Troubled Teens Resources

An interesting debate arises over punishments meted out by an Ohio judge. Judge Cicconetti has gained a reputation for handing out unusual sentences designed to leave lasting impressions.

A young man that insulted a cop by yelling “pig”, was made to stand on a street corner with a pig holding a sign stating “This is not a police officer.” A drunken driver is so identified by a custom made license plate.

The controversy arises over sentences that the judge hands out specifically designed to humiliate the offender.

Youth mental health specialist, Carole McKindley-Alvarez contends that humiliation as punishment is counter productive. Her position is common amongst those who view offenders more as victims that require therapy than as criminals deserving of punishment.

How it pertains to troubled teens brings the debate back to teaching at-risk teens the power of consequences as opposed to providing excuses for destructive behavior that serve more as a crutch than as an agent for behavioral change. Humiliation as a consequence is far milder than the consequences that result from teen age drug abuse.

The judge points out that in today’s world, a troubled teen tends to view a stint in jail as a badge of honor.

“Sending young people to jail oftentimes has a reverse effect,” Judge Cicconetti says. “It becomes a status symbol, but let that same young impressionable individual be humiliated a little bit, boy, his friends are not going to be high-fiving him. Nothing in this world is 100 percent, but with the success rate that we’ve had, it’s amazing. It’s a lesson, and we hope that it’s a life-long lesson.”

(Source)
Imagine a teen busted for drugs being sentenced to sit in a college campus with a sign that reads “I will never get to college because I fried my brains on drugs.” It will not be something he brags about back at school and it just might be the lesson that hits home.