2022

"You don’t know how little control you have over things here, when the world was what you owned when you were on the streets." / May 11, 2022 by richard ross

"You don’t know how little control you have over things here, when the world was what you owned when you were on the streets... I want to accomplish something. If I don’t have anything to lose—you don’t really have anything."

“I wasn’t on good terms with my Dad. I wasn’t living at home. I was living with my cousin who is about 24—gang member. Member of XXXX gang—so town criminals. One guy who works for probation and counseling tried to help me do things beyond drugs and gangs. I am learning why I do things here. I want to accomplish something. If I don’t have anything to lose—you don’t really have anything. This activity cost me seven months of my life and even more time on a lot of earlier visits. I have a GED. Here because of issues with Marijuana, Alcohol. Parents will pick me up. I hope I can get into Job Corp. I was sentenced to do all my time here”

298 days.

The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline / May 11, 2022 by richard ross

Abigail Olivieri

April was sexual assault awareness month and that means now, no more than ever, we must pay attention to the trauma faced by 97% of women all around the world.

There are several statistics showing the commonality of such instances and what may be most shocking is that many of these statistics are about young girls who face these types of crimes most often. According to the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, one in four American girls will experience some form of sexual violence by the age of eighteen, fifteen percent of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of twelve, nearly half of all female rape survivors were victimized before eighteen, and girls between sixteen and eighteen are four times more likely than the general population to be raped or sexually assaulted (2015).

Many of these girls will end up interacting with the criminal justice system in some way. In fact, sexual abuse is a primary predecessor of girls’ entry into the system (Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, 2015). As of 2012, seventy-three percent of girls in the juvenile justice system have histories of physical and sexual violence (Ross, 2012). A punitive environment in combination with ill-equipped trauma based rehabilitation creates an even worse situation for many girls who have faced such abuse. Thirty-one percent of girls involved in the justice system have been specifically sexually abused (Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, 2015). Forty-five percent have five or more ACE’s, which stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences (Baglivio et al., 2014). The ACE questionnaire is a measurement of childhood trauma including questions about violence, sexual assault, poverty, and more. Girls involved in the justice system are victimized by sexual violence at an earlier age and for a longer average duration (Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, 2015). Due to this, girls in an incarceration setting will not only be more susceptible to a trauma response, but they will also likely face more stressors triggering them to act out. This behavior is then criminalized, whether it’s in or out of incarceration, and then the cycle of abuse and poor coping continue.

The solution lies in policy. In 1974 the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and Prevention Act (JJDPA) was passed. This was one of the most comprehensive juvenile justice policies ever passed. The JJDPA sets the standards for and provides funding for states’ juvenile justice systems. The reauthorization of the JJDPA in 2018 was essential for creating new standards that will work best for today. Despite the recent reauthorization, there is little talk of sexual abuse and sexual assault, which at risk juveniles are inherently at additional risk for at a vulnerable state.

Another important policy that can be strengthened is the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Under this law there are many protections for victims of sexual assault and abuse including things such as access to emergency medical and crisis intervention services (Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, 2015). The weakness of this policy is its enforcement. There are no formal sanctions for noncompliance and there is no mandatory timeline. According to the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality PREA would be more effective if there were mandatory noncompliance penalties, more specific definitions for what a “timely” crisis response is, and a requirement for foster homes and congregate care facilities to comply with PREA and federal standards if they enter into contracts with juvenile justice agencies (2015).

SOURCES

https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-inequality-center/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/02/The-Sexual-Abuse-To-Prison-Pipeline-The-Girls%E2%80%99-Story.pdf

Baglivio, M. T., Epps, N., Swartz, K., Huq, M. S., Sheer, A., & Hardt, N. S. (2014). The Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in the Lives of Juvenile Offenders. Journal of Juvenile Justice, 3(2), 1–23.

https://www.juvjustice.org/sites/default/files/resource-files/Summary%20of%20the%20Juvenile%20Justice%20Reform%20Act%20of%202018.pdf

”When I get there, it will be my first time in [STATE]… so technically I will be a new person there.” / May 11, 2022 by richard ross

C, Age 13, is almost in 9th grade and has one brother who is 9. C's both of his parents are regular substance abusers and his mother is known to disappear for days at a time. After the facility, he may be placed with his biological dad, who has not been in his life. He has been here 5 months, almost 6. He is supposed to be released in 3 months time, but it is difficult to make arrangements for his housing, so it may take longer.

”When I get there, it will be my first time in [STATE]… so technically I will be a new person there.”

SHU / February 21, 2022 by richard ross

Abbi Olivieri

Solitary confinement is a common tactic of punishment for juveniles in detention centers across the United States. Solitary can be disguised under many other names such as restrictive housing, isolation, administrative segregation, holding, and more. Solitary is used to diffuse situations and protect against suicidality; it separates the individual from the general population. Although some may approve of this practice, it has actually been shown to be detrimental to the mental health of those confined. “SHU Syndrome” as coined by Dr. Stuart Grassian of Harvard Medical School in his 2006 study “The Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement” was found in many inmates at Bay State Prison in California’s Security Housing Unit (SHU). The symptoms included paranoia, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and psychotic symptoms as a result of prolonged solitary confinement. Unfortunately, CO’s have little to no training in the psychiatric effects that solitary confinement has on people. For adults, with fully matured brains, this can be a scary and traumatizing experience, so it is easy to say that for kids, this experience is all the worse.

B.H., an incarcerated juvenile said, “I’m 17 years old. I’ve been here four months. I’ve been in isolation four months. I’m wearing a smock to prevent me from hurting myself.”

“How Can You Love Life at its Worst?”:

“Not sure how long but I lived in isolation.

Tortured in my sleep I hear girls cry.

Now I understand, this is where I’ll die.” - S.K.

It is abundantly clear that symptoms of mental illnesses worsen in isolation, but what exactly happens to the brain when put in these extremely stressful situations?

In a stressful or overwhelming situation, the body and brain have a natural response to go into fight or flight mode. First you are flooded with adrenaline and other stress-related hormones that set off this response. Then the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotions, will send a signal of distress to the hypothalamus, which will then send a signal to the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is in charge of functions such as maintaining ones’ heart rate, breathing, and digestion; all of the things we need to survive. Within the autonomic nervous system there is the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system, each tasked with carrying out the fight or flight response in your body. The sympathetic nervous system gets the signal from your brain to produce epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline), which prepares you for whatever threat may come. Next is the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, which is produced when the hypothalamus sends a signal to the pituitary gland which secretes a hormone called corticosteroid (which includes cortisol). As your heart rate increases, your blood pressure rises, and your senses are heightened, your body goes into a state of hypervigilance. After prolonged periods in this state, the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain in charge of decision making and problem solving, begins to shut down. The part of the brain that remains activated is the part that we have in common with wild animals, the part that controls only our most primal and basic functioning.

Dr. Barbara Kirwin, a forensic psychologist who provides psychotherapy to felony offenders and a professor of forensic science at Adelphi University says, “[a]ll of these stress hormones rise about 20 to 30 percent above the brain’s baseline for those individuals who are entering jail without a chemical or hormonal balance in the brain to begin with” (Kirwin qtd. Higgins, 2022). When you can’t go anywhere, and you can’t fight anyone without the risk of being punished, or worse, kept in solitary for longer, your body’s central nervous system does not have the chance to balance itself out. Prolonged high-stress reactions in the body can cause severe psychological damage, and while an adolescent’s mind is still developing, this can become even more detrimental. “There are a lot of people who are in the neuroscience of criminality field who would say if inmates had optimal brain chemistry, they would not be committing crimes,” (Kirwin qtd. Higgins 2022). It is impossible for underdeveloped brains to have optimal brain chemistry, and for children this is always the case, therefore, the effects of solitary are compounded and months in isolation can seem like years.

Sources

Ross Higgins, D. (n.d.). What happens to the brain when you go to jail? A&E. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.aetv.com/shows/60-days-in/articles/your-brain-in-jail

Pregnant, Young & In Detention / February 21, 2022 by richard ross

Abbi Olivieri

“Make a list of the words that define the conditions of these girls. Depression, alcohol, cutting, drug abuse, eating disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, trauma, homelessness, abuse, pimps, pregnancy.” - ‘Fuck Love’

Pregnancy is not uncommon among young, incarcerated girls. Leslie Acoca MA, MFT mentions that “in 2014 up to 2,000 teen girls will walk, traumatized and shackled, through the locked gates of three huge and intimidating county detention centers. Estimates are that between 160 and 240 of these eleven- to seventeen-year-old girls will be pregnant.” Being pregnant as a child or an adolescent brings its own challenges. Coupled with cyclical trauma and incarceration, the notion of pregnancy during incarceration is terrifying. Inherently, due to social, emotional, and medical needs associated with motherhood and carrying a child, individuals who are in such a position understandably need additional support during this period.When in a detention center that extra support may look like nothing at all, or worse, being placed in isolation for “safety reasons.”

“Being in detention may be the closest thing to healthcare that some of these girls have available to them.”

— Quote Source

C.C., age 15 said, “I’ve been pregnant twice. I had two miscarriages. I was a drug baby. My mom was on drugs when I was born.” B.Q., age 17 said, “I’ve got a 3-year-old daughter. I got pregnant when I was 14. No dad was ever around. I think maybe he was on drugs and is incarcerated.” And B.E., age 16 said, “I have two kids. The first I have from my dad when I was 14. The first thing he did when he got out of prison was rape me and get me pregnant. I didn’t show until I was eight months. The baby was tiny, so I didn’t know I was pregnant. I had irregular periods all the time anyway. I was still doing a lot of drugs, heroin and crystal. The baby was born three pounds eight ounces.”

These stories are just a few of thousands of girls who are pregnant and incarcerated. In fact, between 20 percent and 30 percent of incarcerated girls nationwide have been or are currently pregnant. Yet in 2007, only 18 percent of the 3,200 locked facilities holding teen girls nationwide routinely tested for pregnancy (Gallagher & Dobrin, 2007). Plus, incarcerated pregnant teens are often at increased risk for a number of pregnancy complications related to their co-occurring high-risk health behaviors (Hufft, 2004). Fortunately, the Supreme Court ruled in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976), that prisons must provide adequate health care to those incarcerated at both the state and federal level, which includes incarcerated juveniles. Unfortunately for these girls, their rights, both legal and human, are often infringed upon due to being overlooked when it comes to healthcare. Being pregnant while incarcerated can compound the trauma of not only being locked up, but the trauma of pregnancy in young girls as well. For example, prenatal nutrition is important for the development of the baby, but in many cases girls will get fed the same as everyone else, with potential for one extra portion.

Medical care in juvenile detention centers in general is far from adequate. Although some youth in the justice system interact with medical professionals on the regular, many are left with essentially nonexistent care. The National Juvenile Detention Association says, “I can say to you with no equivocation that health care in juvenile detention and corrections, as a whole, is extremely inadequate.” And unfortunately, there are no federal regulations that dictate the level of health care that must be provided in juvenile facilities. Plus, incarcerated youth face disproportionately more morbidity and mortality than the average adolescent, including pregnant girls who tend to face many more complications.

Despite the poor conditions, the truth of the matter is that being in detention may be the closest thing to healthcare that some of these girls have available to them. Coming from the streets or the foster care system doesn’t render them with the best healthcare, if any. E.E., age 17 said, “I have a 7-month-old son. He’s with foster parents. Today was my first day seeing him in 6 months. My baby’s dad was there. He makes me feel awful by supposing he is better than me.”

Past trauma is present in nearly 100% of incarcerated girls, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Plus, girls in custody report nearly two times the rate of past physical abuse. This means that they likely grew up underserved in some way. Much of this abuse is sexual abuse, and as sexual abuse occurs, so do unwanted pregnancies. K.R. said, “[w]hen I turned 13, I found out I was pregnant. My baby’s father changed from being sweet and caring to abusive and when I was three months pregnant, he pushed me down the stairs and started kicking me in the stomach. Because of his actions I had a miscarriage, so I began to do more drugs and started robbing people.” The additional levels of trauma that incarceration presents these girls is severely detrimental to their rehabilitation potential, thus, added to the trauma of having a child in a detention facility, one cannot imagine how awful these circumstances really are for them.