Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/trauma/page/8/)
Moriah Barrett, then 14, woke up to burns on her body one night along with physical evidence that she had been raped. She had been invited to a party the night before by someone she considered a friend.
Can we treat, heal and prevent reoffending in a youth if we have not treated and healed the primary parent of the youth?
For the past several years, researchers and practitioners around the country have been promoting “trauma-informed” projects and policies. The emergence of the label seems to date back to the findings of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, published back in 1997. While the phrase has caught on like wildfire, there appears to be little consistency as to what this actually means. For some skeptics, it seemed that “trauma-informed” was replacing “evidence-based” as the mantra to the masses – something that had to be mentioned in all grant applications in order to get funding. Admittedly, I was one of those skeptics.
When Crystal Contreras was seven and living in Los Angeles, her mother put her in the care of someone Contreras saw as a father figure. Instead, he pressured the little girl for sex. For the next three years, until she was 10, the man raped her regularly, often creeping into the house at night without her mother’s knowledge. “I never said nothing to my mom,” Contreras told JJIE.org during an interview in July. “I was scared he would kill her or hurt her or hurt the animals that I had.
Everyone has a date that is forever etched in their mind. For some the date marks a joyous event such as a birthday or anniversary. Others remember the date of a tragic event such as an accident or death of a loved one. The date I will forever remember is April 2, 2009. About 4:30 on that beautiful afternoon, my husband and I got a phone call no parent wants to receive.
The girl is maybe 15 years old? She is standing in the back of a building, or maybe it’s an alley way. She has her arms wrapped around her body and her teeth are chattering. When the officer approaches and tells her to leave the alley way she shakes her head and refuses. The officer moves in closer and reiterates his order to leave. Suddenly the girl is lunging at him, screaming, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Get away from me!” She is pushing her hands out at him, then pointing her finger at the officer, ordering him to keep his distance.
It's not a secret that many youth in juvenile court struggle with symptoms related to trauma, but it can be hard to remember in court, when faced with a defiant youth who's been repeatedly delinquent. So it's great to see a new publication from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, 10 Things Every Juvenile Court Judge Should Know about Trauma and Delinquency.(Even though it seems to be aimed only at judges, it's useful for all staff who work with or in juvenile court.)
Scoff at the idea that trauma could be related to breaking the law? Here's a telling observation from the publication:
It does not go unnoticed by youth when their safety and well-being is not addressed but their delinquent behavior is. These kinds of paradoxes and frustrations can increase the likelihood that youth will respond defiantly and with hostility to court and other professionals who are in positions of authority. System professionals would benefit from recognizing that imposing only negative or punitive consequences will likely do little to change the youth’s patterns of aggression, rule breaking, and risky behaviors because such a response does not address the impact of traumatic stress on the child.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services announces a one-year grant to continue and expand grant activities funded under the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, Treatment and Service Adaption Centers, Category II and Community Treatment and Services Centers – Category III. This grant is to increase activity and services of the nation's child welfare system, juvenile justice/dependency court systems as well as to fund child mental health systems. The goal is to create a national network of grantees known as the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) that works to develop and promote effective trauma treatment, services and other resources, such as child-serving community service systems, for kids exposed to trauma. The deadline for this is June 3, 2011.
Exposure to trauma, delinquency and school failure are related, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). More than sixty percent of children have witnessed violence and 46.3 percent have experienced physical assault.
If you have direct experience with kids who’ve gone through traumatic experiences, you may want to join the online forum called "Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain". Benjamin Chambers writes that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is collecting information and data. If you can answer the following question, this forum is for you:
“Where are there opportunities within these adolescent systems to better identify, assess and intervene to support the needs and healthy development of young people affected by chronic trauma?”
For more information:
Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain - An Online Forum
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation