Week 4, Blog #2 Youth and Gang Violence

Steve Levitt is incredibly funny and really delivered a great presentation. His discussion on why being in a gang and selling drugs for a gang is the worse job in America really made sense in correlation with the article.  Mr. Levitt described that in the early eighties prior to the implementation of crack cocaine there was no way to make large sums of money belonging to a street gang. (TED Talks, 2010). Of all male gang members, only a third had a high school diploma and about the same number were working. The rate of high school graduation for female gang members was about the same as male gang members.  Almost all of the young women were mothers (88%) by their early 20s, with about 58% on welfare (Krohn, Thornberry, 2007).

Gang membership remained a significant predictor of ever having been incarcerated and the percentage of income from illegal sources. Since gang members are typically more involved in delinquent activities than non-gang members, it is reasonable to expect that being a member of a gang during adolescence will be associated with disrupted transitions from adolescence to adulthood and, ultimately,will adversely impact life chances (Krohn, Thornberry, 2007). 

The life-course perspective recognizes that as people move along trajectories, they make (or fail to make) transitions such as completing their education, getting married, or finding a job. The success in making those transitions, for example, in completing one’s education, is likely to have a significant impact on life chances. Disruption in or failure to complete major transitions will adversely affect subsequent development (Krohn, Thornberry, 2007). When the article discussed life transitions and behavior initiated during adolescence can have important consequences for successful entry into adult roles and responsibilities it was self evident that the delinquent activities hindered gang members from creating the paths necessary in order to obtain any type of substantial employment later on in life.

According to the research presented in the article, half of the male (50.4%) and two-thirds of the female gang members (66.0%) report being members of the gang for one year or less. In contrast, only 21.6% of the boys and 5.0% of the girls report being a gang member for 3 or 4 years (Krohn, Thornberry, 2007). Mr. Levine made the statement that members join gangs believing that if they stay and do everything the gang wants them to do they will move up to the top of the ranks. According to Mr. Levine prior to street gangs becoming involved in the drug trade people would join gangs and leaves after a certain amount of time. So now with the injection of the drug trade the same gang leaders who helmed the ushering in of crack cocaine are now still the same gang leaders over the organization 20 to 30 years later.

So with all these grime statistics the question is asked what is attracting these children to gang life. Studies of gang proliferation report that between 1980 and 1990 there was a dramatic increase in the number of large cities (100,000 population or more) that reported gang problems, increasing from 15% prior to 1980 to 70% by 1990.  I would concur that this correlates with the crack epidemic. At the height of the media’s “glamorization” of gang life as Mr. Levitt puts it, a rise in gang affiliation occurred.  

What’s incredibly interesting to me was the fact that the life of the drug lord was only that, glamorized. In reality the gold chains were plated and the cars were leased, all in order to stage or set up the young 13-15 year old being sold a dream of gang life. The money wasn’t that big. The death statistics can never add up to the dollars made and the incarcerated lives of young men are now the empty shells of what they once thought so promising.

TED Talks."Steven Levitt analyzes crack economics." Feb 2004. Online Video Clip. Accessed on July 27 2010.

Krohn, M. D., & Thornberry, T. P. (2007). Longitudinal perspectives on adolescent street gangs. In The long view of crime: A synthesis of longitudinal research. (pp. 128-60). New York: Springer.

Week 4, Blog #5 Gang Intervention Efforts

Glen Mills School Director Sam Ferrainola runs a boarding school type intuition for youth that would have been placed in a juvenile detention center. Through a multi-targeted approach that meets the children where they are at he is able to at the very least reform the students and in some instances create a measurable outcome in the lives of these otherwise troubled youth.

Of course the first thing that struck me was the school’s aesthetics. The campus is beautiful. It’s definitely not the type of place you assume convicted juvenile offenders would be. Also, I was surprised to hear the students say to each other that they felt the staff was there to help them.  By not having the locks and bars Glen Mills has been able to accomplish something that juvenile detention centers will never be able to, and that’s build trust.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention states that the most effective programs include several types of interventions and strategies that complement one another (Centers for Disease, 2009). Glen Mills incorporates this approach by utilizing humane treatment, high technology educational opportunities, and rehabilitation through positive peer pressure all working together to create an environment for change (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000). 

Glen Mills really took a unique approach towards it students. Understanding that a population of its offenders coming in came from gang life they were able to utilize that concept to address their needs. Students adhere to strict rules of behavior using a system of peer monitoring. Students earn points for appropriate behavior and reporting infractions, eventually becoming accepted in the Bulls Club, which functions like a positive gang (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000). I think that’s a fantastic idea and really makes a lot of sense.

At the highly profitable Glen Mills School, Director Sam Ferrainola relies on a capitalist system to provide for the school's expenses, including comprehensive staff benefits and student programs.  Director Sam Ferrainola hopes to see more institutions using his approach with juvenile offenders without the use of locks and bars but to date the Glen Mills School remains the only educational institution of its kind (Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars, 2000). I don’t understand why no one else has bothered to use this school as a model. I know that the critics state the school is hard on their students mentally but their success rate is astounding and I can’t see how this model is psychologically worse than placing a child behind lock and key in a juvenile detention center.  

  

"Glen Mills Gang: Arrested Without Locks and Bars." Films on Demand. Web. 24 Jun 2011. .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention, (2009). Youth violence: best practices of youth violence prevention — a sourcebook for community action Atlanta, GA: Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/YV_bestpractices.html

Week 4, Blog #4 Globalization and International Gangs

I grew up in several neighborhoods between Seattle and California that were riddled with the effects of gangs. Gangs can be very enticing. The money, the danger and excitement can be almost intoxicating to certain youths. I can understand the global dynamics involved to families that are displaced and without hope. I don’t know what the answer to resolving this issue would be either. The article points out that when the formal economy falters, the informal steps in (Hagedorn, 2005).
The criminal economy has been estimated by the UN as grossing more than $400 billion annually, which would make it the largest market in the world, including oil (Hagedorn, 2005). Urban areas are flooded with populations living in poverty. Gangs have become sophisticated criminally based businesses that offer its members an opportunity to become entrepreneurs amidst a failing economy.
The strengthening of cultural identities by men and women is a central method of resistance to marginalization. Whereas fundamentalist religion and nationalism have been adopted by many gang members, hip-hop culture and its “gangsta rap” variant also provide powerful resistance identities and influence millions. Media corporations are promoting gangsta rap to run up profits by shamelessly exploiting and “merchandizing the rhymes of violence” (Hagedorn (2005).
It’s as though simultaneously as gangsta rap was being promoted to the spatial concentration of ethnic minorities—often people of African descent—in the poorest areas of old cities that in the 1990s, in the United States, the law and order trend targeted those same alienated and jobless African American youths, resulting in an unprecedented expansion of prison building. America’s prisons, at least 50% Black in a country where African Americans make up about 12% of the population, can be seen as but another device for control of the “social dynamite” of the ghetto (Hagedorn, 2005).
A lot of the areas that used to be gang affiliated with large numbers of members strewn throughout the streets have gone through gentrification. Hagedorn stated that lands coveted by the wealthy must be “cleansed” of the criminal, the violent, and the “other” (Hagedorn, 2005). I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracist but the elevation of gangs through the media, subsequent locking up of those influenced by that lifestyle through gangsta rap seems like a hand well played.
On the other hand, Institutionalized gangs are more than a crime problem. Many are deeply involved with politics, real estate, religion, and community organizations and cannot be easily destroyed by suppression or repression of the drug economy (Hagedorn, 2005). In societies without opportunity in order to survive family members may decide that gangs are the only way to go. It reminds me of the tough choices that families have to make in South East Asia regarding their children working or going to school. It is a global condition that is not easily remedied.
Hagedorn (2005). The global impact of gangs. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 21(2), 153-169.

Week 4, Blog #3 Generational Gang Membership

Armando Frias, a migrant farm worker at one point of his life, tells the story of entering gang life with a sense of pride. He and fellow members rallied together to become a unit in the midst of the farm workers struggle. Although the UFW leader Cesar Chavez characterized his movement with non-violence the gangs of Salinas chose other methods to accomplish their goals.
From Armando’s retelling there was a sense of belonging, comradery, and gangs allowed the displaced farm workers to not feel like outsiders. The gang that Armando Frias joined was not the gang that his son “Lil Mondo” joined. The gangs may have the same name but the purpose of the gang at the point of entry for Lil Mondo was far more complex from the point of entry for his father Armando Senior.
Another issue that struck me was when Lil Mondo began telling the story of killing a man at age nineteen. He was willing to forfeit his whole life at that age because he “believed in the cause” (Nuestra Familia, Our Family, 2006). What is the cause? What makes a nineteen year old kill another man because he feels he is expected to in order to defend the cause?
According to the Center for Investigative Reporting, “The Cause” is the secret guiding philosophy professed by Norteños to defend and support each other and their Nuestra Familia brethren in prison. The underlying values of The Cause are usually taught to young Norteños by experienced elders (Center for Investigative Reporting, 2011).
The biggest shock for me in the film was when we learn that the order for Lil Mondo to kill the gang drop-out came from an FBI informant (Nuestra Familia, Our Family, 2006). Lil Mondo did state that he understood that what he did was wrong, but he felt that he was carrying out the commands of his leader. To find out your leader is behind enemy lines per se has to be devastating. It doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have to do the time for the killing, but you know his eyes were opened to the fact that he was loyal to someone that did not return that loyalty. To add insult to injury that person is free with $52,000 from the federal government really rubs salt in the wound.
Armando discussed breaking his parole in order to spend time with his son in prison (Nuestra Familia, Our Family, 2006). He knew that his son was there because of the choices he had made at his son’s age. The generational gang activity for this family may be broken. Because Armando is able to see that he led his son down this road. As well his son Lil Mondo understands that The Cause he believed in was false they both will be able to raise Lil Mondo’s son to understand that violence and gang activity can lead you behind prison or dead.
Epi Cortina a former captain of the NF discussed “educating” the soldiers. Willie Stokes-Ramirez, one of the members Epi Cortina taught, described with a feeling of empowerment that upon learning the Norteños laws that he felt he was “going to do something for his raza” or his people (Nuestra Familia, Our Family, 2006). I found this part interesting because Epi Cortina describes teaching the members about Aztec society, basic education, and skills to make weaponry and then how to rob a bank and kill people. My perception of this is that they took these kids and built a sense of pride in them. Created a cause that they are meant to be something and do something in life. Yet, at this point instead of drawing a positive path for them to follow they were instructed in criminal activity.

"Nuestra Familia, Our Family." (2006) Films on Demand. Web. 27 Jun 2011. .

Center for Investigative Reporting, Initials. (2011, June 27). Gangs glossary. Retrieved from http://www.nuestrafamiliaourfamily.org/pages/glossary.html

Week 4, Blog #1 Domestic Violence and Youth

The video presentation featuring Tracee Parker was probably one of the most comprehensive understandings of Domestic Violence that I’ve seen to date. I am a domestic violence survivor. Listening to Ms. Parker’s presentation I felt that she touched on a lot of information that rang true not just for me but for other survivor’s that I know.

I was physically and emotionally abused during my marriage of five years. Thankfully I was able to come to a point of resolve to understand that the relationship was unhealthy for me. I decided to seek help and an officer took me to a safe house in Brunswick, GA. I was hundreds of miles away from home and I didn’t know anyone. Tracee Parker addressed isolation by the perpetrator (University of Wisconsin, 2006). My abuser had isolated me from everyone I knew. I was in a state of dependency. My whole livelihood had become built around him under the guise of marriage.

Once in the shelter I had the chance to speak with other women who were facing the same issues and I understood that I was not alone. It’s a huge problem. I think from a victim’s perspective it can be difficult to talk about. I felt like an idiot. How did I let this happen? How did I end up in a shelter, with no money, clear across the United States?

The staff explained to me what the cycle of abuse is and it really helped me understand the patterns of domestic violence (Walker, 1979). One of the key points that stuck out to me in regards to the video presentation was when Ms Parker stated that mothers, if the children are away, will attempt to initiate a fight with their abuser before the children return home (University of Wisconsin, 2006). That idea would correspond with the cycle of abuse which has four phases: tension building, acting-out, the honeymoon or reconciliation phase, and lastly the calm phase also known as the denial phase (Walker, 1979).

If the mothers are able to get their abuser to act out before the kids get home then she knows it will prevent the children from having to experience a violent episode. The cyclical nature of the relationship keeps you on edge and as the article pointed out family members learn, including children, how to adapt and understand cues from the abuser (Fusco, Fantuzzo, 2009).

My first semester at ASU I became involved in gathering statistical information for the College of Public Programs Intimate Partner Violence Research Study. The goal as a researcher was to gather newspaper data that indicated DV caused homicides. If the perpetrator was female, two or more people had to have been killed and if male, three or more deaths had to occur in order to be considered for data. The total number of killings could not include suicide.

Because of the nature of the research more often than not the typical population that made up the additional number of victims would be the victim’s and or perpetrator's children. Finding out the majority of physically involved children in the study were more likely to be age 6 and younger was a surprise (Fusco, Fantuzzo, 2009). At that age I don’t think the children fully understand death and how the worst case scenario can play out. I’m unaware if that age has developed deductive reasoning. They have such good intentions and become involved when they see their loved one is being hurt.

When we did the blog discussion on GEMS and the pimp’s interactions with the girls it was eerily similar. You don’t have your own money sometimes. Your abuser knows your every move and if you try to leave you could be fatally hurt. It really resonated with me when the GEMS founder discussed the leaving process can take several times similar to a domestic violence victim. I believe the motivation is the same. Whether it’s a pimp or a husband, the abuser sells you a dream of life filled with love and intimacy that they are incapable of ever giving.

University of Wisconsin series on Issues for Youth Advocates and the Systems in which They Work (Producer). (2009, March 30) The Impact of Domestic Violence on Youth [online video]. Retrieved July 26, 2010 from http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?rID=29215&fID=345

Fusco, R. A., & Fantuzzo, J. W. (2009). Domestic violence crimes and children: A population-based investigation of direct sensory exposure and the nature of involvement. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(2), 249-256.

Walker, Lenore E. (1979) The Battered Woman. New York: Harper and Row.

Week 3, Blog #2 Child Labor in the U.S. and Internationally

Child labor is an important global issue associated with poverty, inadequate educational opportunities, gender inequality, and a range of health risks. Work affecting a child’s health and schooling should be eliminated, according to UNICEF’s Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Labor Organization, (Roggero, Mangiaterra, Bustreo, Rosati, 2007). In the United States and more significantly in the State of Arizona if a child between the ages of 14-15 would like to work it must be outside of school hours. The child cannot work after 7:00 p.m. unless it is summer break at which they can work till 9:00 p.m (U.S. Department of Labor, 2011).

The International Labor Organization estimates that there are approximately 250 million child laborers worldwide, with at least 120 million of them working under circumstances that have denied them a childhood and in conditions that jeopardize their health and even their lives. Most working children are ages 11 to 14 years old, but as many as 60 million are between the ages of 5 and 11 (Roggero, Mangiaterra, Bustreo, Rosati, 2007).

I had no idea the problem was this huge. Watching the video was particularly hard because I buy incense that says on the label it is made in India. Seeing those little hands rolling the sticks in the shimmer powder and hearing the health effects that it can cause was devastating (Meehan, 2004).

How do I support ending child labor? Is it best to not purchase the sticks? I see the family’s dilemma. They need money to survive. They are not living lavishly in huge mansions with greatly adorned clothing. They are modest people enduring struggles that I have never known.

I really appreciated the views of Shanta Sinha, founder of the MVF. She said something that struck me. Shanta Sinha stated that they observed once the children were placed in school the wages for the jobs children once performed were forced to be raised because the adults refused to do the work at the price the children were forced to accept (Meehan, 2004). This correlated with my reasoning as to why the United States created child labor laws shortly after the depression.
It’s amazing to think that adults who understand that the labor is difficult and therefore pay must be equivalent don’t unionize. Perhaps this is western ignorance. But I wish the descendants of the untouchables could come together and force a change to occur.

Yet, I can see that the relationship is co-dependent. In the United States as consumers we want inexpensive products. Here and there you’ll find a media story about a sweat shop in Guam, but the spotlight on these issues is few and far between. My generation is so busy watching Jersey Shore we have no idea what millions of kids are enduring every day.

Meehan, Ruth (director). "India: Working to End Child Labor" 2004. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Peadar King (Executive Producer)Accessed on 20 July 2010.http://digital.films.com/play/VBRGKP

Roggero, P., Mangiaterra, V., Bustreo, F., & Rosati, F. (2007). The health impact of child labor in developing countries: Evidence from cross-country data. American Journal of Public Health, 97(2), 271-5.

Week 3, Blog #3 Child Exploitation & Abuse - Youth Sex Workers

In March 2003, Chris Hansen traveled with Dateline NBC to Cambodia and aided in the rescue of over 30 very young children involved in sex work. The images of the children were frightening. Locked away in a brothel they were as young as five with an understanding of bartering and enough English to strike a deal with their visiting customers from the west. I was concerned initially watching the video because after reading the article from Montgomery I was able to understand that child sex work in South East Asia is not just a violation of the CRC but also a political, social, and economic circumstance (Montgomery, 2007).

I was fortunate enough to be able to locate follow-up videos from 2008 on four of the girls that were rescued from Cambodia (Hansen, 2008). Viewing the rescue efforts I was extremely pleased to see the girls smiling and talking about their future. An unnamed organization had taken them in and was caring for them. They were attending school, learning martial arts and dance and although they had been removed from the brothel at such young ages they understood what they had been through and how they were rescued from such a dark place.

Filial piety is a form of obligation for the child to support the family financially (Montgomery, 2007). Montgomery discussed filial duty in response to the child sex workers in Thailand that she was able to observe. Through ethnographic interviewing Montgomery attempted to gather understanding about the dynamics of child sex work in the area she called, Baan Nua.

It was honorable to me that the children felt a sense of indebtedness to their parents. Being able to provide for the family they expressed a feeling of pride and their own autonomy. Listening to the retellings it reminded of the interviews of the kids that ran away from home. They too were able to justify their experiences of living on the street and define it from a place of empowerment.

If the children in Baan Nua felt empowered, than the interview by Rubenson in Ho Chi Minh, China told a different tale, “I would like to live decently as everyone else. But, please, think about this: everyone has a happy family, but for me the family is pain. When we were children they neglected us. They did not send us to school. Now when we are able to make money they exploit us. They use all different ways to get our money. Many times I feel I hate my parents extremely, deep in my blood and to my bones” (Rubenson, 2005, p. 407).

The above reference was not everyone’s experience but a depiction that Western Culture is more apt to understand. We want to believe that sex workers are ashamed and hate what they do. I think there is a consensus thought that these prostitutes are children and adults for that matter, which have been abused by their parents. It’s difficult for our society to view that it’s honorable for a child to sell themselves in order to support their family. It’s even harder to understand the parents that allow their children to be placed in such harmful situations both physically and psychologically.

Montgomery, an anthropologist discussed her ethical dilemmas while in Baan Nua when she stated, “To my mind, and in the modern western ideal, parents are expected to make sacrifices for their children; the child is vulnerable, in need of protection from adults, has the right to an education, should not work and should be protected from sexual relations either with other children or adults before the age of 16” (Montgomery, 2007, p. 416). This is my own understanding of children. I share this ideal. Montgomery’s words mirror my exact feelings.

Nevertheless, I can understand the dilemma that these populations face. Baan Nua functioned as a community only because of the children. They were the glue that held the village together, both financially and socially (Montgomery, 2007). When families live in areas where there are no jobs, no education, and no opportunities a tough decision must be made in order to sustain life.

Hansen, C (Correspondent). (2003, March). Children for Sale [Television series episode]. Dateline . New York: NBC.

Hansen, C (Correspondent). (2008, August). They Have a Future [Television series episode]. Dateline . New York: NBC.

Montgomery, H. (2007). Working with child prostitues in Thailand: Problems of practice and interpretation. Childhood, 14(4), 415.

Rubenson, B., Hanh, L. T., Hojer., B., Johansson, E. (2005). Young sex-workers in ho chi minh city telling their life stories. Childhood, 12(3), 391.

Week 3, Blog 5 Child Soldiers

Explore the issue of child soldiers and explore some of the barriers to ending the conflict. What are some of the major challenges former child soldiers face as they attempt to reintegrate with their societies?

The child soldiers have been not only abducted and taken away from their families, but they have been tortured, brain washed, exposed to genocide, and forced to kill. These are not natural children (Russel, Bailey, Poole, 2006). The films were brilliant and moving. I’ve heard about child soldiers but that was the first time I really could see what they were enduring. It was earth shattering. I applaud the three young videographers for taking the risk to document these atrocities and bring them to the light. Without the ability to show these issues there would have been virtually no coverage and no pressure placed on the international court of law to address this conflict.

There were quite a few issues that would strike me in regards to the children soldiers being reintegrated into their villages. The children have been taught to kill from the time they could hold a gun. They have seen the power that comes from that ability and may have become desensitized to murder. If these children are an unable to have empathy for their victims the plight of the country could continue in random killings caught up in a child’s whim.

Another issue the children need addressed is their safety. The government did not appear to have security or a safe haven that protected escapees. I know the war is complex and the objective of Kony’s was to overthrow the government, yet I did not see within the documentaries the government protecting their people. The government did appear for the peace talks but that was the extent of their participation that I witnessed (Russel, Bailey, Poole, 2008).

It’s estimated that more than 30,000 children were abducted and forced to fight in Joseph Kony’s “Lord’s of the Resistance Army” also known as the LRA (Russel, Bailey, Poole, 2006). The staff that’s needed to facilitate the thousands of children needing reintegration may not be available especially in the remote villages where some of the children are from. These children in my opinion have suffered significant trauma and not only need medical attention for physical ailments but the government has a daunting task of addressing the mental health needs of these youth.

I had the chance to view additional material on Invisible Children’s website (www.invisiblechildren.com) and I was in awe. They are doing an amazing job. I believe the vision that those three young college students Jason, Bobby and Laren had in 2003 was exactly what was needed for that area. By raising awareness and creating a platform for the issue to be discussed they have been able to affect change.

Their story shows that no matter what your age or amount of money you can make a difference. What they had they gave. They had time and they had talent. They created a voice for thousands of children that didn’t have one and have become advocates to the Northern region of Uganda and expanding.

Russel, J, Bailey, B. & Poole, L. (Creators). (2006, April 7) Invisible Children [Google video]. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3166797753930210643

Russel, J, Bailey, B. & Poole, L. (Creators). (2008) The Rescue: Full [vimeo]. Retrieved June 16, 2011 from http://vimeo.com/3400420

Week 3, Blog #1 Youth and Human Rights

In 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or CRC, a human rights treaty set out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children codifying a range of children's rights into international law (Timeline of young people's rights in the United States, 2009). The treaty was signed by every country in the world, and currently ratified into law by all but two (Executive Summary, 2010).

In 1994, The United States became a signatory country to the CRC after then, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeline Albright signs on behalf of our country. Yet, the United States Congress did not ratify the agreement. 189 countries ratified it except the United States and Somalia (Timeline of young people's rights in the United States, 2009).

I can’t understand how the United States would not ratify the CRC. I’d like to believe that our country as whole believes that everyone is entitled to human rights. I know that the political reasoning is deeper than my understanding but that was the biggest shock for me. Madeline Albright publicly signed the document but I question if it was only to keep up appearances.

Why would the United States not ratify the CRC? According to the Executive Summary, on average, more than 24,000 children under five still die every day from largely preventable causes. Between 500 million and 1.5 billion children are estimated to experience violence annually. Around 150 million children aged 5–14 are engaged in child labor, in excess of 140 million under five years old are underweight for their age, and around 100 million children of primary school age are not enrolled in primary school (Executive Summary, 2010).

Influential educator Abraham Flexner declared social work focused on children "hardly eligible" for professional status (Timeline of young people's rights in the United States, 2009). Was it this type of thought process that allowed the United States Congress to not ratify the CRC even until the present day? Children undeniably have a right to survival, development, protection and participation (Executive Summary, 2010). I’m appalled by the power of our nation and yet the bureaucracy that more than likely caused our Congress to not want to comply with such an agreement.

There are 54 articles in summary regarding the CRC, and what I found interesting as well was Article 26 regarding social security. The child has the right to benefit from social security, including social insurance (Executive Summary, 2010). One of the big issues that I see headlines regarding in our country is Social Security. We are threatened in our youth that with the increase of population and average age expectancy we may not have Social Security to depend on in our latter years.

It is possible that by definition article 26 is not what we know as Social Security. Perhaps our country did not submit to ratifying this treatise simply because of the financial obligations it would place on our government by having to be responsible in the international court of law of upholding a child’s rights.

Timeline of young people's rights in the United States. (2009, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:57, May 19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_young_people%27s_rights_in_the_United_States&oldid=290549375

Executive Summary. (2010). The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved June 14, 2011 from http://www.unicef.org/rightsite/sowc/pdfs/SOWC_SpecEd_CRC_ExecutiveSummary EN_091009.pdf

Week 2, Blog #3 School Violence and Social Capital

Discuss some of the main points of the research on violence in schools as well as the relationship between school violence, social capital, and possible future delinquent behavior in youth.

Triangle:
I was amazed by the background given by Dr. Cornell in regards to the statistics of the early nineties for violence in schools. During my time at ASU I’ve had it pointed out by statistic professors to be careful when reading research. We’ve been taught to look for peer reviewed articles and how if the method of research is not properly established the findings are not valid. Dr. Cornell established that the scientific basis of those studies were invalid. Yet the approach of zero tolerance was established based on those published statistics (Research Channel, 2008).

I like Dr. Cornell’s approach of establishing an almost metered reference when addressing school violence. It really should be based on the individual and not an all out witch hunt. The downside of this is that when students are dealt with on an individual basis a response of privileged circumstances can be used when a person feels that that were dealt with too harshly.

The article really surprised me when it brought to light that although it was expected that greater participation in school-sponsored activities would be associated with lower rates of violence, the results refuted that prediction (Wright, & Fitzpatrick, 2006). Although the research stated that the athletes may have included skirmishes during play thereby skewing the results, the researches indicated that it would still play a role in violent encounters. I’m so used reading or watching stories of athletes that overcame inner city violence, gangs and drug activities through participation in school sports.

Square:
According to the article, creation or restoration of safe sidewalks, parks and other public areas will enable adolescents and adults in neighborhoods to establish or reestablish social connections and ties with each other, creating new opportunities for the benefits of social capital as both an individual and group good (Wright, & Fitzpatrick, 2006). I can understand how a sense of community can help combat violence. When you know your neighbors you can understand them and have a greater sense of empathy. Having that empathy can be a preventive efficacy is helping those employ the golden rule.

Circle:
The results suggested that cooperative and supportive ties with significant others in these domains were a means of suppressing violent outcomes even in the face of objective disadvantage for adolescents. It appears that the importance of interpersonal trust and social control garnered from constructive and cohesive relationships overshadowed the more tangible resources available in family, school and neighborhood domains (Wright, & Fitzpatrick, 2006). When we speak of resilience and strength amongst our poorest population it is the familiar ties that bond and hold the constructs of the people. I love the fact that it’s not money, or outside resources that help improve a community’s violence rate but rather the people within the community coming together as a unit to take their neighborhoods back.

Research Channel (Producer) (2008, February 21). Student Threats of Violence. [Youtube video]. Retrieved July 14, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXiK0A43Xk4

Wright, & Fitzpatrick (2006). Social capital and adolescent violent behavior: Correlates of fighting and weapon use among secondary school students. Social Forces, 84(3), 1435-1453.

Week 2, Blog #4 Youth Poverty and Education

What are some similarities between poverty in the U.S. and Internationally in terms of youth experiences?  What are some of the major factors identified in the article and film contributing to poverty? What might be some relationships between poverty, access to and quality of schooling and youth experiences of violence and exposure to crime? Consider some of these relationships in your blog posts today.
  

Triangle:

Three contributing factors to youths growing up in poverty that are applicable between the film and article include education, death of the paternal parent, and lack of affordable housing. In the United States you can throw in factors of substance abuse and internationally generational poverty.

Square:

The article discussed education and how education was less likely to be part of an orphan’s life in Africa. One of the things that stood out for me was that within that article it discussed that having death in a community caused the investment in education to decrease (Case, Paxson, Ableidinger, 2004).  I related that to the United States Public School system. Our school infrastructure is dependent on property taxes to some extent.

If a large number of our heads of households died from an Aids epidemic in the same way they are dying in Africa the communities we lived in would see a marked decrease in maintaining schools.  If you add that to already stressed households it becomes incredibly difficult to ascertain taking in a child or children of a relative who has passed. The article posed that investment in a child may decrease as the relationship between the child and the decision-making adult in the child's household becomes more distant (Case, Paxson, Ableidinger, 2004).

Circle:

There are so many biological factors that play in the maternal bond of a mother to her child. It’s difficult to expect a non-relative or distant relative to care for a child to the degree of the biological parent; if the additional child causes financial hardship to the family than the child may soon represent a cause for resentment.

Interning at Child Protective Services you see cases where it seems as if you can’t get the biological parent to love and care for their own child, nevertheless a stranger in a licensed foster home. A kinship placement is always considered the best option when possible. Sometimes you luck out and placement occurs with a close relative who was already involved and loves and cares for the child. Unfortunately, in some cases no one steps up to take responsibility.

Case, A., Paxson, C., & Ableidinger, J. (2004). Orphans in africa: Parental death, poverty, and school enrollment. Demography, 41(3), 483-508.

Week 2, Blog #5 Youth Homelessness

What are some similarities and differences between the kids on Skid Row vs. those running away from home in the article? What are some differences between generational and situational homelessness? Consider some of these relationships in your blog posts today.

Triangle:

Two important differences between the video participants and the research article were race and age. The article stated that their sample was comprised of 25 women and 25 men. Nearly three-quarters of the participants identified their primary ethnic background as Caucasian/White, while slightly more than one quarter of the respondents were of mixed ethnicities, including Mexican/Anglo-European, Argentinean/Mexican, Persian, Native American/Anglo-European, and East Indian/Brazilian. The mean age of participants was 20.5 years, ranging between 18 to 23 years of age (Hyde, 2005). The video participants were primarily African American and under the age of 18.

Although the primary similarity was that each population described was in a poverty stricken condition that neither felt was optimal, one population appeared to have made a choice towards that condition in order to escape a livelihood of other conditions versus a population that was generationally homeless because their parents were unable to provide them with an adequate standard of living.

Square:

When the article told the story of Twig he emphasized that he had been placed in 3 foster homes and that those were unsuccessful in addressing his underlying issues (Hyde, 2005). We are hard pressed in finding foster parents. It is a daunting task taking on a child that has been abused or neglected. I believe that when the children enter the system it’s not enough to only address the immediate physical circumstances of abuse. A psychological component needs to be implemented in order to address the issues that these kids are facing.

Circle:

The film, Living on Skid Row, states that the average age of homelessness in the United States is 9 years old and describes Los Angeles as this countries first third world city. The children in the piece are aware of their conditions and “present” as described by the narrator. Seeing images of a naked man writhing on the ground and another man freely displaying a machete while the camera rolls from a top a nearby apartment, I question where are the authorities? Where is the police department? Why aren’t these children being protected? I didn’t see a single police unit drive by once during that audacious display that from the point of the view of film is the norm in that community.

Hyde, J. (2005). From home to street: Understanding young people's transitions into homelessness.  Journal of Adolescence , 28 (2), 171-83.

Week 2, Blog #2 American Public Schools 1900-1950

With the influx of immigrants in the early 20^TH century schools became the ideal institution for organizing what I would consider the American agenda. Children were assimilated into the new America. They were taught English, given classes in citizenship, and became well versed in patriotism.

Children were honed through educational plans of study into which part of society they would function in. Through skewed testing and class divisions that were not discussed in this documentary, minority students were not expected to succeed past manual labor in some parts of the United States.

Although children were initially used for labor as frequent as adults, after the depression it was mandatory for children to attend school until the age of sixteen. That causes me to feel that the only reason children were forced out of labor is because of the lack in employment available. Was mandatory education implemented in response to the unhealthy competiveness between adult men to earn a living that was being threatened by cheap labor through use of the juvenile workforce?

I believe that education is important. I’m glad that in the United States there are public schools and that children must by law attend. I do feel that a lot of injustices have occurred throughout the public school system. Having history books that only depict “American Heroes” I believe was a terrible offense (As American as Public School: 1900-1950, 2000).

 I do understand that America at the turn of the century was in a very unique position. For a large part of the population America was not their origin of birth.  It may have been felt under the guise of homeland security that assimilation was the only means of protecting the United States from having a civil war. By creating a new culture and sense of pride and nationalism coupled with a renouncing of previous culture you can in a way depict a sense of unity at some level.  

It’s unfortunate that we are still relearning and fixing the sins of our forefathers so to speak. With that being said in the midst of our education in cultural understanding and richness I really do love this country. There are incredible opportunities and a feeling of hope that anything can be possible and achievable through education. There are obstacles and hurdles, for some more than others, but there is still a life worth achieving that is attainable in this country.

Films for the Humanities and Sciences."As American as Public School: 1900-1950" 2000. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Accessed on 13 July 2010. http://digital.films.com/play/ P7J4SF

Week 2, Blog #1 Identity and Development

Three issues that stuck out to me were the parents perceptions on life, that those perceptions were re-enforced by the parents to the children, and that the children were picking up on the queues of their parents and other influential adults in their lives. My mother holds a degree in sociology. She used to tell me the statistical ages of children when their identity was perceived as being formed. The research was a bit dated but for the most part really close to the research done in this film.

Watching the parents interact and place their own ideology into raising their kids at times was frustrating as well as refreshing. As a parent you are on the front lines of guiding your children and showing them what to do and not to do. Unfortunately for some parents the task is combating the prejudices that society will greet them with as they become older.

We live in a time where the media forms perceptions and portrays ideals that our children believe are true. I think in the last few years with programs like Dora the Explorer, and Little Bill there has been some injection of ethnic representation for our kids to identify with but if you’re a minority it’s not substantial or inclusive. There are many ethnicities not represented and not any shows that come to mind that depict a positive example of a single parent household living in poverty.

Depending on the values of the parents, the children were raised with ideals or expectations that mirrored those dimensions. For the mother that wanted to impart a degree of ethnic pride that pride had to exist within herself. With that being said that mother had decided that she needed to guard her child from the social prejudices her son would face because of his race. She became proactive teaching him to love his identity.  For the mother who was concerned with her daughter’s body type she was in fact concerned with her own. She had decided that her daughter would be overweight and short because that is how she as the mother perceived herself (Identity Crisis: Self-Image in Childhood, 2005).  

The documentary discussed gender perception and utilized dolls by placing female doll clothes on the male doll and male clothing on the female doll. It was eye opening to watch the children respond to the researcher when asked if the doll was now perceived to be male or female. The children did not see the dolls as their gender based on the previous experience. They viewed the gender through the clothing choices (Identity Crisis: Self-Image in Childhood, 2005).

            My first year at Arizona State University I did a research interview with two transgender participants. Speaking with the male to female participant in the interview, one of the things she said was that when she was young she would dress in girls clothing and pray to an imaginary pink fairy to make her a girl. She believed that a pink fairy represented everything feminine. She said that it was a lot easier to come to terms with being female as a male prepubescent youth. When puberty hit and her body developed through the increase of testosterone she became very confused and felt that her body betrayed her. I wonder that if society decided to accept and understand children when they say they are a gender other than how they were born at birth if during these early years it would be easier for them to be accept among their childhood peers.  
          If we want a society that accepts others, that breeds peace, that holds the ideals we wish to be fundamental then I believe that this research cannot just focus on the children. The children are vessels that hold pieces of the people that have raised them. I couldn’t determine what will cause a child to turn to crime based on the documentary, but there is a level of culpability that the parent’s need to own up to.

Overtime children grow into adults, and have the ability to affect change in their own lives. One can become a different person than that of your mother or father. That may be a positive outcome and can also be a negative one. It opened my eyes to understanding how words and actions affect kids for the rest of their lives. I don’t believe we have unlocked the reasons why 2 kids can grow up in the same household and have totally different perceptions of life, nevertheless I do believe that whether you live in poverty or in great wealth you as a parent can impart love, courage, and ethics into your child through daily interaction and reinforcement of your own moral character and choices.

BBC/Open University Co-production. "Identity Crisis: Self-Image in Childhood" 2005. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Accessed on 13 July 2009.http://digital.films.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/play/D6XDBV

Week 1, Blog #3 Youth in Adult vs.Juvenile Incarceration Populations

Over the past week I’ve viewed multiple films based on varying degrees of criminal activity and punishment of youth. Three themes that I’d like to discuss for this post are whether the courts should punish based on age, based on the crime, and/or whether to take into account the perpetrator’s socio-economic background.

It’s difficult to comprehend the level of brutality associated with the youth depicted. The result is a court system having to on one hand demand justice for a violent offense and yet on the other side there is a need to clarify as to whether the child can understand the totality of the crime committed in order to justify the sentencing.

Coming from a Social Work perspective, biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person are accessed in order to get a full representation of a client. Empathy is employed by the social worker and self-determination is considered a key role in a strength based intervention. Aligning this with a violent act and becoming empathetic for someone who’s committed a criminal act can be difficult to maneuver.

The courtroom offers little room for social banter to “get to know your defendant.” The judge has to make a detrimental decision that’s going to change the child’s life forever. One could argue that the child has created that change by committing a selfish act and causing harm to another person, but if the defendant acted negligently because of brain development then from a biological and psychological perspective it’s an injustice to not include in the sentencing a term we call in Social Work, “Best Practice.”  

I agree that when an injustice occurs that the court should rectify with proper punishment. That squares with me. When I hear two fifteen year olds sexually assaulted and then brutally murder a twenty year old single mother, leaving behind her child to be raised by her grandmother, I can honestly say I want those kids punished to the full degree the law allows.

What I have concerns about is what is appropriate punishment for a fifteen year old? For me it’s far less disturbing to incarcerate an adult for life because there is an expectation of reasoning associated with being a certain age. There is an expectation that when an adult commits a crime they are in control of their faculties. I have an issue with sixteen year olds being placed in a facility with twenty five year olds. According to the article juvenile inmates placed within adult facilities reported higher instances of physical altercations within the adult populations (Kapuckik, 2007).

If the general public is required to protect children and we have an enforcement agency with laws and courtrooms set up to protect children from sexual and physical abuse why is the prison population different? Does the fact that a child commits a crime punishable by law make the child no longer part of the juvenile population?

Viewing the incarcerated youth at the Arizona juvenile facilities I was able to understand the references of Kupchik’s article. Kupchik stated during evaluation of the juveniles placed within juvenile facilities that an advantage it offered was a more understanding staff (Kapuckik, 2007). There was a level of compassion and fairness that was viewable (Juvenile Corrections Facilities, 2005). Having the peer support and smaller population allowed a level of containment and closeness that is unattainable at the adult facilities.

I know there’s no easy answer to this problematic and growing trend among youth. I appreciate being exposed to this subject matter while within a class room setting. This information has been incredibly beneficial and eye opening.

Films for the Humanities and Sciences."Juvenile Correction Facilities" 2005. Online video clip. Arizona Universities Library Consortium. FMG Video On Demand. Accessed on 07 July 2010. http://digital.films.com/play/ BURGYK

Kupchik, A. (2007). The correctional experiences of youth in adult and juvenile prisons. Justice Quarterly, 24(2), 247-270 .

Week 1, Blog #4 Alternative Incarceration and Treatment Programs

This has been a positive example of how interventions can be successful in treating children without demeaning them or creating a hostile environment. Many children of abuse display symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. It doesn’t take much to bring the memories of these disturbing events of the past to the forefront of a youth. If you’ve been abused and assaulted by adults throughout your upbringing, then are brought into a systematically aggressive environment, the fight or flight response may trigger violent episodic stages.

Placing a child into a cold sterile environment in order to reform them conjures up images of fear, loneliness, and despondency. I wish that alternative programs were available to all youth facing incarceration. Children need compassion, love and an understanding that they are important and the harsh experiences some of them have endured are real and need to be acknowledged.

I loved seeing a college environment for youths who have been incarcerated. When you see the homes that these children return to, the Rosa Parks facility is perhaps the nicest place they have ever stayed. I don’t believe that children should ever be treated like adults. Being treated as children and having the ability to explore what that means allows them to understand their proper place in society. These children were able to open up and release confessions in the presence of professionals that could help them cope. They were given staff that understood their individual needs and addressed their reactivity stemming from their victimization. 

Week 1, Blog #2 The links between play, deprivation, and juvenile incarceration

Play has been abandoned by many adults; vulnerable children are being required to become adults faster and faster and the bond that initiates love between the playful gestures of an infant and parent is being lost. Having my field experience take place at Child Protective Services has been formative in my understanding of how tragic and deep abuse and neglect runs through a child that has experienced it.

I see so many children, no matter how terrible the abuse was, long for their parent. Watching the incarcerated youths was heart breaking. One of my cases, a 12 year old girl under CPS custody had to go to court on assault charges against her foster parents. She was diagnosed as bi-polar. On paper, to a judge, she seems like a hardened criminal. In person she is a scared, lonely, 12 year old girl learning her way in a system where no one seems to want her.

I think it’s easy to lose sight of having a “playtime.” Our children need us  to interact with them in a way that allows proper discourse. It’s so easy to get lost in work, school, and various other activities. Even if you are single without children I still believe that adult playtime can be effective in reducing stress and creating an overall sense of well being.

I really value Mr. Brown sharing his perspective. It struck me that being playful as an adult allowed a greater sense of empathy. One of the biggest issues in regards to the 12 year old that I see in my internship is that she was adopted at birth. I know people that were adopted and thrived from that experience. In her case she never experienced the maternal bond with her biological mother nor did the adoptive mother bond with her.  If you’re not able to feel self worth, as some of these children feel, you’re unable to process the importance of human life. Without that correlation there is no definition of right or wrong.  She has never felt wanted a day in her life.

I appreciated seeing the Arizona “schools” and I get a sense that although the environment is that of confinement they are helping these children. They are being punished but the young offenders were able to grasp that they needed to make an individual choice for change in order to establish a positive outcome for the remainder of their lives.

I am aware of a local rehabilitation center, Triple R, which is a facility that is built around a clubhouse model that utilizes group interaction in an environment where the clients run the clubhouse alongside professional staff and through this autonomous environment develop the ability to have healthy interactions with others. I wish that this could be modeled in the juvenile system. A lot of the children are missing a family element. I feel that if the units were set up with a “mother” and “father” to help the children get that time that they missed out on it would have a greater impact. Offering a family like structure and environment could perhaps allow the children to develop in the stages that they did not receive during their upbringings. 

How old is 15 really? Week 1, Blog 1, June 1st

Three main elements that surfaced for me when observing the viewpoint of age were in regards to gender, ethnicity, and culture. Dave Chappelle discusses the judicial system giving a 15 year old African American teenager a life sentence for involuntary manslaughter. The idea was discussed that the sentence would cause one to believe that the court felt he was aware of the consequences and understood his actions, as opposed to the 15 year old African American female teenager that R. Kelly allegedly urinated on during a sexual act.

It appears in Dave Chappelle’s view that the African American youth are exposed to life in a grittier and perhaps more adult definition. He described growing up and at 15 smoking reefer, starting his career and watching those around him at that age also display what would be considered adult behavior. When he describes 15 year old Elizabeth Smart being held captive by “Hillbillies” in Utah he makes an inference of naiveté that would be attributed by the writer to a rural Caucasian upbringing.  

I do agree that based upon a youth’s experience and taking a person-in-environment view point that  there are certain levels of maturation that may not exist in every 15 year old teenager.  With that being said, I have observed a cultural bias in the level of autonomy that is attributed to particular youths within the judicial system.  

At 15, legally you cannot obtain your driver’s license, or gain employment by a major corporation. In my opinion that is because the insurance risk would be too high, the risk of litigation isn’t worth it and that’s because a 15 year generally is incapable of assessing the full consequences of their choices. At 15 I made some amazing, could have been, life altering choices. I did not have fear of consequences nor did I feel any hesitation in regards to the unknown. I don’t think my upbringing was incredibly different from what today’s youths face and for that reason it’s a lot easier to relate to what the average child has to make choices for and against.

I don’t believe there is an easy resolution in the perception of one culture’s youth as opposed to another’s.  To a certain degree it is evolutionary for a certain aspect of the population to have a broader definition and understanding of what being 15 means. Life can dictate to you what expectations of your age have been determined.