Troubled Teens Resources

One very effective means of teen crisis intervention is peer pressure. Yes, the same peer pressure that may convince a teenager to try drugs can also convince them not to. Teens have an opportunity to apply some of that type of pressure by presiding over the sentencing of their fellow teens in teen court.

Teen courts exist all over the nation. in one variation or another. and are surprisingly effective in dealing out justice that seems to leave a lasting impression. Teen help in the form of positive peer culture is employed on a far more comprehensive level in behavioral programs in many teen boarding schools.

“The court sees between 25 and 35 defendants each year, Rutten said.

The program has shown it works, Rutten said.

Only about 3 percent of the teens who have completed the court program end up back in the Clallam County juvenile justice system…”

What the teens say, goes. Thus one teen was told to go fishing and catch “dinner” for a week for a disabled person unable to do so. One of the objectives of the program is to help an offender to develop a connection with the community, theory being that teens do not cause harm to a neighborhood that they feel a part of.

“While Rutten and DuBeau observe the court, they do not intervene as the teens hear arguments and pass sentences.

“Kids are doing sentencing; they understand the motivation of why kids did something. They understand kids’ thoughts and action.”
[…]
Teenagers volunteering for the court said they like being in charge, and they take it seriously.”
(source)

Troubled teen boarding schools can play a very vital role in society. The juvenile justice system currently struggles with teens whose crimes are so severe that juvenile justice can not adequately address them. How many priors does a violent teen rack up before he finally takes his place amongst adult murderers and rapists? If boot camps or schools for troubled teens are an option, can the burgeoning teen criminal be diverted from more serious offenses?

“By the time they were facing serious time, many juvenile criminals had racked up records that included a string of dismissed charges, cases that were diverted to other programs, and convictions that drew no substantial prison time.

A few were juveniles such as Charles Rodriguez. His rap sheet began by age 11. A week after he turned 17, he fired a gun into a crowd and wounded four people. This year, at 21, he shot and killed a man in a jealous rage.

And then there was Antonio Rogers. Seventeen when he was put on probation for breaking his girlfriend’s jaw in 2004, in 2005, he shot and killed her. Afterward, he took his own life.”

(source)

When the justice system is so overwhelmed that they simply can not lock up or rehabilitate delinquents early in the game, those delinquents will keep re-offending until they finally commit the crime that will qualify them for life in an adult prison. Or kill them.

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)

Many schools for troubled teens have found that animal assisted therapies work wonders with teens who are alienated and incapable of empathy or relationship.
Tipton, a boys boarding school for troubled teens describes their program this way:

“Animals ignite warmth in even the most withdrawn boy, putting him at ease and increasing his willingness to reach out and take risks without fear….. He will also learn to have compassion, gentleness and respect for animals, other people and himself. Additionally he will learn to control his aggression, curb his tempers and acquire gentility….”

This form of teen crisis intervention is not limited to troubled teen boarding schools, but can be established as a stand alone program used by the juvenile justice system and other youth rehabs. You maybe able to find one in your community, such as this equine youth program soon to be launched in Northern Kentucky.

“The idea for starting a Wrangler Co. here came to Clemons after visiting his father… when he heard about four young people being shot in one night in his old neighborhood.

He believes horses can help kids find the right path in life - and he has experience to back that up.

By the end of the month, Clemons’ nonprofit Muddy Water Wrangler Co. intends to start bringing in at-risk children - most of them will never have seen a live horse - for lessons in horsemanship and citizenship.”

(source)
(Image / Michael E. Keating)