Over the past few decades, the United States’ primary solution for juvenile offenders has been incarceration, or in other words, placement in juvenile correction facilities. However, after many studies, this way of holding troubled youth accountable for their actions may not be the best option for all. The National Conference of State Legislatures states, “Detention that follows arrest of a young person and pending disposition of the case has not only been shown to have negative consequences for some youths, it often is costly and unwarranted for public safety.” Although incarceration is necessary for some juveniles, alternative options can be just as effective, if not more.

With October being the month of Mental Health Awareness Day, it is important to know the effects that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on juveniles’ mental health. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that between April through June, younger adults reported disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation, than the same time period in 2019. 

Home should be a safe haven for many during this pandemic, but for some children it can be a place of fear. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many life-threatening consequences, including a drop in child abuse reports with many states reporting a drop of as much as 50%. While this may seem like good news, some experts fear it does not necessarily mean that fewer kids are at risk, but that the people required to report suspected abuse have less contact with children. Other experts, however, believe that this fear is premature and overblown. 

Today we are sharing the story of a Multisystemic Therapy Supervisor, Melissa McGreal, in New York City during the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

There is no debating that the number of young people in the United States who have been exposed to traumatic events is far too high. Although estimates vary, it is believed that the prevalence of such events in the general youth population is substantial. According to the World Health Organization, one in four adults report having been abused as a child. For youth involved with the juvenile justice system, exposure to traumatic events is believed to be higher than that of community samples of similarly aged kids. An article from the American Psychological Association states that, of these youth, 70-90 percent have experienced one or more types of trauma. 

Nestled on the border between Ohio and Kentucky sits the Ohio River Juvenile Correctional Facility, a high-security juvenile prison where Donald, sixteen years old, was serving a six-month sentence. Donald had been diagnosed with multiple mental health issues prior to sentencing—including psychiatric illnesses and bipolar disorder— but instead of receiving mental health treatment, Donald was held in a correctional facility. At the price of over $300.00 per day—the cost of incarcerating a single young person—Donald’s illnesses began to interfere with his life at Ohio River.

There are many factors that can affect a teenager’s decision to smoke or drink alcohol. In the last few decades, however, the rapid growth of advertising and consumerism has begun to have an enormous influence on teens.

What is the school-to-prison pipeline? As the name suggests, this term refers to the disturbing trend in which at-risk youth are pushed out of school and into the criminal justice system. This trend desperately needs reversing, as many students pushed into the pipeline are never able to escape it.

Today we are sharing the story of a mother who was skeptical of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), but is now thankful for the tools she has received because of the program. 

Our society finds itself asking why do we sentence, probate and incarcerate so many young people while forgetting the frailties of adolescents? Juvenile justice reform is occurring in many states. Often judges are the leaders or at the center of these efforts. Why are judges taking on this new role, and why are communities looking to them for leadership? It is always helpful to look back to see how we got here. We can then better answer those questions.