What Happens to Kids in Trouble in Court
"News from detention centers is dire," attorney Michael Sussman said of violence there, but juvenile crime has increased both locally and nationally.
Juvenile felony and misdemeanor crimes increased 36% in Port Jervis from 2019 to 2023, consistent with a trend across the state and country, according to Port Jervis Police Chief William Worden. No rationale has been identified for the trend, he said. But the uptick in juvenile crime, along with Raise the Age legislation, has strained the county’s juvenile justice facilities, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said.
“The county has more juvenile crimes than beds. With Raise the Age, there aren’t enough beds, but they never had enough,” he said, referring to the New York State law that raised the age when a teen can be prosecuted as an adult from 16 to 17 in 2018 and then to 18 in 2019.
“Those who commit serious, violent crimes don’t need the most focus, but rather the low level offenders who are first, second or third time offenders. With oversight, they could be prevented from becoming serious offenders. We need more money for low level supervision and more of a personal touch to get to them after the first or second offense and get to the root causes. We need social workers,” he said. “After a robbery or assault, not much else can be done but detention. Orange County is trying, but only with a small sampling because of the extreme cost.”
Mobile mental health services provide a new tool to address mental health problems, he said. But with the crime increase after the pandemic drop, Raise the Age legislation, opioids and mental health challenges, Hoovler said, “Orange County will have to spend money.” More costly programs for juvenile offenders are “not on the radar.”
He described the family court that addresses minor offenses as a “circus.”
“Outcomes aren’t publicized. There’s no transparency for victims. They’re kept in the dark. The court isn’t open to the public. There’s no restitution for stolen or damaged items. It’s not like a criminal case, where victims are notified when it happens, whether a violation or felony. By the time juveniles graduate to serious offenses, they have a history of many minor offenses,” he said.
As for life in youth detention, Hoovler said, “I have no idea what happens in detention.”
However, Nicole McKenna, associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has investigated youth detention facilities around the country and found patterns. She encountered a spectrum of responses to her questions. On one end of the spectrum, she said, “Some shut me down and said, ‘We hold. We don’t treat.’ For them, detention is a holding space.”
Staff and administrators explained to her why they provide detainees with little support.
“If the detainee is only there for a couple of days, they say, there isn’t time to access treatment programs, or if they await placement, they expect treatment and support in the placement,” McKenna said. “In juvenile detention, they’re not adjudicated, and their rights must be protected, so they can’t do interventions. No determination has been made that they’re guilty. Detention is a messy place. From there, they either go home or to a care facility. Some administrators may fear coddling instead of punishment.”
McKenna noticed the “culture of correctional institutions,” focused on punishment. The administrators often had previously been correctional officers, police or incarcerated as youth.
However, others McKenna met are “forward thinking,” she said. “They read the literature, go to conferences and trainings and make youth development a priority. They try to do as little harm as possible. Detention is traumatic, so they try to reduce the trauma and do trauma-informed care.”
However, if a detention center is full, as tends to be the case in Orange County, the detainee may be sent to a facility several hours away, distant from family and mentors. Detention is not the best way to address low level crimes like theft, missing school, fighting in school, running away and drugs, said McKenna. But after multiple such incidents, juveniles may find themselves in detention.
“It’s not constructive,” she said, particularly if the crime committed was low level.
Living in detention with other offenders, particularly those who have committed violent or other significant crimes, is too often a destructive influence, she said. What has shown more promise is multi-system therapy (MST) with a therapist who has a small caseload and is available 24 hours, seven days a week, to work with the youth and their family several times a week, providing intensive support for several months.
The therapy is not a panacea, but statistics are promising, indicating that youth who do MST have less delinquency and peer aggression and more family cohesion, McKenna said. A 1995 study showed that 26% of convicted youth treated with MST had been arrested again four years later, versus 71% of those sent to youth detention or other conventional treatments. A 2006 study of MST found recidivism among 66% of subjects within 18 months of treatment, while recidivism for those in detention or other conventional treatment was 86% within 18 months.
MST began in the late 1980’s as did Functional Family Therapy, similar to MST but more structured and less integrated into the life of the juvenile and family, involving eight to 12 sessions in three months. A 2013 study showed participants less likely to aggress sexually or violently, harm themselves or attempt suicide.
Although these individual programs may be costly, incarceration costs are higher as well as counterproductive, McKenna said.
“How many chances should kids have to mess up? Many,” she said. “Because they’re kids and they’re likely to grow out of it.”
Questions about how youth in Goshen Secure Center are managed were not answered, despite repeated assurances over two months that responses would be forthcoming, from Karen Male, Deputy Director of Public Information for NYS Office of Children and Family Services, the department overseeing New York State youth detention centers.
However, civil rights attorney Michael Sussman has sources from previous youth detention center cases he handled who say that violence among inmates and staff persists there. In 2011, Eileen Carpenter, a New York State youth detention official, was represented by Sussman in her court case against the New York State Commission on Corrections for harassment of her as whistleblower. She had taken graphic videos of violence among staff and inmates to notify state officials of detention center conditions. In 2014, the case was settled.
“Primary video showed a tremendous amount of violence,” said Sussman. Now, ten years later, he said, “The news that I hear from all of the facilities is dire. Nothing has changed; the Commission of Correction is still responsible for the oversight of the secures and nothing has actually improved.”
He also represented Heather Merrill in 2010, when she was sexually assaulted while working at a youth detention center that Sussman described as “lawless and run by gangs.”
“There’s always an effort to cover up situations where violent youth, 14-18, are put in one facility and seen as prisoners. It’s a structural issue, how to deal with individual problems and social problems at a young age,” he said.
Youth offenders are diverted from detention as much as possible, according to Karen Riley, chief attorney and executive director of Children’s Rights Society, Inc., in Goshen, who represents Orange County children in family court.
“Placement in detention is far less than years ago,” said Riley. “It was recognized that placement in jail wasn’t productive, and many facilities were closed. Kids are less often sent there because of feedback about peer conflicts and peer-staff conflicts. I’m seeing more kids on probation. A body of research shows that rehab doesn’t happen through detention.”
She noted how a girl who had run away from another state, who was not a danger to anyone, was placed in Woodfield Cottage, a secure facility, among girls with violent histories.
However, Riley said of Goshen Secure Center and other detention facilities, “They do get schooling daily.”
But when avoiding detention center placements, she said, “Places need to be found for kids whose family won’t take them back.”
In that case, the William George Agency, in Freeville, and La Salle School, in Albany, are likely alternatives for the rest of childhood, Riley said.“They’re highly structured, and they do a good job. I can see whether there’s a shift in behavior. And staff speak to you—there’s not a high turnover.”
Meanwhile, at least 65% of her clients go to Orange County Mental Health Juvenile Justice program that works with the juvenile and their family, addressing family dynamics, education and problems parents may have.
Rebekah Feliciano, who has a master’s degree in clinical social work, specializing in trauma, came to Orange County in 2014 as a subcontractor from Rehabilitation Support Services to create a mental health program, invited by the probation department. She noticed that after a youth receives an appearance ticket, months pass before they actually appear before a judge.
“In the meantime, they may have many mental health, substance abuse, family and academic issues,” said Feliciano. “So we jump in right away. We get the arrest report and contact family within 48 hours. We screen for those issues and begin work with the family. All we need is a yes.”
She cited research showing that about 70% of youth in the juvenile justice system have a mental health disorder. Participation in the Mental Health Juvenile Justice program is voluntary, but many do say yes. She finds that trauma underlies much of their misbehavior. Along with growing up with abuse and poverty, a common trauma Feliciano encounters is exposure to substance abuse and suicide.
“Every Port Jervis teen I’ve worked with has been affected by substance abuse close to them. The majority of youth have been affected by loss due to substance abuse or suicide,” she said. “Police have their finger on the community pulse and saw the influx of mental health issues, and that’s how this program happened.”
Like those the youth lost, Feliciano often sees clients inclined to “self-medicate,” using substances ranging from alcohol and marijuana to fentanyl.
“They want relief and silence,” she said, noting that the more trauma they have experienced, the less trusting they are. “Engagement is paramount. You must build engagement or you won’t see them again. They must feel trusting and heard. Though I’m working within the court, I say the sessions are confidential. They say, ‘Really?’ The first two sessions are about engaging them. I let them ask questions, whether about court or my dog. If they’re inappropriate, I address it.”
Girls often talk about fashion, while boys, who make up two thirds of her clients, focus on sports and video games. Feliciano makes a point of educating herself about what interests them. She knew little about basketball, but now she watches and knows all about it and the players and fashion icons her clients admire.
“Some of our greatest conversations they may think are about basketball, but there’s important work going on,” Feliciano said. “They may not feel comfortable talking about trauma, but they light up talking about Lakers’ wins.I might say, ‘Isn’t LeBron incredible? He must spend all day in the gym. Is there anything you worked so hard at?’ Or ‘How does he care for his body?’ Or ‘Even if there’s a teammate he hates to be around, he still works with him.’ Like the kid in school the boy hates to be around. I help them develop insight into themselves. I look for their strengths while parents follow the negatives.”
She has had clients with a history of suicide attempts, multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and long periods of truancy as well as drug use, all of which receded with therapy. Feliciano guided them to find the activities that helped them cope with strong emotions, perhaps listening to a particular song or taking a walk. She shares her interventions with family and probation officers.
Meanwhile, she makes herself available by cell phone for stressful moments her clients are not yet able to handle. Some weeks she gets a few middle of the night calls; other weeks are quiet.
“Adults struggle with seeking help, so youth seeking help when they need it is truly incredible,” she said.
But as her clients improve, whether attending school more and doing their homework or making social progress, she reports these advances to the court, making a better outcome likely.
“We want to keep them out of juvenile detention centers,” she said, noting that punishment is not helpful, but that therapy is provided in detention. They work with clients weekly for three to five months and then may refer them elsewhere.
“We don’t have a strong time limit but close when the youth is secure,” she said.
While Riley’s agency represents youth in cases of sex abuse, school fights, petit larceny and other less serious cases in family court, more serious cases are prosecuted by the district attorney and defended by legal aid attorneys in the youth part of county adult court.
“I’m seeing more kids with guns. Guns are too easy to get and falling into kids’ hands,” said Riley.
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Excellent article! I will share with many!