Has anyone had any dealings with Highlands County Juvenile Justice? Good or bad? I would like to know because I have a nephew who has been getting in trouble, but his probation officer seems not to help! I just wondered if anyone has had any experience with this and can offer some help. Thank you.
I’m familiar with the Department of Juvenile Justice. They are neither good nor bad. No government agency or program can repair children damaged by bad or negligent parenting. If your nephew is on probation, it isn’t his probation officer’s responsibility to keep him out of trouble. It’s his own responsibility. If he isn’t willing to do the right thing, he can plan on spending most of what will probably be a very short life going in and out of prison.
Do not expect his PO to do anything about it. They are overworked and do not have enough staff to help let alone check on them like they should be doing. They get the basics done and that is it. I don’t really blame the PO’s for what they can do but at the same token, I think they need to check on the “troubled youth” more than what they are and instead of checking in on them at school, check on them while they are at home. When you get the Juvenile Justice Dept in court with your nephew. Do not expect much then either. When you talk with them outside of court you think that they are for you but when you have them in court and think that they will speak up for you. It is the total opposite. The best bet is to talk to your nephew, get family involved. Take him to a prison (not the local jail). Let him talk to other inmates. Let him see that the path he is leading is going nowhere. Eventually he will end up in Prison if he doesn’t change his ways. If you call the Prisons, most of them will be glad to have the opportunity to change a young persons life around and will schedule a tour for him so he can talk to the inmates and possible put a little scare into him. Next, how is his mental status? If he has something in him that is bothering him and he holds it in. Sometimes youth will take it out and try to get attention in other ways. Maybe a psychologist would be able to help and see if there is anything that has happened in his life for him to keep getting in trouble. Because if he just keeps getting into trouble, he obviously doesn’t care. So, the next steps need to be taken! Just a little insight, Good Luck!
I agree that they are overworked. I am trying to help this child any way I can. I am starting with the parent. I believe alot of the troubled kids have troubled homes. I am trying to put myself in his shoes to see what he has to deal with, and it’s not good. I believe he is crying out for help. He’s only 14 and I don’t want him to slip away from us. He has a large family support system, but getting the mother toaccept help is something else altogether. I am giving it my best shot though and if they end up mad at me...too bad. I can’t get it through the adults heads that alcohol abuse around the child is bad. It doesn’t matter if they have taken all the alcohol out of the house, coming home drunk is the same thing, in my eyes! I’m starting to make headway there. Juvenile Justice is requesting counseling and I agree! I think the mother needs it to, and I have said as much! He will probably do a little time in Juvenile Detention, if there is room. That in itself should be an eye opener, but he probably knows half the kids in there. I’m rambling, sorry! Very upset today after speaking with his mother. Thanks for your input.
Where is the child’s biological father? As I’ve been told by DOJ workers, many of our troubled youth do not have their father’s actively involved in their lives.
The father dropped all ties with him. He hasn’t written or called since he was about 8. I also believe that is part of the problem. He had a blow up with his mother a while ago, and that was the brunt of the outburst. The father is not a good role model either.
Juvenile Detention is not going to change his life. It isn’t effective anymore with todays youth (I believe). You need to bring the troubled youth to a prison, where there are real adults talking about real life and sitting down with them and letting the child feel some of the pain that the inmates feel for being in there (for life). If you feel like the father is a reason as well as his mother. He does need some counseling. But, only a good couselor will help. Not someone that is going to only drug him up and not listen to him. Since the father is not in the picture anymore, the child needs to learn to deal with him not being there. Not on the hopes that he is coming back. Its only a reality! Counseling will help him deal with this and alot more. Alot of people think that since someone is paying child support (if he is in this case) then the father should be actively involved in the childs life. When this is not the case. Just because one pays child support, does not mean that they will be in the childs life. Financially maybe. But, realistically, a child needs more than money to help him grow and be an active member in society. If one parent is an alcoholic and another one is not in the picture at all then sounds like he needs an adult role model to help him turn his life around before its too late. Do any family members spend time with him? Can you get big brother/sisters involved with him? Sometimes this is all a child needs to make a turnaround. If you get DCF involved, trust me, the mother will find out that you called. Even though they say its anonymous, its not. She will then be upset with you, so do not go that way if at all possible. I hope this helps! After all, he is our future and we will need him soon enough!!
I don’t disagree with the last comment, I was eventually getting to whether any efforts had been made to reach out to the father. Sometimes, kids know what they need. Six years is a long time.
Juvenile Detention is not going to change his life. It isn’t effective anymore with todays youth (I believe). You need to bring the troubled youth to a prison, where there are real adults talking about real life and sitting down with them and letting the child feel some of the pain that the inmates feel for being in there (for life). If you feel like the father is a reason as well as his mother. He does need some counseling. But, only a good couselor will help. Not someone that is going to only drug him up and not listen to him. Since the father is not in the picture anymore, the child needs to learn to deal with him not being there. Not on the hopes that he is coming back. Its only a reality! Counseling will help him deal with this and alot more. Alot of people think that since someone is paying child support (if he is in this case) then the father should be actively involved in the childs life. When this is not the case. Just because one pays child support, does not mean that they will be in the childs life. Financially maybe. But, realistically, a child needs more than money to help him grow and be an active member in society. If one parent is an alcoholic and another one is not in the picture at all then sounds like he needs an adult role model to help him turn his life around before its too late. Do any family members spend time with him? Can you get big brother/sisters involved with him? Sometimes this is all a child needs to make a turnaround. If you get DCF involved, trust me, the mother will find out that you called. Even though they say its anonymous, its not. She will then be upset with you, so do not go that way if at all possible. I hope this helps! After all, he is our future and we will need him soon enough!!
I agree with your entire post. The child is crying out for attention and a good therapist will help alot. I’m with you when you say not one who pushes medication on him, but one who will listen.
I also believe that this kid is crying out for attention. His father has never been in the picture and child support is a joke. She may get a support check once or twice a year. He knows how to skate the child support system by working for cash. He also lives in another state, which makes it more difficult. I had a good talk with this kid last week. I tried to make strong positive statements without being another adult screaming at him. I have talked to his mother, but nothing changes. I believe the discipline should have started at home, and it should have started long ago. She could give the discipline, but not enforce it, not even when on probation. It sort of became a joke. Tomorrow is court, so we will see what happens then.
You are right on the money misfit. If you look at basic psychology, one of the things you find is this kind of behavior. Children who aren’t shown love while growing up behave in this manner for attention. Their “love tank” is empty and they act this way because they don’t know what love is. The best way to help this kid is to find a way to show him love. I know this may not be the easiest option for you, but you need to mentor this child like he is your own. The problem is, behavior like this doesn’t change overnight, and you may not have the time for mentoring. I don’t know if JJ can fill this need for him. Good luck with him and I hope you can help him turn his life around.
you guys are always blaming the parents but what happens when a single mother has to work two jobs to clthe and feed one of this children and he or she instead of helping with the house chores decides that hanging out with their friends its better than helping an overworked parent.it is a lot easier to put the blame on the parent than for an adolescent to take the blame for their own mistakes we are too quick in blaming the father or the mother but the truth of the matter is that there are some juveniles that are easily caught up in the drug lifestile and the music and the programs that they see in the tube glorifies this type of behavior
you guys are always blaming the parents but what happens when a single mother has to work two jobs to clthe and feed one of this children and he or she instead of helping with the house chores decides that hanging out with their friends its better than helping an overworked parent.it is a lot easier to put the blame on the parent than for an adolescent to take the blame for their own mistakes we are too quick in blaming the father or the mother but the truth of the matter is that there are some juveniles that are easily caught up in the drug lifestile and the music and the programs that they see in the tube glorifies this type of behavior
Hello?? Children are their parents responsibility and the parent is supposed to be in control. The parents are the ones who TEACH THERE CHILDREN RIGHT FROM WRONG, and should be a good role model for them. There are many cases where a parent can’t take responsibility for their own behavior, and what does that teach the children?
Discipline the child, and mean it, so the child does understand, they are not the ones who rule the roost, it is (supposed to be) the parent who does.
yes i agree with you spare the rod and spoil the child but remember that now a days your own child can call children and family services on you and put you behind bars just for using the wrong tone of voice it is ashame that things are not the way that they used to when you or I were kids my momma would’ve put a serious whipping on my behind if i didn’t played by her rules boy how i miss the old days
