Troubled Teens Resources

Teen crisis intervention is required, not only in our communities, but apparently in our country’s juvenile justice system as well. Earlier we posted on problems in Ohio. Another troubling problem plaguing the juvenile justice system is being scrutinized in Texas.

There has been increased concerns about juvenile offenders being subjected to adult justice. Many state adult prisons are not set up to accommodate or work with the many teen offenders that have committed crimes serious enough to necessitate their being tried as an adult, thus landing them in adult prisons ill prepared to undertake their rehabilitation.

In Texas the concern is that their beleaguered juvenile system is being run by inept and possibly corrupt officials coming out of the adult penal system who have little training or expertise with youth offenders.

Teenagers who are cavalier about flouting the law might want to think twice about being incarcerated in a state run facility. Brat camps and other privately run troubled teen schools seem the more promising option for those teen offenders who have the potential for rehabilitation.

“For Texas youths trapped in a dysfunctional correctional system, the question is much broader than one ill-fit administrator. Mr. Perry should insist that TYC officials take more seriously a blue-ribbon panel, which recommends a dramatic transformation built around experts in juvenile justice, not refugees from the adult prison system.”

(source)