violence

The following poem written by 13-year-old Alexie Boursiquot is a winning submission in a Youth Voices contest held by Strategies for Youth, a nationwide nonprofit focused on improving the relationship between law enforcement and young people.

Justin Taylor Bean, removed from his abusive birth parents as a toddler, spent the next two decades in psychiatric hospitals and more than 40 residential facilities. Over the years, his physical and verbal aggression increased despite treatment and medication.

The California legislature has passed a bill that prevents juveniles 15 or younger from being transferred into adult court for any crime, a dramatic turnaround in a state that used to give wide discretion to prosecutors in seeking adult time for youths.

This week’s episode of 60 Minutes will feature a segment by Oprah Winfrey on childhood trauma, specifically looking at how adverse childhood experiences early in life can lead to physical and mental challenges later in life.

Youth Services Insider is hearing that the number of Central American youth arriving at the Mexican border has skyrocketed in recent months, up from about 10 a day to 75 per day.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recently published a report by several researchers on the groundbreaking “Pathways to Desistance” project, which tracked about 1,300 serious juvenile offenders from the Phoenix and Philadelphia areas for seven years after conviction.

When I think about the “success stories” of the foster care system — and yes, I use air quotations over those two words — my mind doesn’t shift to the famous orphans-turned-millionaires and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe (who barely conquered the demons of her childhood) or Eddie Murphy.

When Sasha was in high school, she was raped. Two years later, she had dropped out of high school and was arrested on petty theft charges. According to a recent report entitled “The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story,” Sasha’s experience at school in the assault’s aftermath was the catalyst for these consequences.

Research with families involved with the child welfare system across generations has largely focused on the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment. However, their feelings about being involved with child welfare as parents are largely unknown.