This story was produced in collaboration with the Hechinger Report . When Matt Jackson's girlfriend was killed in gang crossfire in 2014, leaving him a single father to a three-year-old girl, he knew it was time to do something different with his life.* Jackson, who grew up surrounded by drugs and violence in Boston's South End neighborhood, had been getting into trouble since he was a kid. Locked up at 14 for possessing crack cocaine, he spent what might have been his college years in...

Sustaining Futures will strengthen education programs for incarcerated individuals by training California Community College faculty and staff on trauma and resilience.

Reauthorized and signed into law by President Trump on 12/21/18, some aspects include; * to support a continuum of evidence-based or promising programs (including delinquency prevention, intervention, mental health, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, family services, and services for children exposed to violence) that are trauma informed, reflect the science of adolescent development, and are designed to meet the needs of at-risk youth and youth who come into contact with the...

Wearing hoodies and well-worn sneakers, city kids make their way up a mountain. Navigating the high desert terrain can be a challenge for some, and a few lag behind. Leading the way is a wolf named Malo. For many of the teens who find their way here, Wolf Connection's Youth Empowerment Program is their last chance; they have been kicked out of school, or have been in gangs or in and out of foster homes. When the kids listen to the stories of the wolves, they often hear their own stories,...

If one is looking for the most traumatized youths in Philadelphia, a good starting place might be Judge Lori Dumas’ courtroom. Dumas’ program – Working to Restore Adolescents’ Power (WRAP) – is designed for juvenile victims of sex trafficking who have also been charged with crimes. Dumas sits with each defendant for face-to-face meetings to build trust. An interdisciplinary team that also includes a prosecutor, defense counsel, and treatment providers seeks to avert criminal proceedings in...

I am sitting on it. Really. Not just me, but a corps of some 5000 people around the world. We have been fostering recovery from ACEs and Trauma for over 40 years – long before the ACEs study developed the term. We have served over half a million people worldwide – but almost no one knows we are here. Like you, many of us have been angry and frustrated that it has taken decision makers and policy setters over 20 years to learn about ACEs and incorporate trauma informed care into practice and...

This year has been one of the most transformative years in history for New York’s juvenile justice system. Just a month after one of New York’s most groundbreaking juvenile justice reforms, Raise the Age, became a reality, New York City took a wrecking ball to the decades-old Spofford Juvenile Detention Centers in the Bronx. For too long, Spofford served as a symbol of misguided approaches to juvenile delinquency. The demolition of Spofford along with the implementation of Raise the Age...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate this week passed a bipartisan juvenile justice bill, years in the works, that aims to secure greater protections for at-risk youth. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse announced Tuesday that the Senate that night passed by unanimous consent the measure, which he wrote jointly with Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa. Whitehouse and Grassley have been pursuing its passage since 2014. If enacted into law, the proposal would require states to comply with its...

As a trauma psychologist and researcher, I applaud the article in "The New York Times" this morning, on how providing incarcerated mothers the opportunity to interact and play with their children during visits may reduce the trauma of separation. But, as the Senate thinks about bipartisan prison reform , I urge them to take a broader trauma-informed approach. This is necessary for effective correctional management, prisoner health and successful re-entry to our communities, particularly for...

In 2019, more than $40 million will become available to fund community-based, culturally rooted, trauma-informed services for youth in California as alternatives to arrest and incarceration. Thousands of California youth are arrested every year for low-level offenses. Youth who are arrested or incarcerated for low-level offenses are less likely to graduate high school, more likely to suffer negative health-outcomes, and more likely to have later contact with the justice system.

What if we could stifle the School to Prison Pipeline by simply creating a culture of belonging and inclusion in elementary school? The need for caring classrooms that promote a sense of connectedness and belonging is essential and must begin the day a child begins their educational experience. In many, not all, underserved communities, minority students are being taught by less experienced teachers who have emanated from culturally and economically incongruent backgrounds. Furthermore,...

In Florida last month, a 16 year-old boy was attacked from behind and beaten in a juvenile detention facility by two fellow residents after he came out as gay. Reportedly, one his assailants told the victim he “didn’t want a faggot” in the unit. In an essay for The Advocate last year, a queer youth wrote of feeling singled out, scrutinized, and harassed by homophobic staff in a juvenile detention facility. “We are already there for negative behavior,” she wrote. “We need guidance — not...