In their article for the Autumn 2013 issue of Youth, Rights & Justice’s Juvenile Law Reader, Gwen Griffith and Vicki Ballou discuss the CLiF (Changing Lives Forever) project and encourage attorneys to get involved. Griffith and Ballou co-founded CLiF in 2011.
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.
The CLiF project provides volunteer attorneys around the state to assist low-income registrants with relief from registration. Most case referrals come from Youth, Rights & Justice, but treatment providers, probation officers, juvenile court counselors, and even the State Police also refer cases to the Project.
