Professionals working in juvenile justice weigh in one last time on why they do this work, what trauma informed interventions have worked well, and what comes next. CTRJJ Co-Director Keith Cruise explains how we can support juvenile justice professionals who are trying to make change.

According to education professionals in the juvenile justice system, to help justice involved youth imagine and actualize new futures for themselves, the whole system needs to prioritize providing education funds, resources, and committed teachers and staff who believe in their students.

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system are not just individuals; they are part of complex families who are uniquely impacted by the justice system alongside them. In this episode, siblings and caregivers explain the financial, emotional, physical, and social challenges of the juvenile justice system and the ways practitioners in the system can support them.

Many neurodivergent youth get caught up in the juvenile justice system as a response to their moments of crisis, or simply because of differences in their behavior. This episode considers the experiences of neurodivergent youth and their families in the juvenile justice system, and how crisis intervention on their behalf should focus on preventing harm, not punishing difference.

Trauma is stored in the body and expressed through the senses, so professional interventions need to look beyond behavior to take care of the whole person through a biopsychosocial approach.

In the juvenile justice system, context is everything. Whether as professionals we show up with a deep understanding of the socio-political context of the youth, or we bring in and support “credible messengers” with shared lived experience as the youth, authenticity is key. "Irrationally caring adults," as Professor Kristin Henning describes them, can make all the difference in youth outcomes.

Making change in the juvenile justice system can be as simple, and as difficult, as making time to describe in plain language why a decision was made, pausing a meeting to ensure everyone at the table agrees with what a word means, and reflecting on the impact our word choice may have on a youth or families conception of themself. This episode provides examples and reflections on how to improve communication and transparency in juvenile justice settings.

This episode covers the layers of grief and generational trauma that youth in the juvenile justice system might be carrying, as well as the ways professionals can help these youth honor the memory of their ancestors and loved ones as they navigate their vision for the future.

The long term success of youth involved in the juvenile justice system depends on professionals seeing them as whole people, with families and goals and complicated circumstances, and understanding the broader social context in which these youth ended up in the system. In this episode, mental health experts, social workers, and other juvenile justice professionals describe the tools and interventions needed to make that possible.

Investing in the people who work in the juvenile justice system is a vital component of system-wide improvement. Learn how juvenile justice professionals are using implementation science, reflective leadership, and other tools to make trauma-informed practices the standard for working with youth in the system.

Experts at every level of the juvenile justice system - from caseworkers and trauma psychiatrists to country judges and state-level decision-makers - weigh in on how to facilitate system-wide change through collaboration and trust, and how to communicate to youth at every step that someone is on their side and won't let them fail.

For a decade, the Center for Trauma Recovery and Juvenile Justice has led conversations on the necessity of trauma-informed care for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. Now, the conversation has shifted. Most in the field no longer need to be convinced that a trauma-informed approach is necessary. How then do we take what we know about the prevalence of trauma for justice-involved youth and collaborate to respond to trauma across the entire system? In this episode, Dr. Amanda Zelechoski visits a juvenile detention facility to speak with youth about their experiences and give them a direct line to share what they want to see change in the system. You’ll also hear from several professionals working in and alongside the system highlighting why change is necessary and how change is possible.

During safety overviews before a flight, we’re instructed to put on our own oxygen masks first before assisting others. In the same way, as professionals and parents, we have to take care of ourselves before we can continue to care for the children in our lives. To close out this audio series, we’ll hear from several guest experts on what they do to support their own well-being as trauma-care providers.

With our guest experts, we discuss why we need policies that support trauma-informed training and care and what’s at stake if we don’t. We’ll hear from guest experts speaking to specific policy needs in contexts such as medical care, mental health, and online spaces. Ultimately, we’ll discuss the foundational need for these laws and policies to be rooted in the community. Whether we’re legislators, policymakers, advocates, or just community members with a voice and a vote, we can work to ensure our laws and policies support the resilience of children in all of our communities.

Communities and collective action are vitally important in maintaining and strengthening our mental health and resilience. In this episode, we hear from several experts on the essential role communities play in fostering resilience in children who experience stress and trauma.

As a parent, supporting your child day-in and day-out is a lot of work -- especially if your child has experienced or is experiencing stress and trauma. Our guest experts speak to the big and small ways parents and caregivers can help foster resilience in children.

In this episode, we’re focusing on the experiences of youth before, during, and after their interactions with the legal system. We’ll hear from trauma-focused behavioral healthcare professionals who have worked extensively with the legal system: with judges, lawyers, justice-involved youth, and their families. We’ll also hear from a lawyer and a community organizer and their work to reduce and prevent trauma in justice-involved youth.

In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at clinical training programs for healthcare professionals in many fields: how to make the training more trauma-informed, and how students can best navigate those programs if they’re interested in providing trauma-informed care.