I.

Introduction
A. Juvenile crime is steadily rising in the U.S. including drug use and joining
gangs.
B. There are many reasons explaining why (social pressure from peers,
collapsing families, venting feelings, etc.
II. Body
A. Data
1. Clientele of social work are most cases people whose
“circumstances or conditions put them at a weak position in
society” (Community Based Social Work)
2. Includes battered women or elderly, and children who have no
parents or are being mistreated by their current ones.
3. Training for social work is taught in the sociology department,
because people are disturbed in the mind. (It works with mental
welfare.)
4. Witnessing atrocities as a child can traumatize one for life, unless
help is provided.
a. Child may become withdrawn
b. Or child may act out against others and the community that
life has been “unfair” or “dealt them this hand.”
c. Child is often labeled as mentally retarded or even
possessed.
d. Family may not seek help because they are ashamed, and
counseling is not the “norm.”
5. Rich/privileged communities can easily provide social work
services for themselves, which helps kids become less internally
disturbed.
a. Poor communities can sometimes not provide this for
themselves.
6. Many factors contribute to rise in juvenile violence and crime,
from the glorification of violence in the media or the failure of the
war on drugs.
a. Kids who grow up in households where violence or drug
use is present are more prone to following the actions of
those around them.
7. Children raising in a single parent household are 1/3 more likely to
exhibit antisocial behavior or commit crime
a. More single parents households in less fortunate areas
because povertized girls often see it as a normal occurrence
since they have less available options.
b. Growing up in a household without a father can be
traumatizing for a child, especially if he was lost to the
streets.
B. Interview with Claudia Marshel of Greater Richmond League of
Therapists
 1. “A lot of the people are low income and they’ve
experienced some [level] of trauma in their lives. Some have
experienced some kind of abuse.”
2. She says the services are paid for with insurance, but most
likely Medicaid, which is a public service.
3. Claudia feels that if social work were more readily
available that “families would function better,” which would
reduce the chance the children would get involved in crime.
a. “Less crimes, happier lives,
better community.”
4. She says the minors she’s seen that have committed crimes
have been pushed to do it because it’s the way things are done in
their families, or as a way of getting attention or recognition they
don’t get in their own families.
a. “Some kids have been so
terribly neglected at a young age that they don’t have a
conscience and aren’t really aware that what they’re doing
is wrong
III. Conclusion
A. Kids need attention, love, and care from their surroundings.
1. Neglect = trauma
2. Abuse = trauma
3. lack of peer support = trauma
4. peer pressure towards unhealthy activities (i.e. drugs, violence,
gangs, etc.) = trauma
5. Trauma cause kids to act out
a. If traumatized kids are not helped, care just gets worse.
B. Less traumatized kids = better, safer community