Felice Harris featured panelist at NYATCP conference

Felice Harris, LMSW, MsED

Shout out to our very own Felice Harris, LMSW, MsED, who will be a featured panelist at the NYATCP Training Virtual Conference taking place March 3-4, 2022. The theme is “Changing Landscape of Treatment Courts.” Ms. Harris will participate in the session entitled “Opportunity Youth Part: Emerging Adult Justice Reform in New Rochelle”. The session is headed by New Rochelle City Court Judge Jared Rice and will present information on the creation and accomplishments of the New Rochelle Opportunity Youth Part (OYP).

The OYP initiative serves young people 16-24 who are not in school, are unemployed or under-employed, and are typically disconnected from positive services within their communities. OYP’s community-centric approach links eligible young adults facing misdemeanor or felony charges to direct service providers who offer mental health and substance use treatment, job training and placement, academic assistance, and mentoring services. Approximately 35 local stakeholders meet regularly to support the initiative, including: the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Legal Aid Society of Westchester, other defender associations, the New Rochelle Police Department, elected officials, academic institutions, educators, health care professionals and other community organizations. This unique initiative is also supported by the Center for Court Innovation and the Columbia Justice Lab. OYP, the first Emerging Adult Justice initiative in the 9th Judicial District, is becoming a model for other communities. 

NYATP is the New York Association of Treatment Court Professionals.

Interested? You can register for the conference here: https://www.nyatcp.org/conferences/ 

A little bit about Felice Harris, LMSW, MsEd

Ms. Harris is the director of integrated services and crisis and community-based programs at The Guidance Center of Westchester. A seasoned professional with 25 years of departmental/organizational leadership in social services and education, Ms. Harris’ experience spans school-based mental health, supervision in field instruction, special education, and early childhood leadership. She also serves in several community-based roles and capacities. Ms. Harris is a licensed psychotherapist who earned graduate degrees from Fordham University and Bank Street College of Education. She will earn a doctorate in May 2022. She's always interested in opportunities to be involved in the helping professions.