Trauma and Justice Policy

The Justice Policy Institute published an interesting article in 2010 written by Dr. Erica J. Adams entitled Healing Invisible Wounds:  Why Investing in Trauma Informed Care for Children Makes Sense.  After our interesting class discussion last week, I was intrigued and curious about the juvenile and criminal justice systems, and the ways in which trauma impacts youth.  I wondered about policies, advocacy, and collaboration among professionals in order to best meet the needs of youth who have experienced trauma.  According to Adams' research, it is estimated that 4 million youth in the United States of America have experienced one or more traumatic events. 

Research in developmental neuroscience shows detrimental effects on the brain when traumatic events occur in children, and trauma also negatively impacts youths' stress hormones.  One especially important fact I learned regarding policy is that because the brain not fully developed until an individual is in his or her 20's, the United States Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for youth who commit their first offense before the age of 18, thereby supporting the position that children should not be held in the same regard as adults with respect to accountability.  Adams’ research shows a significant connection between childhood trauma, youth in the juvenile justice system, and adults in the criminal justice system. She write about how the incarceration of juveniles can create and/or compound their trauma, particularly because youth are not necessarily treated with evidence-based assessment tools and mental health services.   

 As I read the article and stopped to think about all of the moments and situations youth experience from the moment they are arrested, put into seclusion, deprived of their privacy, and inundated with verbal and physical aggression, not to mention possible sexual abuse inflicted upon them during their incarceration, my mind was filled with images and a new understanding about the need for trauma-informed care policies in the juvenile justice system.  The statistics themselves are startling, but when I started to unpack all of the potential fear and detriment that can result from youth being incarcerated without proper treatment, a deeper awareness and disappointment washed over me.  Adams cites a survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics in which 12% of adjudicated youth in juvenile facilities reported sexual abuse by another youth or facility staff member.  Adams also writes about the increase in recidivism and mental illness in youth after being released without proper treatment, in addition to how maltreatment and child welfare pertain to trauma and the juvenile justice system. 

Despite budget constraints, Adams advocates for policy, also supported by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, in which systems collaborate and work together to increase understanding of traumatic impact and range, assessment strategies, evidence-based treatments, preventative programs, and psychoeducation for staff that work in child-serving systems.  I really like how Adams specifically addresses the need for judges to have a strong awareness of how trauma affects youth, as well as the importance of the justice system to understand how trauma can link to an offense for which a youth may be charged.  Adam’s advocacy for systems collaboration really resounded with me.  My perspective and awareness grew after I read this article, and I do agree with Adams that youth who are assigned to treatment programs are more likely to have healthier outcomes than youth placed in correctional facilities where trauma continues to cycle around, thus hindering children and adolescents from reaching their full potential.

The article can be found at:  http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/10-07_REP_HealingInvisibleWounds_JJ-PS.pdf