Hundreds of youth criminal records expunged

Update: Former Pennsylvania Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan are headed for prison-- seven years each and not nearly long enough, if you ask me-- for sentencing young people brought before the bar to a privately-run juvenile facility in return for kick-backs totaling in the millions. I wrote about the case when it first went national here.

Now the New York Times is reporting that the records of hundred of youths will be expunged. 70 of those youths have filed a class action suit against the judges, asking that "all profits that the detention centers earned from the scheme placed in a fund that would compensate the youths for their emotional distress." NYTimes.

If there were no prison, and still the judges could be sentenced, what should they be sentenced to do?

Support workers at the YWCA and its battered women's shelters

I was talking to an old friend of mine the other day, Nancy Lyman-Shaver, about whether she still was planning to write a book about the development of the battered women's movement in Western Massachusetts, which so closely parallels efforts around the country. Unfortunately, much of Nancy's material was lost in a flooded basement, but a very abridged version of the story goes like this: back in the late 60's and early 70's, if a woman was being battered at home, she had virtually no options. There were no battered women's shelters and the 209A restraining order laws did not yet exist. In Springfield, working class feminists rented a house for women who needed a place to flee to, and they staffed it with volunteers for a number of years. It was an effort women undertook willingly, but without funding, it eventually became too much. When the MA Department of Public Health decided to offer funding to agencies willing to operate battered women's shelters, it was, in many ways, the beginning of the end of the battered women's political movement, bureaucratizing essential services to they could be "delivered" more efficiently.

Maybe it was inevitable and necessary, but that bureaucratization has been a mixed blessing. We've replaced a political analysis with one that tends to treat women as part of a social pathology, and that brings with it all the concomitant mandatory "services.". And some battered women's services have even become the oppressors of their women employees.

Springfield's Young Women's Christian Association, which operates the ARCH and New Beginnings battered women's shelters, has been under criticism for some time by many in its workforce. This Thursday, the Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board will be holding a hearing on labor relations at the Y. The following is a press release from Jobs with Justice.

YWCA WORKERS TO TESTIFY TO WORKERS’ RIGHTS BOARD

On Thursday March 12, a panel of the Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board will take the testimony of workers at YWCA of Western Massachusetts and issue a report on labor contract bargaining there. The hearing will be 3:00-5:00pm in Room 220, City Hall, 36 Court Street, Springfield. The public, the press, and the employer are invited to attend. Attendees are asked to come fragrance-free.

The YWCA’s workforce – predominantly women, many of whom are of color – claim it is not living up to its mission of “eliminating racism and empowering women.”

The United Auto Workers Local 2322 has been bargaining a new contract at the YWCA since May 2008. The employer is showing an anti-worker and anti-union animus at the bargaining table and has shown such animus since the workers organized in 2003. Despite being a non-profit social service agency subsidized by tax dollars and tax benefits and public and private donations, the YWCA has spent in excess of $300,000 on the well-known anti-union law firm, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, and has given sizable raises to its Executive Director, Mary Reardon Johnson. It claims there is no revenue to grant its employees decent raises.

UAW Local 2322 President Ron Patenaude will conduct the testimony by YWCA workers and also provide basic information including the YWCA’s many violations of the National Labor Relations Act.

The Western Mass. Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board consists of two dozen “public citizens” in Western Massachusetts. The following are on the March 12 panel:

Irene Kimball, Chairperson of the Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Workers' Rights Board; retired Regional Director, Massachusetts Office for Children

Anne Awad, President/CEO, Caring Health Center Inc, Springfield; Health Systems Consultant; former Amherst Select Person

Kathryn Buckley-Brawner, Director, Office of Peace & Justice, Catholic Charities Agency, Diocese of Springfield

Frances Borden Hubbard, Project Director, Springfield Adolescent Health Project; Retired Professor of Black Studies, Labor Studies, and Public Administration at several universities

Prof. Stephanie Luce, Acting Director, Labor Relations & Research Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Benjamin Swan, Massachusetts State Representative from Springfield and civil rights activist

William R. Toller, Deacon, Holy Cross Church, Springfield; Consultant, Hampden County Sheriff’s Department

E. Henry Twiggs, Chairman, Springfield Inner City Rehab Inc.

Across the U.S., Workers’ Rights Boards act as “the conscience of the community” regarding labor relations, exposing employers' misconduct and also helping workers form unions and reach collective bargaining contracts. There is more information at http://www.jwj.org/projects/wrb.html.

More information about law firms like Skoler, Abbott & Presser is at http://www.americanrightsatwork.org/the-anti-union-network/for-profit-union-busters/for-profit-unionbusters.html.

Jon Weissman, Coordinator,Western Mass Jobs with Justice,640 Page Blvd #101, Springfield MA 01104, (413) 827-0301

Photos: Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone, two Massachusetts feminists.

Today is International Women's Day, and my post is as part of a coordinated effort on the part of Bloggers Unite!,an attempt to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. By asking bloggers to write about a particular subject on 1 day of the month, a single voice can be joined with thousands to help make a difference; from raising awareness for cancer, to an effort to better education systems or supporting 3rd world countries. if you're a blogger, check it out!

CNN's Rick Sanchez uses the language of violence

Irony of ironies....this afternoon on Rick Sanchez' show on CNN, he read aloud from the filing documents released by the Los Angeles police that described the "alleged" beating of singer Rihanna by her boyfriend Chris Brown. The literally blow by blow description of the assault was chilling and and graphic.

After reading the filing documents, Rick addressed one of his guests, Ashleigh Banfield from In Session.

"There's talk..that she's gonna go back to him and all that jazz..and as a guy, as a human being, you can't help but wonder why. And there's talk now, that there's some people who know her who are gonna try to knock some sense into her. What are you hearing?"

Hold on! Isn't that what Chris Brown probably believes, that he was "knocking some sense into her?"

Is he next going to call the assault a "crime of passion?"

Photo from Dvux's photostream at Flickr.

15 year old girl beat by Seattle cop

OK, this video is going to get a lot of play, but if you ask me, it can't get too much. A fifteen year old girl, arrested for reasons unknown at this point, is placed in a holding cell. Just before the door closes, she kicks off a shoe, which goes outside the room on a low trajectory. You can watch what happens next for yourself. There's no audio to the video, but according to treports the girl is calling the officers fat pigs. (Make sure you catch the part about how after she is handcuffed, they pull her into a standing position by her hair.) Guess the officers forgot that old playground chant, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me."



YouTube link:

Speaking of dumps....

I've been pretty down in the dumps the last week or so (political, though it's become personal) and sometimes when I get like that, I don't really feel like putting myself out there-- especially if my disquiet moves from the intellectual and emotional to the physical-- too much adrenalin, meaning not enough sleep, etc. I just have to wait for it to pass and to keep breathing.

A friend left a message on my phone last night inquiring as to my wellbeing because I hadn't been blogging-- pretty insightful on her part. Actually, I've still been collecting items I want to share so I haven't been completely neglectful.

So today: I plugged in my Christmas lights, left the stepladder up so my cats can play King of the Hill, and made a cup of cocoa. I'm going to: finish cleaning the house, reorganize a bookshelf, water my plants, and then wait for the snow, which I complain about but secretly savor. Let there be white.

Photo from DoortoRiver's photostream at Flickr.

East Coast and snowed in? Take some simple, meaningful actions

Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup

Save the Date: Ocean Conservancy to release "The Rising Tide of Ocean Debris: And What We Can Do About It" in March. The report compiles the findings of the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup providing a global snapshot of the problem of trash in our ocean.

Our own health is intrinsically tied to the health of the ocean, and we each have a personal responsibility for its care. The International Coastal Cleanup, the world's largest volunteer effort for the ocean, provides a unique opportunity to make a difference in your own backyard or favorite beach and be a part of a global movement. The 24th annual International Coastal Cleanup will be held September 19th worldwide.

For questions or to receive a copy of the report contact Media Relations Manager Michele Capots.

Double Murder in Russia - Human Rights First

Last month, a leading human rights lawyer and a freelance reporter were gunned down in the middle of the afternoon in downtown Moscow. Both were returning from a press conference concerning the case of a Russian colonel charged with the murder of an 18-year-old Chechen girl.

Similar attacks have been repeatedly met with impunity. This one, in daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses, takes the danger faced by human rights defenders to a new level. Human Rights First responded quickly by sending a letter to Secretary Clinton and an appeal to President Medvedev. Thanks to those of you who joined our efforts!

HRF is pushing the new administration to take up this and other important human rights issues with Russia. Read more in our blueprint and in a recent Letter to the Editor in the Washington Times.

House Passes Act Stopping Chimps Sold as Pets - Petition at Care2

Lost in the pomp and circumstance of President Obama's non-State of the Union address on Tuesday was an important step in Congress for animal lovers. The House of Representatives passed the Captive Primate Safety Act by a vote of 323 to 95.

The Captive Primate Safety Act would make it illegal to engage in interstate and foreign commerce with primates as pets - making it much more difficult for people to buy a chimp as a pet. And given the recent incident in Connecticut (which fellow Care2 blogger Sharon S. so eloquently discussed earlier), it's becoming more and more clear that some sort of regulation is necessary to ensure something like that doesn't happen again. Ask your senator to sign on.

Regulate Toxic E-Waste

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2

Do you want the latest and greatest technology? Before you decide, consider that over-consumption has led to 20-50 million metric tons of toxic e-waste worldwide each year. And the U.S. does not federally mandate recycling of e-waste.

Most old or unusable computers, televisions and cell phones are shipped off to Asia or West Africa where they are smashed and scrapped for precious metals. Young people seeking to earn a little money work at dumps to demolish electronics for valuable parts. But unknowingly they are exposed to poisonous chemicals like mercury, lead and cadmium, all known to cause cancer.

In an effort to prevent international dumping of e-waste 170 countries agreed to notify developing nations of incoming hazardous waste shipments. Sadly, the U.S. is the only industrialized country that would not sign the agreement.

Dumping e-waste is harmful to the poor nations where it ends up and harmful to the environment. The EPA refuses to take responsibility for international dumping of e-waste. Tell Congress that it's time to federally regulate e-waste dumping.


Photo from the Ocean Conservancy's photostream at Flickr.

Belated Justice for Kathryn Johnston as Judge Sentences Atlanta Narcs Who Killed Her to Prison

From Stop the Drug War.org

A federal judge in Atlanta Tuesday sent three former Atlanta narcotics officers to prison for their roles in a misbegotten drug raid that ended in the death of a 92-year-old woman and shone a disturbing light on police practices in the Atlanta police drug squad. The victim, Kathryn Johnston, was killed when the three officers fired 39 rounds at her after she fired one shot at them as they were breaking down her door on a bogus drug raid.

US District Court Judge Julie Carnes sentenced former officer Arthur Tesler to five years in prison, Gregg Junnier to six years, and Jason Smith to 10 years. All three sentences were less than those called for by federal sentencing guidelines.

Johnston was killed about 7 p.m. on November 21, 2006. Three hours earlier, Tesler arrested and roughed-up a small-time drug dealer named Fabian Sheats and threatened to send him to prison unless he gave up another drug dealer. Sheats eventually pointed out Johnston's home, apparently at random, telling Tesler and his partners he saw a dealer named "Sam" with a kilo of cocaine there.

The three officers wanted to make a buy, but didn't consider Sheats reliable, so they called an informant named Alex White to come make the buy. But White was unavailable, so the trio simply wrote a false affidavit saying they had watched White make a cocaine buy at Johnson's home. Shortly before 6:00 p.m., they had their no-knock search warrant. An hour later, Johnston was dead after firing upon the intruders she apparently thought were robbers.

Then the cover-up kicked in, with the trio creating more false documents to hide the truth. But their cover-up fell apart when their informant, Alex White, grew frightened and went to the FBI.

In her sentencing statement, Judge Carnes criticized the Atlanta Police Department for its performance quotas for search warrants and arrests, saying the "pressures brought to bear did have an impact on these and other officers on the force." If anything good came from Johnston's death, it will be "a renewed effort by the Atlanta Police Department to prevent something like this from ever happening again," Carnes said. "It is my fervent hope the APD will take to heart what has happened here," the judge said.

Our economy set to music

Melodies derived from Stock Charts, arranged with Songsmith, the Microsoft Composition Tool. The most expensive Music of the World. By Johannes Kreidler. www.kreidler-net.de

What do homeless people want from the police?

The Sacramento Police Department came in for some criticism this week when an officer towed the uninsured, unregistered car of a homeless woman. She was left on the curb with her belongings in the rain.

The SPD blog acknowledged that criticism but wanted to make sure the public knew that the officer involved tried to assist the woman in phoning friends to help her move her belongings.

The sentiments of readers who called to complain about the towing of Van Slate’s car are understandable. However, we doubt that anyone would want to find themselves in a collision with an uninsured motorist. The Sacramento Bee’s own recent article on February 6 (Road hazard: uninsured driver rates climb), stated that the numbers of uninsured motorists are rising nationwide. This also means that the frustration and expense incurred by insured motorists who find themselves in accidents with the uninsured can also be expected to rise.
According to the Insurance Research Council cited in the article, rising unemployment rates correlate to the rise in uninsured motorists (3 million more uninsured motorists than five years ago). More insured motorists in collisions with uninsured will be picking up the tab for auto repair, injuries and court costs after accidents. This also means police officers everywhere are going to increasingly be faced with difficult situations like the one on Friday, and will have to wrestle with the aftermath of negative public opinion in order to protect all of the drivers on the road.

The blog also calls attention to the larger societal issue of homelessness, and says society's efforts would be better spent solving that problem than blaming officers for enforcing the law.
These are all fair points. So what is it that homeless people really want and need from law enforcement.
First, they want to be treated with dignity. The police departments in various cities tend to reflect the attitudes toward homeless people that are held by their superiors and by the city's elected officials. When Edward Flynn was hired as police commissioner in Springfield, Massachusetts, my home city, his focus on "quality of life" issues led to officers being told to photograph homeless people, with or without their consent, ostensibly so they could be identified if found dead. Homeless people were frequently rousted and told to move on. Sometimes their tents were destroyed.Homeless complaints about the police have declined (thought not disappeared) under the new police commissioner William Fitchet, who is focusing, with some success, on reducing serious crime.

Second, homeless people want the police to use their discretion humanely when homeless people are technically violating laws which are rarely if ever enforced for other populations-- jaywalking, loitering, vagrancy-- as long as they are otherwise behaving.

Last but scarcely least, homeless people want the police to help keep them safe. When Steve Donohue, a homeless man, was murdered by another homeless man last summer, the Springfield police comforted his friends and moved swiftly to apprehend the killer. Those actions went a long way in closing the trust gap between the homeless community and the police. With the terrible increase of violence against homeless people, the homeless community needs the police as much if not more than the community at large.

Plan To Start Little Stationery Store Too Sad For Bank To Deny Loan

KANSAS CITY, MO—Loan officers at the First National Bank of Kansas City defended their decision to lend local man Tim Creamsby $650,000 to open a small stationery store Monday, explaining that, while the business's long-term prospects were poor, the idea was "simply too pathetic and heartbreaking" not to sign off on.
"In order to qualify for a loan of that size, an applicant normally must demonstrate significant financial holdings, have an impeccable credit score, and fill out a number of contracts," First National loan officer Robert Lewiston said. "But when I met Mr. Creamsby and listened to his pitiful story about how he'd worked all his life at an office-chair factory to save up for his dream—his dream to have a little shop where people could buy thank-you notes and maybe pick up some fountain-pen ink every now and then—well, I blurted out the first number that came to mind just to make him stop."


Read more at The Onion.

Richard Holbrook talks nonsense to Wolf Blitzer

I listened to Richard Holbrook being interviewed on CNN Thursday and I was so struck by the meaninglessness of his statement that I replayed the segment and transcribed it. Most of his words lack any clear referent to reality; they sound good but are empty of substance. Anyway, you can judge for yourself (if you ignore my few editorial comments).

Wolf Blitzer: President Obama is ordering an additional 17,000 more forces to Afghanistan, a controversial move with no guaranteed results. So is the Obama Administration making the right move?

We’re interviewing Richard Holbrook – former ambassador to Iraq and current special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

WB: You’re just back from a critically important mission to Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region. A lot of folks are fearful that this whole troop buildup in Afghanistan right now could turn out to be a waste, given the inherent problems in that country. Can you look in the camera and tell the American people right now that it’s not a waste, that this is going to work?

Richard Holbrook: There’s no question that these troops are necessary. (WHY?) This is a request by Gen McKiernan, the commander in Afghanistan, and General Petraeus that was put to President. Bush last summer. It did not get acted upon and it landed on President. Obama’s desk on Day One. There was no question, and I can tell you this having just been in Afghanistan, that these troops are needed to stop the deteriorating situation. (WHAT SITUATION IS THAT?)

WB: but will it work?

RH: It will turn the tide but I cannot tell you for sure what will happen after that because there are many other variables. (HUH?) This is a war that includes political components, military components, (WHAT ARE THOSE COMPONENTS?) and the president has asked us to give him a full scale strategic review, which we’re doing right now, and we are going to try to revamp strategy in a way that upgrades the civilian and economic and reconstruction components and above all, Wolf, we’ve got to deal with Pakistan. We’ve got to stem the deterioration in the tribal areas.

WB: I want to get to Pakistan in a minute but Russ Feingold, the Democratic senator from Wisconsin, a member of the Intelligence Committee, says that you guys may have it reversed.. “We need to have a strategy in place for Afghanistan that will actually work before we commit thousands more American troops. A military escalation without a strategy to address the complex problems facing Afghanistan and the region could alienate the Afghani people and make it much more difficult to achieve our top national security goal of defeating Al Qaeda.”

WB: So you saying you’re going to come up with a strategy, but the decision to send troops, additional troops, double the current U.S troop presence has already been made.

RH: It’s not a doubling, Wolf, it’s about a 40 or 45 percent increase, the doubling is some kind of misunderstanding. But let me go to my friend Russ Feingold’s point because in an ideal world, Senator Feingold would be correct. You do everything in the core order he suggested, but in the real world, the military, having waited for six or seven months for action on their request, made the case to the pres. That if these troops were not sent immediately, the effect on the situation, our ability to support the government of Afghanistan in their elections, and to help with reconstruction would be severely compromised. (SO IN THE REAL WORLD, STRATEGY COMES SECOND? AND WE HAVE TO SEND THE TROOPS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO SEND THE TROOPS?)

"Afghanistan needs troops--but it needs troops of doctors, troops of teachers, troops of Peace Corps volunteers, and troops of farmers to go and replant the fruit orchards."

--Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of Global Fund for Women
Photo from Reuters/Omar Subhani

Why zoos can be a good idea sometimes

The lovely little chick with her foot in the air, ready to dance, is a Tawny Frogmouth, native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. She was born at Seaworld but I found her at Zooborns.

The second, fearful-looking bird in the hand is a Worcester's buttonquail, shown moments before she was sold to be eaten in a market in Luzon, Philippines. Her species was believed to be extinct and, according to the National Geographic, known to ornithologists only through drawing made more than thirty years ago.

It is hoped that this modest species survives elsewhere in Luzon, the only place where it was ever found.

What's life like in the Philippines? According to the Philippine blog Spirituality Page,

The National Statistical and Coordination Board (NSCB) identified the following indicators of the said goal, accompanied by 2003 figures: people living below the poverty line – 30.4%; the poverty gap ratio – 8.4; the share of the poorest quintile in national consumption – 4.7% income and 5.8% expenditure; the number of undernourished children under age 5 – 24.6%; and people whose dietary intake is lower than the required 100% – 56.9%.

Independent surveys in 2008, however, revealed alarming figures. The Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported that in the last quarter, 23.7% or about 4.3 million Filipino households experienced involuntary hunger, the highest record of 11 points in a 10-year average of 12.6%. There are an estimated 9.4 million households or 52% who are ‘self-rated poor’ and 42% or an estimated 7.7 million households who are ‘food poor.’

Old Dog New Tricks

My last post asked folks to guess what the lovely photo I displayed was-- and half an hour later, Matt P. did exactly that! I thought he also must have seen and been fascinated by the picture. I asked him how he guessed, and he told me he'd moused over the photo, gotten the name, then typed it into Google Image Search!

Well, duh! I guess I'd just never noticed you could do that... and how many years have I been using a computer? So if I ever want to do this kind of puzzle again, I must remember to rename the photo before putting it up.

While we're on the subject of photos, how is it that Stumble Upon has come to learn that a stunning or unusual photo is likely to win my approval? Maybe that one's not too hard to answer, but what are the algorithms for deciding why I've faved a vivid, well-designed website on weather? The design or the subject? Content or form?

Photo of Katie from SRivera's photostream at Flickr's Creative Commons.

PS: I love finding the right photo for a post-- sometimes takes me longer than the actual writing-- and I try to give accurate credit. Why doesn't this seem important to many other bloggers?

Is this gorgeous or what?

I'll tell you what it is and where it came from tomorrow-- unless you want to guess? (Hint: unintentionally compounded word whose second part relates to a place of education.)

Funny and sad: Borneo now and then

On the blog Futility Closet, I found a list of phrases that the Borneo Literature Bureau thought a tourist might need in 1966:

• Wait while I remove these leeches.
• I have been bitten by sand flies.
• There are too many rats.
• There are a lot of mosquitoes here.
• The cockroaches have eaten my shirt.
• Is this poisonous?
• What made that noise?
• Is Sibu Laut in a swamp?
• Is there a taboo on your house?
• Is the burning finished?
• Where can I defecate?
• Is that fish dangerous?
• This floor is not safe.
• The roof is leaking.
• There is no room in this boat.
• We must keep dry.
• I can't come for a time because the monsoon will soon start.
• She has a bad pain/snakebite/gunshot wound.
• Tear some clean cloth into strips.
• Keep him warm.
• Go quickly for help.
• This vomiting needs urgent treatment.
• I do not know what is wrong. You must take her to the clinic.
• Your eyes need treatment, or you will become blind.

Now take a look at the graphic from GRID Arendal, documenting the extent of deforestation in Borneo. Looks like a fair number of those phrases are out of date and will continue to be so.

	Radday, M, WWF Germany. 2007. 'Borneo Maps'. January 24, 2007, personal e-mail (January 24, 2007)
Cartographer/ Designer	Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal

What people will do for money

I'm not much for ranking oppressions but you have to admit that children and mentally disabled adults don't have much institutional power. Those two groups did, however, prove to be quite profitable for two juvenile court judges in Pennsylvania and-- allegedly-- the Texas-based Henry’s Turkey Service.

Until someone used an anonymous hotline to tip off the state of Iowa, 21 mentally disabled men lived in a 106 year old building-- a bunkhouse, you might call it-- that depended on space heaters for heat. During the day they worked at a meatpacking plant for Henry's Turkey Service for the princely sum of about 44 cents an hour the rest going to Henry's Turkey. Their disability checks also went straight to Henry's Turkey, which returned about $60 a month to the men. That means, according to the Houston Chronicle, the men paid $1,124 a month for room and board.

Now it turns out that at least some family members had made complaints to the Dept. of Social Services, although the agency has no record of complaints. In the town of Atalissa, Iowa, with a population of fewer than 300 people and where the men lived and work, people are doing a little soul-searching.

"Maybe we should have looked a little harder," said (City Councilor) Hepker. "We depended on their caretakers. Des Moines Register.

The men, whom one imagines have developed quite a bit of camaraderie, have been placed in a group home.

For three years, Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan moved children through their courtrooms and got rich in the process. The scheme was simple: the judges would sentence the young to a for-profit lockup owned by PA Child Care LLC, and PA Child Care LLC would pay them-- more than $2.6 million.

Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it.

Many appeared without lawyers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1967 ruling that children have a constitutional right to counsel. AP.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering expunging hundreds, maybe thousands of juvenile records. The judges will be sentenced to seven years in prison. The young people get a little justice and lifelong memories of their experience.

Photo from the National Juvenile Justice Network.