Juvenile Justice and Child Protective Services

By Kathryn Seifert, Ph.D. In Phoenix, a judge will have to decide if a 9 year old is competent to stand trial for the rape of an 8 year old. The teacher of the child reported that he wore the same clothes for months, came to school smelling bad, was often hungry, and did not do well in school. We do not know if the teacher reported the boys maltreatment to the child protective services. After a period of abuse and neglect, he and several other boys are accused of raping an 8 year old girl. Both what he did and what was done to him were wrong. Should the children be held accountable for their actions, but should the parents be held accountable, as well? We know that violence is related to having a childhood background of trauma and not receiving sufficient services to heal from the trauma and gain appropriate coping skills. We also know that childrens brains and skills are still developing, so if we want them to ever have the ability to function well in society, they need treatment to reduce their problems. Without treatment, they will have severe problems for a lifetime. So how and when do we provide needed services to maltreated children so they do not start mistreating others. At a recent International Conference on Children and the Law in Prato, Italy, many professionals sated that the child welfare/protective services systems feed the juvenile justice systems. Children that grow up in violent homes tend to perpetrate violence as they grow older. They come to believe it is their survival and the norm. Consequently, they float in and out of the two systems depending on circumstances. How can the child protection system keep these children from entering the juvenile justice and then the criminal justice systems? First, everyone agrees that departments of social services tend to be understaffed, over worked, under paid, under educated, and lacking in resources. This is not an attempt at finger pointing, but it is to say that there are problems that need to be solved. The US has one of the highest violence and incarceration rates of all of the industrialized nations. We must find ways to reduce these rates. We can start by referring children to treatment, rather than incarceration. Additionally, the US is under financial strain. Community services cost much less than incarceration and could reduce suffering and unnecessary government spending. It is worth examining how increased services at the child protection level may reduce violence among young people and adults. Recent events in the news point to some of the problems in goals and direction in the child protection systems (CPS). At least one CPS worker went to the house of the sex offender, Phillip Garrido, because a community member had reported seeing children in the home of a registered sex offender. While she was not discovered, it proved to be Jaycee Dugard who was allegedly kidnapped by Garrido when she was 11 years old and held captive in his back yard for 18 years. Child welfare workers went to the home of Mesac Damas and said the children were fine, despite years of domestic violence by Mr. Damas. Now, it is alleged that Damas brutally murdered his wife and all of his children and then flew to Haiti. Then there are the children that departments of Social Services have lost track of and those who have been abused while in foster care. In September of 2009, an investigation began on the Houston Child Protective Services following several deaths of children living in homes that had been previously investigated by CPS. In Arizona, in 2009, parents with an extensive history with CPS, face charges in the drowning death of their 1 year old daughter. Could these children have been saved? Contrast this to the child protective services worker who took Mr. and Mrs. Demarees children away from them for a month because Wal-mart printed pictures of the childrens bath time. There seems to be a need for examination of the system and how to improve it.

How can the departments of Social Services and Child Protective Services be improved? There have been several studies and proposals. Over the years, caseloads have been reduced and this needs to continue. Stepped up recruitment of new foster parents who are highly qualified to care for special needs children. Increased screening of foster parents and their ability to care for children Stringent monitoring of children in homes with ongoing domestic violence More involvement of law enforcement investigative departments when children are harmed or killed by caregivers. Services to abusive and neglectful families is increased with coordination among agencies providing treatment Increased funding of Departments of Social Services. Use of highly qualified child and family experts to determine child and family needs. Case workers will have at least a Masters degree in a social work, psychology, or mental health related field to have direct contact with a family or be responsible for managing a case. Ongoing education and consultation on family functioning, counseling, child development, trauma, sexual offending, violence, case management, substance abuse, forensics, and other topics is mandatory. The Juvenile Justice systems can often use some of the same improvements. Some countries have combined the departments of social and juvenile services because the agencies serve the same families and interventions for youth should always involve families. Combining these two agencies, may make the focus more toward families than individual youth. Systemic changes may help youth and families also be more successful.