‘Juvenile Justice’ Archives
Dissipation Shows it’s Face
As I walked through the Probation Department reception area one day, I saw a teenage girl waiting to see her probation officer. She was probably fifteen years old and was an absolute doll. Her face still glowed with youthful, dewy innocence and she had that miraculous appearance of a child on the brink of unlimited possibilities. I don’t [...]
A Case of Better Late than Never
The girl was about sixteen and was in Court for a number of offenses, not the least of which was using her parents’ credit card to run up a bill of over one thousand dollars. Of course she had nothing to show for the money, since it had all been spent on friends and "having fun." (more...)
The Blame Game — In Reverse
I talk a lot about parents who don’t give a hoot what their children are doing, but at the other extreme are the parents who can’t imagine their children doing anything wrong. They consistently cover for them, go to their defense or take the blame themselves, no matter what the evidence indicates. They should, instead, be holding their [...]
Parents Should Ask Questions
Dear Probation Officer, My 14 year old daughter was recently arrested. She says she only admitted to the police because she was afraid. She is home now and we’re trying to get her life back on track but I’m upset by all of this and we still have to face Court. I would like to see the charges and ask some questions of my own, especially [...]
Good Casework, or just Dumb Luck?
Dear Probation Officer, Our son was on probation for a while and we really had our ups and downs with him. The probation officer was very attentive, and our son eventually straightened up, but we’re not sure exactly what brought him around. We’ve talked about it a lot and we don’t see where anybody did anything miraculous. Was it just dumb [...]
A Rough Profile of Delinquents
For the last few months I have been reading a lot of juvenile Court reports. From all of those case histories I put together a very unscientific profile of the typical juvenile repeat offender, at least those who reside in a medium-sized town in California. (more...)
Don’t Tell I Told
When the probation officer returned from lunch, Mrs. R. had left another voice mail message on his telephone. She was always double-dealing regarding her daughter, who was on probation for theft. He had no desire to hear the latest scheme, but he dialed the number anyway. (more...)
The Push-Pull of Teaching Faith
A distraught mother called me one day to ask for advice regarding her teenage daughter. She said the girl was rebelling, mostly over the church they attended, and added, “We can’t get her to come around to our way of thinking, and last week she even ran away for two days.” In trying to explain the family dynamics, she [...]
