When a child spends his adolescence in the criminal justice system, his time behind bars might stay off his permanent record, but the experience never gets fully erased from his psyche. “Adolescents who’ve been in the criminal justice system mostly talk about the trauma and abuse they experienced there,” says Miosotte Caban, a therapist at The Child Center of NY’s Jamaica Family Center. “Some say they will be traumatized for life and may not live what society calls a normal life.” 

At The Child Center, we help teens address these issues through traditional methods, like therapy and internships, and we constantly seek out new, innovative, evidence-based ways to reach the goal of helping young people become secure, capable, and confident. Continue reading →