Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/category/ideas-and-opinions/page/58/)
To the amazing young men and women incarcerated across the United States of America — my question to you is this. Take a long, hard look at where you at. Ask yourself — do you like where you are right now?
I graduated from high school in June 1975. On June 30 of that year there were 52,190 youth in public or private juvenile facilities charged with or adjudicated for a delinquency or status offense.
Last October, I was elected chair of the FACJJ. I can tell you from personal experience that the members’ energy, wisdom and genuine concern mean that the group recommendations are supported by research, best practice and a breadth of experience in the juvenile justice field.
In other words, did the Adolescent Domestic Battery Typology Tool work? And is it value added for the field? The study, which is described as including the “largest reported sample of youth who have been arrested for an act of domestic battery toward a parent,” indicated that the answers to both questions is yes.
For three decades, I have listened in awe to the brave voices of children, youth and families who have shared, in anguish, their past experiences — experiences that anyone would objectively call “adverse” and ones that can have lasting effects on health and well-being.
Youth who feel connected to their families have a better chance of developing and achieving their goals.
“This doesn’t look like any detention I ever seen!” Marcus says about the ring of chairs I’ve set up for our school’s daily in-school detention.
As physicians, we are often on the front lines of tragedies such as those in Louisiana, Minnesota and Texas recently and in Florida in June.
The creation of the juvenile court was a spectacular triumph of the progressive movement in the late 19th century.
It was a particularly cold day in Macon, Georgia. I prepared myself for the long wait to get into Central State Prison to visit my son.