My wife volunteered at a live-in home for emotionally disturbed boys in Pasadena (i.e., suburban context). They treated the kids decently, but there is only so much low paid help can do to remedy not having parents who care, or, having evil or disturbed parents.
Most of them were decent kids, but not educated and with impulse control problems. After years in the system, they were so far off the path that they were just being babysat until they turned 18, at which point they were set loose. When you've lived in an institution like that for so long, where do you go?
Right, the military. That was one of the main destinations for these kids. My wife began to see the whole juvenile system as a pipeline for future grunts. There was a reason why the place was underfunded, and no serious plan was in place to place these kids in society at 18. Society seemed ok with having an assured supply of young men for the war machine.
Most of them were decent kids, but not educated and with impulse control problems. After years in the system, they were so far off the path that they were just being babysat until they turned 18, at which point they were set loose. When you've lived in an institution like that for so long, where do you go?
Right, the military. That was one of the main destinations for these kids. My wife began to see the whole juvenile system as a pipeline for future grunts. There was a reason why the place was underfunded, and no serious plan was in place to place these kids in society at 18. Society seemed ok with having an assured supply of young men for the war machine.