Peter Pincetl interviews Vicki A. Ballou about the CLiF Project. Oregon is one of seven states in the nation that places juveniles adjudicated for a felony sex crime on the sex offender registry for life. Given the stigma and difficulty in obtaining employment or housing when someone is labeled a sex offender, critics of lifetime registration believe that permanent placement on the list is overly harsh punishment for juvenile offenders who have been rehabilitated and pose no threat to the public. In 2011, Tonkon Torp partners Gwen Griffith and Vicki Ballou created a model for providing pro bono legal services to juvenile offenders who are deemed good candidates for removal from the lifetime listing but who can’t afford a lawyer to help them navigate the complex process. Called "Changing Lives Forever” (CLiF), the project is a collaboration with the region’s premier juvenile law public interest law firm, Youth, Rights & Justice (YRJ). http://www.tonkon.com/attorneys/vicki-a-ballou
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