Sexual abuse. Physical abuse. Emotional abuse. Neglect. Sex Trafficking. Community violence. Violent deaths of family and friends. This is just a partial list of the traumas that many – if not most – youth who become involved in the juvenile justice system in Connecticut have experienced in their short lives. No wonder that they become willing to act “by any means necessary” in order to survive and protect those close to them — even if this lands them in the custody of law enforcement, juvenile detention, and ultimately in juvenile prisons such as the Department of Children and Families’ Training School for boys and Pueblo Unit for girls. As the July 2015 report from the Child Advocate poignantly highlights, such incarceration too often leads to further traumatic violence for these youths as victims and witnesses to literally hundreds of often injurious (to staff as well as the youth) physical restraints and seclusion. Whether they should be confined…

Originally published on CT Viewpoints an affiliate of CT Mirror

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