Why juvenile offenders need ‘aftercare’
The heart-wrenching Daily Herald series recounting the 2008 attack on Elgin High School teacher Carolyn Gilbert has taken its readers to places few of us can imagine and where none of us want to go. Through the words of the victim and the attacker, as well as the views of experts in law enforcement and juvenile behavior, Kerry Lester’s reporting has provided a balanced account of this horrendous crime. To avoid these tragedies, it’s important to try to understand what happened and how future assaults can be prevented.
Learning from this youth’s actions in no way excuses those actions or trivializes the very serious harm to Ms. Gilbert. Medical research clearly shows that the adolescent brain is not fully developed. Teenagers are still developing judgment, impulse control and coping mechanisms. Under the best circumstances, the maturation process is a struggle for some youth. But when youth experience physical or emotional trauma, it can significantly disrupt healthy brain development.
Unfortunately, far too many youth today are exposed to violence. They may be victims of or witness brutal fights or violence in their neighborhoods. They may experience domestic violence in the home or suffer when a parent has mental health or addiction problems. Even when there are no visible wounds, these traumas can have a profound effect on the developing brain — effects which may not be evident until days, months or even years later.
As daunting as these facts are, there is good news too. Most youth involved in the justice system never commit an act of violence. And almost all youth — even those who have made serious mistakes — can become productive members of our communities, if we provide the necessary support, structure and supervision.
Fortunately, the American justice system recognizes the differences between adults and juveniles and the ability of youth to change for the better and is developing ways to hold youth accountable for their actions but also provide for the rehabilitation of young lives headed down the wrong path. Illinois has made some improvements in recent years.
For example, the Redeploy Illinois program gives counties a financial incentive to rehabilitate juvenile offenders in their home communities instead of shipping them to state youth prisons where rehabilitation is even more of a challenge. The leadership of that youth prison system, the Department of Juvenile Justice, is committed to rehabilitating and better preparing juveniles for success when they return home and has begun to hire and train “aftercare” specialists to work with the youth as soon as they enter prison, so that youth are better prepared to change their behavior and avoid more crime and time to be served in an adult prison.
It is an intelligent investment that will reduce future prison costs and should be expanded statewide. But there is much more to be done.
Illinois’ fiscal crisis is weakening the already-thin mental health and addiction treatment networks in our communities. That means signs of trauma or trouble in a young person’s life are less likely to be spotted or treated before tragedies occur. In fact, recognizing Ms. Gilbert’s attacker eventually will leave prison, the accompanying Daily Herald Aug. 17 editorial makes a convincing argument for intensive rehabilitation now.
The same is true for the vast majority of youth in the system for nonviolent crimes with untapped potential for positive change. But unless we do more now to reach youth and families in need of mental health therapy, treatment for addictions, education and job skills, the repercussions to public safety and costs to taxpayers down the road can be severe and take us again to places we don’t want to go.
Ÿ George Timberlake is chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission and a retired judge.