On July 12 and 13, members from the Prosecutor’s office, Hale ‘Opio, Family Court, Drug Court, KPD, YWCA, Hale Kipa, and more, were trained in the use of the “Youth Level of Assessment/Case Management Inventory” assessment tool. Making an assessment
On July 12 and 13, members from the Prosecutor’s office, Hale ‘Opio, Family Court, Drug Court, KPD, YWCA, Hale Kipa, and more, were trained in the use of the “Youth Level of Assessment/Case Management Inventory” assessment tool. Making an assessment means evaluating, or judging the importance of something. Research has shown that the use of this interview assessment helps indicate whether there is a risk for juvenile offenders to offend again. It also divides the information into eight different areas to help pinpoint which area needs the most attention to get the child the help/training/support that they need to make better choices, and succeed, rather than reoffend.
The following are the different areas that are considered:
• Prior and current offenses
• Family circumstances and parenting
• Education/employment
• Peer Relations
• Substance Abuse
• Leisure/Recreation
• Personality/Behavior
• Attitudes
I urge all of Kaua‘i teens and families to look at these areas and make their own assessments, and then take steps to improve any areas of difficulty. It may be that there is trouble in only one area, but if the trouble is significant, it can cause big problems. An example of that is substance abuse. The research shows that 60 percent of all teen deaths in car crashes are alcohol related. Drug users tend to have more difficulty in school, and often drop out, which often leads to poor jobs, which may lead to criminal behavior.
The above is true for education. If a child is having difficulty in school, he/she may become truant. This leads to failure, which leads to dropping out, poor jobs, and criminal behavior. If only 5 percent more of Hawaiian males stayed in school, it would save the state $5,000,000 year. At the first sign of school difficulty, parents should see that their children get tutoring and extra help. They should meet with the teacher to get a better picture of what is going on. Build on the strengths.
Another is attitude. If a teen feels that it is all right to use anger and violence to manipulate others, this teen has a 67 percent chance of having a criminal record. This person needs to learn to address his needs, and find better ways to ask for them. If a teen thinks that it is always the other person’s fault when there is trouble, it’s a sign that there is a problem with attitude.
Regarding peer relations, I can’t tell you how many Teen Court respondents tell me, “I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. I’m not with them any more, and I’m not getting into trouble.” Learn from the TC kids. I urge teens to think about who they are hanging out with. What are their values? Does hanging out with them make you a better person or feel good about yourself? Then keep them. Do they ask you to do things that make you uncomfortable? If so, that is a sign from your soul to you, that something is wrong. Respectfully back out. Look up some old friends, or make new ones. A good way to make friends with interests like yours, is to do the things you love to do and see who shows up. You already have a good start on a conversation because you are doing the same thing.
Leisure/recreation is an area that we all need to pay attention to. The human body can take stress, and can heal very well from it, if there is time to relax and recharge. It’s living with constant stress that causes a breakdown in the body. Interestingly, a person can’t be relaxed and angry at the same time. Kids list “cruising” as a popular non-school activity. The fact is that kids do better when they belong to teams, youth groups, bands, clubs, scouts, or other organized activities. This generation of teens has done more community service than any other before them. It’s a great opportunity for kids to learn more about themselves, and there are so many opportunities on this island to explore. The Garden Island paper does good job of listing events. Schools have many clubs and organizations to choose from. It’s also important during adolescent years for full brain development to have different areas of activities. Do something physical, mental, musical, artistic, scientific, social, dramatic, etc. Each kind of expression uses different neural networks.
Adolescence is a time of exploration. Find out now what you love to do, and what you can do well. Have fun these last two weeks of summer vacation.
Several adults have “stepped into the corner” for our teens, to answer questions and give support in the boxing ring of life. They are Catherine Stovall, community response specialist, county of Kaua‘i; Edmund Acoba, public defender; Craig DeCosta, county prosecuting attorney; Officer Paul Applegate, Kaua‘i Police Department; Daniel Hamada, superintendent of schools; Jill Yoshimatsu, director of the DOE Mokihana program; and Annaleah Atkinson, Teen Court Manager for Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i.
If you have something to share with Kaua‘i teens, or need to ask a question, contact her with the information below and she will field it to the person who can best help with the answer.
• Annaleah Atkinson is the Teen Court manager for Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i. She can be reached at aatkinson@haleopio.org, or Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i Inc., 2959 Umi St., Lihu‘e, HI 96766.
