a way for people to keep track to know because it gives accountability to the youth courts. It's a way for people to track and know whether or not um the child's the child is being protected.
SPEAKER_06That's a good segue to my next question. Is do in your mind, do you think the Department of Child Protections Protection Services is doing enough as it is right now?
SPEAKER_01Good question. So, of course, with with the social workers, you know, everybody around them every day. Yeah, yeah. So, and yeah, with social workers, you really have to have a heart for it because what you're doing is you are dealing with children, and you're the one who's making the reports to determine are children being protected? Are they in a safe home? Are they being housed with abusers? And even in whenever they're placed in the foster care, keeping up with the foster home, making sure that that home is a good fit for the child. So, of course, no system is perfect. That's just the world we live in. But the issue is that if there is anything that goes wrong with CPS, the youth court can come in and override certain decisions. So if, for example, CPS goes out to a home, because I've I've spoken to a multiplicity of different people who have been foster parents and or people who know of situations that children have been going through. And I know, for example, a situation where CPS went out to the home and the home was filthy. It was a mess. There were dead animals in the home, dead rats in the home, and there were crawling children in this home. CPS said, well, there's a roof over the child's head, and they left the child there. So in situations like that, this is why youth court judges are so important because CPS has cleared the house, but obviously that's not a good situation for the child. So a youth court judge can come in and say, no, no, we're doing an order to remove that child. So um their CPS does a great job because CPS law enforcement, they're the ones who are like the first line. They're the ones who are the initial ones that go to the home. Sometimes law enforcement and CPS comes after them. But they again, no system is perfect. But I do believe that CPS workers are important. And it is imperative that you have a heart to be able to protect the children. But if anything fails, that's where youth just come in.
SPEAKER_06How do you feel about the creation of the youth court as a division of the chancery court?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I believe you may be referring to one of the other things that came out of the special session, where some counties they have full-time youth court judges. And then other counties, they don't have actual youth court judges. Um, they have what are called youth court referees. And what the special session has done is they're really going to be phasing out youth court referees because they're they are attorneys that are appointed by the senior chancery judge and they work part-time. They're not full-time in this in this situation. I think that it's a great idea because what it does is it's going to give consistency. Um, and you know, and and again, with chancery court judges, that's chancery court is a court of equity. They do deal with civil matters, but they also deal with a lot of family court matters. And that's where I practice as well. So appointing another chancery court judge in these specific counties that have youth court referees, that's just going to be, I think that's going to be phenomenal because it's going to put somebody there full time who specifically deals with these youth court cases. And yes, it is going to prowl the chancery docket a lot more than what it is, but having somebody dedicated to that specific role, I think is going to be very important.
SPEAKER_06Ashley, my final question for you. Do you feel that there should be a more a greater need for youth court or for youth detention centers? Sorry, I'm going to repeat that. Do you feel that there's a need for more youth detention centers?
SPEAKER_01So, in my opinion, the reason why I believe there needs to be a separate youth court is because, and and we're going to talk because what you're referring to is like children who have been adjudicated as delinquent youth. Youth court, historically, their goal has been to rehabilitate children. And yes, you have situations where once a child is considered to be delinquent, they're going to go to a detention center. Um, and the point, though, of those detention centers, which some of them they we we sometimes they're referred to as development centers, I guess to make it less harsh. But the goal of the center is to rehabilitate the youth, whether it's going to be community service, whether they're in need of therapy, whether they're in need, sometimes children need drug rehabilitation, sometimes they need behavioral rehabilitation. That is something that is extremely important because we have to be able to secure our children's future. If we don't attempt to rehabilitate them, they're going to keep falling into the same behavior all the way up until they're an adult. And when they become an adult, they're still going to start committing crimes and not going to be good members of society, and they're probably going to end up in prison somewhere. So these development centers, these detention centers, they are important, I do, because they're the they're our way of rehabilitating youth to make sure that going forward, they're not going to continue to fall into these into these um petty crimes.
SPEAKER_06Ashley, we thank you very much, and we look forward to having you on again soon.
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SPEAKER_06And now we have my next guest is Kim Haney. Kim is a chancery court attorney in South Mississippi, a mediator, and a guardian ad Lightham. She is authorized to practice in Mississippi, Alabama, additional states, and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Kim has practiced since 1998 and is a mom of eight. How are you, my friend?
SPEAKER_03I am doing wonderful. How are you doing?
SPEAKER_06Doing great, Kim. Let's discuss the state legislature's special session, it was called, and whether or not you agree with the result of what happened after it was over. That sounds wonderful.
SPEAKER_03Let's do it.
SPEAKER_06So t tell me all your thoughts about it, you know, with the the creation of uh, or at least of some counties having this these additional chancery court judges or what would be called youth court judges.
SPEAKER_03I think it is absolutely amazing. I have spoken with Jansen Owens, and his excitement about this is the same that I share. This was a huge leap for the children of our state. So I am absolutely impressed that they accomplished this.
SPEAKER_06Do you feel there is a need for more youth detention centers in the state of Mississippi?
SPEAKER_03The youth detention centers are only a part of this. Now am I glad that there is more money allocated for this? Yes, because they're a needed um part of the youth court system. Not a positive part, but a necessary part. There's so much in this that they worked very hard on that is positive.
SPEAKER_06Talk to me about the judicial system when it comes to rehabilitation services.
SPEAKER_03With rehabilitation services in the court system, there is access to so many different things. You have the court system itself, which can uh send a child to not just rehab or detention center, but they can allocate other things that the child can experience, such as the foster care system, or having um someone follow up with that child, a plan. There are so many different ways to work within the system to help that child become a success as they grow, and not just to allow that child to anguish. We will our children are our best resource. They are absolutely the thing that is going to promote Mississippi to continue to grow and to be the best it can be.
SPEAKER_06Is um is the Department of Child Protection Services doing doing enough for our state?
SPEAKER_03I'm sorry, you broke up when you said that.
SPEAKER_06Is the Department of Child Protection Services doing enough for our state?
SPEAKER_03Boy, that's a loaded question. I have some very good friends who are CPS workers and they work very hard. The notes that I have seen on what came out of the legislative session does offer transparency, which in my opinion, CPS desperately needed when it comes to the youth court system. Parents needed to know that their rights were protected, and this gives better access to them for understanding what's going on in the youth court system. Removing a lot of the veil of secrecy is a huge thing to help people trust CPS. And I think in the alarming that helps CPS to become a better system to help the children.
SPEAKER_06Final question for you, Kim. Feel about the creation of the youth court as a division of the chancery court.
SPEAKER_03I love it. Absolutely. Because the youth court system has traditionally been kind of set off to the side. It was veiled in secrecy. It didn't have a clear path. It was bogged down. So by moving it into the chancery court, giving it more of an open appearance, um, allowing prosecutors to do their job, allowing the social workers to do theirs, and having it all within a system that we already know works, and that is a chancery court system. I think that is a huge improvement.
SPEAKER_06We thank you very much, Kim, and we look forward to having you on soon.
SPEAKER_03You thank you so much for asking me, and I hope you have a lovely day.
SPEAKER_06Thank you.
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SPEAKER_06We appreciate you listening to this podcast. And we thank you again, Jeff. You know, like I said, we didn't, I didn't know as much about it as we do now, and at least as far as rehabilitation services and such. Give me your thoughts.
SPEAKER_05You know, you and I aren't supposed to be subject experts. You know, we we you you pick a topic and you you ask the questions. And uh I I know far more about this now at the end of this podcast than I did before. Uh Kim and Ashley both very well spoken, did fantastic job uh explaining youth court system, the you know, the the tr problems with it, the issues, the things that need to be addressed. And uh, you know, now now I feel like I could have a much more or a better conversation with someone if they asked me about our youth court system.
SPEAKER_06Well, especially for us, Jeff, too. Now that we know from what Ashley said about the public, the records and whether they are public or not, whatever the judges decide, that's definitely a big issue, at least, you know, depending on what level the crime was. Uh, I certainly think that uh we should we should have both of them on again sometime soon. So absolutely. We want to thank all of our sponsors, including the Bo Revive Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Nine Toes Brewery Brewery in Patch Christian, O'Doire Realty Agent Stephanie Menkowitz, Joseph Kelly, Attorney at Law, Coast Casual in Pasch Christian, the insurance barn in Gulfport, the Hook'em for Heroes block party on Saturday, September the 12th, right in Pas Christian at Nine Toes Brewing Company, and the U.S. Marine Inc. Make sure you check us out on YouTube under the Gazebo Gazette Productions. Am I right, Jeff?
SPEAKER_05That's right. We uh we'll have the video of this up in a couple of days. The audio version will be on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon, iHeart, uh, all the podcast spots.
SPEAKER_06Awesome, awesome. Or you can follow us on the award-winning gazeboette.com, where the podcast will be posted later on in the week, as well as on facebook.com slash the real gazebo gazette, or on X at gazebo Gazette as the handle. The Mudcat Report, as Jeff said, is available on all podcasts, including Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon under the MudCat Report tag. Signing out, this is Hunter Dawkins, the host of the Mud Cat Report. And now you know the rest of the local news story. Good night.