Maria Guido is a licensed clinical social worker at Wellness Warrior Group, an outpatient therapy practice specializing in the treatment of trauma. She writes that the juvenile criminal justice system and the child welfare system do not account for trauma and its impact on child development, behavior and rehabilitation.
Editor’s Note:
This essay is part of our series exploring the juvenile justice landscape in Pittsburgh with a focus on education and mental health. These stories were funded by Staunton Farm Foundation and The Grable Foundation. You can read other essays from inside of the juvenile justice system here and here.
Over 20 juveniles are incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail under Pennsylvania’s Act 33, a law which mandates that children as young as age 14 are charged as adults for certain crimes considered to be serious by lawmakers. Read our investigation into ACT 33 cases and juveniles at the Allegheny County Jail here.
When I first started working with children in the juvenile justice system, I focused on the “what” instead of the “why.” I relied on diagnosis to determine my treatment. When asked to testify as an expert in Act 33 proceedings, a Pennsylvania law that requires those between the ages of 15-17 who meet certain criteria to be tried in the adult criminal justice system, I stressed the importance of addressing mental health, medication management, and therapy. But I still felt that something was missing.
My mind changed the day I watched a child regress.
I was on a crisis call at a local group home, a type of facility for kids who are temporarily placed away from their family and community. When I walked in, my client was screaming threats at staff, ripping paper signs posted on the walls of the unit, and, at one point, attempting to become physically aggressive. Something at that moment told me just to sit. I could have called other staff, who were able to physically intervene, or I could have immediately considered an involuntary commitment to one of two psychiatric units. Instead, I sat. And I waited. I sat there and sat there. The child eventually fell on the floor in a fetal position and screamed out for their deceased mother.
This wasn’t disruptive behavior–this was grief.
As I sat while this child cried, I imagined them in infancy. I imagined them in a bassinet, crying out to have their needs met, but instead, their needs were ignored. I imagined them attempting. We had to allow this child to express their feelings and show them that an adult was there to understand why the adults in their lives were not hearing them. I imagined the frustration they must have trying to explain to people why they don’t feel safe.
So I sat, and waited to show the child I was in the moment with them — that I heard them — and I wasn’t leaving until they felt safe. Once they returned to a calm state, I was able to connect and help them identify their emotions. I corrected the behavior by verbally acknowledging their distress and empowered them to make different choices the next time they felt anxious or distressed.
Our brains are sculpted by our early experiences. When we feel safe, there is an easy transition to the next developmental milestone. When we suffer traumas–physical or sexual abuse, neglect, growing up amid violence, or with parents who struggle with substance use or mental health issues and with food insecurity–our social, emotional, and cognitive capabilities are impacted.
Under threat, clear thinking goes out the window–this is hard-wired. The continued focus of behavioral modification and punishment has not been successful because surviving a perceived threat will override everything.
We call these Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACES. High ACES cause significant differences between a child’s chronological age versus their emotional age or life experience age. The nervous system becomes deeply attuned to surviving dangerous or erratic living situations — instead of meeting developmental milestones on time, the brain is rewired for survival. For example, a 15 year old may have the emotional brain of a 5 year old when they are under duress, because that’s what their brain has been trained to do.
The juvenile criminal justice system and the child welfare system do not account for this, even though justice-involved youth often have experienced some form of trauma. Many report additional, ongoing trauma throughout their involvement in the courts.
Take for instance a child who grew up in an abusive household. The child must adapt to his environment and learn survival skills to protect themselves — they must remain vigilant in their dangerous, unpredictable landscape.
When kids learn not to trust adults, they don’t ask for help. They spend a significant amount of time hiding their pain, but clamping down on hurt and distress can manifest in behaviors that appear angry and difficult. Growing up with trauma can lead to the feeling that threats are everywhere. This sense of mistrust in the world affects all relationships. One trauma response we often see is an impulsive fight response. Under threat, clear thinking goes out the window–this is hard-wired. The continued focus of behavioral modification and punishment has not been successful because surviving a perceived threat will override everything.
Shuman Juvenile Detention Center Reopening–what services will be provided?
The discussions about the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center reopening have focused mostly on who will run the facility rather than what programming and services will actually look like.
Children who need to be temporarily placed out of the home should have access to new evidence-based practices instead of just focusing on behavioral management. Allegheny County can use the reopening of Shuman as an opportunity to truly invest in rehabilitating our youth, to implement a trauma-responsive approach that will not only serve the interests of the community and society at large, but will enable a child to heal.
The treatment for kids at Shuman needs to be community-focused, blending both natural supports such as parents and other family, with the formal supports of social workers and therapists, creating a cohesive team that is focused on healing and preventing recidivism, rather than punishment.
Children with past trauma have difficulty responding to authority figures and strict rules. That trauma is compounded when viewed in light of the ways that incarceration is itself a form of trauma. As a private practice therapist, I offer my clients treatment models that focus on the effects trauma has had on the brain — as EMDR (a specific technique designed to relieve the distress associated with disturbing, painful memories), trust-based relational intervention, and attachment-based therapy. Children who are placed out of the home should have access to these treatments, as well.
Staff need to be provided ongoing training in the area of developmental trauma, which would include understanding how trauma exposure affects a child’s physical, psychological, and social development. As a former staff member in these facilities, I recognize how difficult it is to manage specific behaviors, but if you have the education behind why it is happening, you can intervene more constructively, addressing the behavior while also assuring the child still feels safe.
Children are resilient, and their chances at healing greatly increase when they are surrounded by positive mentoring, and their treatment is tailored to their individual needs. I have seen multiple children beat the odds and become adults who are now productive members of society.
It is very easy for the larger public to see these kids as adults when they are accused of committing a violent crime, but instead of just giving up, we should be willing to provide that child the ability to heal, even if it seems that there is “no hope.”