4 little kittens..For many years, we have fed younger and younger people into our Criminal Justice System and gotten the same results over and over again as recidivism rates approach 70% (Juvenile Justice recidivism is not tracked in 11 states and narrowly tracked elsewhere).

Evidence overwhelmingly indicates that abused and neglected children, mostly from families suffering from generation after generation of child abuse, fuel the furnace of the Juvenile Justice System.  It has become common to charge 12 and 13 year old children as adults in the Criminal Justice System, some as young as 8 years old.  Pennsylvania recently charged a 10 year old as an adult.  

3000 children have been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, some as young as 13 (sentenced to die in prison).

Yesterday’s article on tasing 3rd graders & expelling preschoolers at many times the rate of other industrialized nations is snapshot into the dysfunctional elements of our institutional approach to dealing with the mental health issues of children, primarily abused and neglected children, that enter Juvenile Justice Systems where we under-treat or ignore their mental health problems.

Today, I draw your attention to some of the worst practices within Child Protection Services and the Juvenile Justice System and ask you to reflect on how these practices relate to the frightening violence and dismal news that pervades our media and daily lives.  Social death…

is how social psychologist Craig Haney describes solitary confinement.  Juveniles have been subjected to extended periods of rigid and cruel solitary confinement even though there is substantial proof that it physically alters the brains in remarkably negative ways and produces tons of rotten short and long term effects.

14 states have no minimum age for trying children as adults.

Who are the youth streaming into our jails, prisons and Juvenile Justice Systems?

 In St Paul MN, the ACEs study found that the 8% of children 12 and under who become the juveniles that commit 70%  of all of the violent and dangerous crimes committed by juveniles in that city were committed by youth from 2 to 4% of the families within the city.

MN’s former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz states it this way, “90% of the youth in our Juvenile Justice System have come through Child Protection” and “The difference between that poor child and a felon, is about 8 years”.  

Today, 10,000 children are living in adult jails and  prisons where they are 5 times more likely to be sexually abused and much more likely to commit suicide.  2/3 of the youth in Juvenile Justice Systems suffer from mental health problems, half that number from severe, multiple and chronic mental health issues.

What’s our answer to very young children being raised in toxic homes who act out, screaming for help and attention?

Too much Prozac (video), Solitary Confinement and Adult Prison.

 

“What we do to our children, they will do to society” (Pliny the Elder 2000 years ago)

All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children

 

Read more here;

Top 6 Juvenile Detention Centers in America – What Makes …

www.jailexchange.com/…juveniledetentioncentersjuvenile…/jailex-rat…

Feb 20, 2011 – There are 1,315 County Juvenile Detention Centers in America … If we had to point out one state that is consistently the worst offender, we …

America’s 10 Worst Prisons: Walnut Grove | Mother Jones

www.motherjones.com/…/america-10-worstprisons-walnut…

Mother Jones

May 13, 2013 – The youth prison’s record on rape was the worst “of any facilityanywhere in the nation.” Richard Ross, Juvenile-in-Justice. Part 9 of an 11-part …

Locked Inside A Nightmare – CBS News

www.cbsnews.com/news/locked-inside-a-nightmare/

CBS News

When 14-year-old Sara Lowe was arrested, her parents thought it was a blessing. They thought she was going to a new kind of juvenile detention facility – a …


    1. More images for worst juvenile detention centers


5 shocking revelations about juvenile detention facilities …

www.salon.com/…/5_shocking_revelations_about_juvenile_detenti

Salon

Oct 25, 2013 – Sexual assault is also rampant, with one YSI detention center in … The privatization of juvenile prisons has had detrimental effects on youth, ….. Jeb Bush,worst candidate ever: Does this man even want to be president?

Uncompromising Photos Expose Juvenile Detention in …

www.wired.com/…/photog-hopes-to-effect-policy-with-survey-of-…

Wired

Apr 11, 2012 – A 12-year-old in his cell at the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi. The window has been boarded up from the …

The Dark Secret of Juvenile Detention Centers – Slate …

www.slate.com/…/woodland_hills_youth_development_center_the_…

Slate

Sep 3, 2014 – Thirty-two teens escaped from a Tennessee juvenile detention centerlate Monday night, taking advantage of an overnight shift change to … 6 2015 4:16 PM Indiana Jones’ Worst Nightmare: The Slithering Masses of of the …

# 18 Cruelty and Death in Juvenile Detention Centers – Top …

www.projectcensored.org/18-cruelty-and-death-in-juve

Project Censored

18 Cruelty and Death in Juvenile Detention Centers. April 30, 2010 … The worstphysical confrontations have ended in death. At least five juveniles died after …

‘Shocking’ Video Shows Abuses at Juvenile Facility …

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5NRGwJuCSk

Mar 14, 2011 – Uploaded by funkfresh01

Video footage from the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Centershows a youth hogtied and other abuses …

Private Prison Empire Rises Despite Startling Record Of …

projects.huffingtonpost.com/prisoners-of-profit

The Huffington Post

Oct 22, 2013 – Out of more than 300 institutions surveyed, a YSI detention center in … of its juvenile incarceration system has produced some of the worst …

 

Best & Worst States For Child Protection;

 

Best & Worst States For America’s Children | INVISIBLE …

www.invisiblechildren.org/2014/…/best-worststates-for-americas-childre

Jan 1, 2014 – Where does your state rank in protecting children & what can you do to make improvements. These stories tell the best and worst of what’s …

2014′s Best and Worst States for Underprivileged Children …

wallethub.com/edu/best-worststates-underprivileged-children/5403/

2014′s Best and Worst States for Underprivileged Children. Share …. What are the key issues (e.g., abuse, homelessness, etc.) that are affecting children in the  …

National Coalition for Child Protection Reform | WORKING …

nccpr.info/

The members of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform have … Our interactive database showing which states overuse the worst forms of care, and …

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Guess Which State Does the Worst Job Protecting Kids …

www.huffingtonpost.com/…/guess-which-state-does-…

The Huffington Post

Nov 14, 2014 – Florida’s infamous status as arguably the worst state in the country forprotecting children remains intact. That’s despite rivalries from dirt-poor …

Save The Children Ranks The Worst States For Protecting …

www.huffingtonpost.com/…/the-10-worststates-for-

The Huffington Post

Sep 16, 2014 – Two years ago, the Sandy Hook school shooting reminded us that places we assume are safe, like our children’s schools, can quickly become …

The 10 worst states for kids to grow up – thenewsherald.com

www.thenewsherald.com/…/doc4f25b2318586714791…

The News‑Herald

Jan 29, 2012 – The 10 worst states for kids to grow up – NEW YORK — Oh, children. When will they learn? Never, it turns out, if they happen to live in one of the …

KIDS COUNT Data Center from the Annie E. Casey …

datacenter.kidscount.org/

A project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT is the premier source for data on child and family well-being in the United States. Access hundreds of …

The Best and Worst Things About US States – Neatorama

www.neatorama.com/…/The-Best-and-Worst-Things-About-US-States/

Mar 19, 2014 – Illinois, Best animal protection laws, Worst State for nonprofit agencies. Indiana, Best parental involvement in children’s education, Most toxic  …