Coping after youth violence

April 17, 2007 12:28:00 PM

Although the topic of school shootings isn't always directly relevant to facilities dealing with youth in custody like detention centers, the topic of youth violence and trauma is one that can't really be over-addressed. So with that in mind, I'm sharing some thoughts about the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

As a therapist who works with young people, this utterly devastating event has me reeling personally and as a professional trying to understand how these things happen and how to help kids cope afterwards.

Events such as these slam our assumptions that the world is safe, that we can send our kids off to college and have our worries contained to normal troubles they might get into, like underage drinking or unprotected sex. It shakes our belief that we can go to school and pursue academic goals in relative safety and comfort, putting our attention towards grades and perhaps weekend socializing.

Right about now, VT students should be worried about final papers and exams. But I'm sure they're barely able to focus on those things, their hearts and minds troubled by much more significant dangers than a missed deadline.

It's hard to know what to say to kids at at time like this, even the kids up here in Jersey, which seems fairly distant from the Blue Ridge. But kids all over the world are reading the internet, watching the stories unfold on CNN, seeing the cell phone footage and the weeping faces of their counterparts at VT. (Not to mention that many of our kids in Jersey are also in the middle of coping with devastating floods and evacuations.)

To help out, the good folks at Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth, UBHC-UMDNJ have prepared some information specifically for times like these.

If you're looking for a way to talk to kids about the shootings at Virginia Tech, you can download this Word Document, "Helping Children Following School Violence." The document has good, specific guidelines for adults helping kids deal with fear and regaining a sense of normalcy. While it was written in response to the series of school shootings last fall, it's information will be helpful for what we face today. And don't be put off by the fact that it was written for kids - most of its information is perfectly applicable to college students and adults as well.

A lot of times after situations such as these, those of us who do work with kids will start to thumb through our mental list of kids we know. Could one of them ever do something as horrible as this? Another useful document in this case is "Identifying Youth at Risk for Violence." (also downloadable as a Word document.) As much as stereotypes of violent youth exist, there is no one specific profile of a "school shooter." There are, however, some characteristics that violent youth have in common that indicate the need for some intervention. The document above outlines what these are and what to do when we see them.

I've included some more resources below on dealing with traumatic stress and violence. Many of these links have information that is absolutely relevant in the aftermath of the flooding and evacuation we're dealing with here in the garden state as well.

• The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies has about the most comprehensive listing of resources related to this incident on the net. It includes information about school safety, trauma and traumatic grief, how to help a loved one who is traumatized, manuals and training slides on Psychological First Aid, and a virtual ton of other important information. Make this your first stop, and you may need to go no further. But if you do, check the following:



• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (on the right side, in the sidebar look for resources on Psychological First Aid and School Shooting Resources)


• American Psychological Association - Talking to your kids about school shootings. In my opinion, the TLC material is stronger and more specific, but there are links to other resources here as well.


• The National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Information Center. There's good info here about what happens after trauma, what PTSD is, and a special tip sheet on PTSD in children and adolescents.


• The Center for Disease Control - School Associated Violent Deaths Fact Sheet. Facts about school violence, the ongoing research of the CDC in this area, and a list of good resources on school safety and violence prevention.

Like most of the rest of the world, my heart goes out to the students, staff, faculty and families of Virginia Tech. It also goes out to the thousands of people up here in the north trying to cope with the flooding and evacuations, and ensuing injuries and deaths.

Posted by Amy Jacob
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In Camden, juvenile detention population down - minority over-representation still a problem state-wide

April 13, 2007 11:39:35 AM

Thanks to JDAI (Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative) in Camden County, the detention population has been declining, reports the Courier Post Online.

However, concerns persist across the state and the entire the nation, for the over-representation of minority youth in detention settings. The article reports:

"...the drop in the number of detainees at the youth center, in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township, was unrelated to statistics that show a disproportionate number of minorities, primarily African Americans and Hispanics, are imprisoned.

Jane Siegel, associate professor of criminology at Rutgers University, who moderated the panel discussion, said 61 percent of juvenile offenders in residential treatment facilities are minorities. Only 16 percent of the state's under 18 population is African American, she said, "and no state appears immune."

"You can call it 1,000 different things, but in any state there are kids of color in disproportionate numbers in the justice system," said Michael Finley, an associate of the W. Haywood Burns Institute for Juvenile Justice Fairness and Equity, based in San Francisco.

Statistics on the Web site of that institute show that in 2002, the latest year for which numbers are available, 66 percent of New Jersey's residents between 10 and 17 years old were white, 18 percent were black, and 16 percent Hispanic.

Among youths in juvenile facilities that same year, 64 percent were African American, 19 percent Hispanic, and 17 percent white, the Burns Institute reported."

An interesting read.

Posted by Amy Jacob
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