News Channel 5’s “Broken System” Report – Is the Audience Listening?
By Margie Quin, CEO
I, along with many, have been watching News Channel 5’s series on Juvenile Justice and the “broken system”. Watching that series, I have listened to police, the juvenile court, and others advocate to try to affect systemic change.
Question: Who is the target audience for this type of reporting?
Answer: All of us – you, me, everybody within earshot. If you live in Tennessee – they are talking to you. This isn’t someone else’s problems, it’s yours, mine, ours.
I wish I could snap my fingers, and all would be “woke” to the reality of childhood victimization and vulnerability. It is understood that runaway incidents, truancy and delinquency are just indicators of deeper issues; early childhood trauma. My question is, where was the system when these children were young, very young? Where was the public outcry when they were neglected, abused, sexually assaulted, born drug exposed or drug addicted? Who cared then? The problem seems insurmountable, and it’s not like the “system” doesn’t know there are children caught up in generational violence and victimization.
The issue is, how much do we invest to try to change the outcomes for the next generation?
By the time kids are 15, have committed a laundry list of violent offenses and locked down in juvenile detention or worse - adult prison, it’s too late in our current system. Change needed to have happened a decade before. It’s easier to change the trajectory of a child’s future at 5 than at 15. Yes, it’s costly to offer a comprehensive array of services, but it’s obvious isn’t it? We pay now or pay more later.
According to the Tennessee Second Look Commission’s (SLC) 2018 annual report, “The future prosperity of any society depends on its ability to foster the health and well-being of the next generation. When a society invests wisely in children and families, the next generation will pay that back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship. The wise investment in children and families becomes the basis of a prosperous and sustainable society.”
It is important to note that the SLC was formed in 2010 to review or take a “second look” at cases where there was a subsequent or repeat incident of “severe” child abuse. That’s right, a child was severely abused for a second, third, fourth time. The commission’s purpose is to report to the legislature whether the response and policies Tennessee has in place are adequate to address incidents of severe abuse. So, we have this body which is supposed to catch and correct these types of incidents – is it improving the rate of repeat severe abuse? Is justice served in these cases, are children protected?
The adults and minors we serve at End Slavery Tennessee have very similar backgrounds. This isn’t rocket science. These children who are the focus of Juvenile Justice reform are also victims – of generational poverty, familial violence, drug use and systemic oppression. End Slavery Tennessee advocates for stronger expungement laws and diversion programs which create opportunities outside the correctional system. We are delivering therapeutic and prevention programs to some of Tennessee’s high-risk youth currently in detention. But we, the collective “we”, need to do more. ESTN is working in two facilities now: we vow to try to expand our services in 2020 to reach more youth who are incarcerated. We stand ready to do our part in the lane we currently occupy.
Most of the adult victims of human trafficking we serve come through the juvenile justice system, children’s services, jails and prisons. Early childhood sexual abuse is the single most common factor for human trafficking survivors we serve. It’s unrealistic to imagine we are going to solve a 2019 problem with outdated philosophies.
News Channel 5’s story is spot on – the current efforts are broken; they just aren’t working. It’s time for change – more change – greater change – bolder change.
Find your lane and your voice, this is our problem to solve. Who’s with us?