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The Cahn Collaborative is a loosely organized group of programs and individuals intended to both honor and perpetuate the life work of Edgar Cahn. Partners include Swarthmore College, the Widener Delaware Law School, the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, youth court programs in schools around the region and more. The Cahn Collaborative is a multi-sector partnership between law firms, legal entities, K-12 educational institutions, community groups, law schools and higher education institutions, and philanthropy to memorialize the social justice activities of Edgar Cahn and to ensure they continue to be utilized to assist disadvantaged populations. Preserving his ideas and work is very important if disadvantaged populations are to successfully advance their lives.
The Cahn collaborators are always amazed when someone doesn’t know about Edgar Cahn (see bio below), but even his many supporters only know pieces of Edgar’s work. Although youth court is the primary focus of Cahn Collaborative efforts, Professor Cahn’s work with timebanking, co-production, systems change, and more will always be a part of the initiative.
Youth courts (juvenile justice and school-based) are a restorative justice disciplinary program and an academic program enriching school curriculum for K-12 youth. Youth Courts, sometimes called peer courts or teen courts, are trauma-informed, block the school-to-prison pipeline, reduce school suspensions, engage students in civic engagement, and build conflict-resolution skills. They empower youth, providing them with a wide range of academic skills - public speaking, critical thinking, problem solving, and consensus building. A prototypical co-production model (creating youth as resources), youth court under the Cahn Collaborative constitutes both educational and juvenile justice systems change.
David Trevaskis, PCSS Executive Secretary, Zooms with Edgar Cahn and his wife, Dr. Chris Gray, planning a program on systems change and youth court.
Edgar Cahn Memorial: Event held at the law school he founded.
The Cahn Collaborative is a loosely organized group of programs and individuals intended to both honor and perpetuates the life work of Edgar Cahn. Partners include Swarthmore College, the Widener Delaware Law School, the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, youth court programs in schools around the region, and more. The Cahn Collaborative is a multi-sector partnership between law firms, legal entities, K-12 educational institutions, community groups, law schools, higher education institutions, and philanthropy to memorialize the social justice activities of Edgar Cahn and to ensure they continue to be utilized to assist disadvantaged populations. Preserving his ideas and work is very important if disadvantaged populations are to successfully advance their lives.
The resolution was proposed by Council Member Mary M. Cheh
Resolution ACR24-0134, Effective from Feb 01, 2022 Published in DC Register Page 002038
"WHEREAS, Edgar’s work on Timebanking also led to his development of a far-reaching theory of systems change he called “Co-Production” that he offered as a new paradigm for human services, its theory and implications set forth in his book, “No More Throw Away People” on which he collaborated with Chris Gray;
References for co-production.
Read more about Edgar Cahn Here: Edgar Cahn Biography
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