About the Panel
In the fall of 2010, the Youth Advocacy Department launched the Revocation Advocacy initiative.
After youth are committed to the Department of Youth Services (DYS) and serve their initial time in custody, they are then released into the community under an agreement called the Grant of Conditional Liberty, or GCL. The GCL is a document signed by youth and their DYS caseworkers that lists a number of conditions that the youth must follow. These include conditions such as obeying all laws, attending school regularly, and staying in contact with the DYS caseworker. When DYS caseworkers believe that their client is not following the conditions of their GCL, they may decide to return the youth to custody to face a revocation hearing. At this hearing, the caseworker will argue that the youth violated the GCL, and ask for a certain amount of time in custody.
Before the fall of 2010, very few youth had lawyers to represent them in these hearings. Since October of 2010, all youth in DYS’s Metro Region who are returned to custody meet with a lawyer and, if they choose, receive legal representation at no cost.
Starting in October of 2011, the program breaks new ground with a statewide Revocation Advocacy Panel made up of YAD-certified private attorneys. These lawyers will offer zealous representation to every youth who is returned to DYS custody for revocation across the Commonwealth.
Compensation for revocation cases is limited to attorneys certified as members of the Revocation Advocacy Panel.
If you have any questions about the Revocation Advocacy initiative, or are an attorney who is interested in applying for membership on the Revocation Advocacy Panel, please contact Revocation Advocacy Coordinator Mara Voukydis at 617-988-8354.
Practice Documents for Panel Members