health and counseling edition - the Youth Advocacy Division

FALL 2008
COMMUNITY NOTEBOOK: HEALTH AND COUNSELING EDITION
(Continued from page 3)
William’s Story
William* is one example of a young
person whose health needs went unaddressed,
resulting in consequences that changed his
life. When we met William at the Youth Advocacy
Project (Boston’s juvenile unit of the state public
defender agency), he faced minor delinquency
charges. The Youth Advocacy Project (YAP)
applies a youth development approach to its
legal advocacy, believing that young people’s
case success is determined most significantly by
their life successes. Each client is connected with
services that address his or her needs across a
number of developmental domains, in addition to
their legal needs outlined by the court
case. Without addressing the underlying causes
and circumstances of delinquent behavior, young
people remain at high risk for chronic courtinvolvement.
William’s delinquency attorney, after
learning that he did not have health insurance or
*Names have been changed.
TO HELP PREVENT HEALTH PROBLEMS AND
ENSURE POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT,
ALL YOUTH NEED:
□ Health insurance coverage
□ Access to a pediatrician/primary
care physician and regular
checkups
□ Visits to a dentist for regular
checkups (recommended twice
annually)
□ Appropriate immunizations on a
physician-recommended
schedule
a primary care provider, arranged for a medical
examination. The doctor’s exam revealed that
William’s medical history included an untreated
sinus infection that had been overlooked for more
than a year. The infection had caused brain
damage that was linked to his chronic bad
behavior. Without the connections to resources
that could address William’s most significant
underlying problems, William was in a very high-risk
situation. He ran away from home and engaged
in delinquent acts. Access to a primary care
physician could have caught and treated his sinus
infection in its beginnings. Perhaps he could have
both the brain damage with its associated chronic
behavior problems and his eventual courtinvolvement.
William’s story highlights how lack of
preventive care and a missed opportunity for
intervention, in this case connecting a vulnerable
young person with adequate resources for his
physical health, can have life-altering
impacts. William’s story is a warning that shows
what is at stake for young people who need help
accessing services to address their physical and
mental health needs, as well as their overall
positive youth development.
Jason’s Story
Jason was a troubled youth and a
“regular” in the juvenile justice system. He had
multiple arrests ranging from robbery to assault
and battery, and stealing vehicles. His social
network was comprised of other teens in similar
situations. His support network at home was
unstable—his mother was a victim of domestic
violence, and substance abuse was jeopardizing
his family’s future. Like Jason, all of his siblings
were court-involved. Jason’s precarious home life
fostered a situation that put him at serious risk.
Jason suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and
bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, Jason attended a
school that could not adequately meet his
psychological, emotional, and academic needs.
He had few positive role models and was growing
up into an adult destined for a lifetime of courtinvolvement.
The key to getting Jason on track was
helping him access services that could meet his
complex needs. Jason’s multi-disciplinary
delinquency team at YAP included his
delinquency attorney, an education attorney
(from YAP’s EdLaw Project), a psychologist, and a
forensic case manager. The YAP psychologist was
able to recognize the role of severe mental
distress in Jason’s social and academic difficulties.
Jason’s case manager worked with his family and
a social worker from the Youth Service Providers
Network to get Jason into a residential
therapeutic school. The EdLaw attorney filed a
complaint against the Department of Education,
citing that Jason’s Individual Education Plan was
inappropriate and unable to meet his most
imperative academic needs. The Department of
Education settled the case and Jason was
transferred to a residential therapeutic school.
Jason’s new school was equipped with
the resources to address the range of issues
affecting his mental health and contributing to his
delinquency. The school was an hour from Boston,
thus removing Jason from the possibility of ganginvolvement
and providing him with the
opportunity to interact with other youth not
connected with street life. He had more direct
contact with his therapist and was able to talk
about the traumatic events in his life. Academic
classes were smaller and Jason was able to
receive more individual attention. Through the
services that his team at YAP helped him access,
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www.youthadvocacyproject.org