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Introduction A. Juvenile crime is steadily rising in the U.S. including drug use and joining gangs. B. There are many reasons explaining why (social pressure from peers, collapsing families, venting feelings, etc. Body A. Data 1. Clientele of social work are most cases people whose “circumstances or conditions put them at a weak position in society” (Community Based Social Work) 2. Includes battered women or elderly, and children who have no parents or are being mistreated by their current ones. 3. Training for social work is taught in the sociology department, because people are disturbed in the mind. (It works with mental welfare.) 4. Witnessing atrocities as a child can traumatize one for life, unless help is provided. a. Child may become withdrawn b. Or child may act out against others and the community that life has been “unfair” or “dealt them this hand.” c. Child is often labeled as mentally retarded or even possessed. d. Family may not seek help because they are ashamed, and counseling is not the “norm.” 5. Rich/privileged communities can easily provide social work services for themselves, which helps kids become less internally disturbed. a. Poor communities can sometimes not provide this for themselves. 6. Many factors contribute to rise in juvenile violence and crime, from the glorification of violence in the media or the failure of the war on drugs. a. Kids who grow up in households where violence or drug use is present are more prone to following the actions of those around them. 7. Children raising in a single parent household are 1/3 more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior or commit crime a. More single parents households in less fortunate areas because povertized girls often see it as a normal occurrence since they have less available options. b. Growing up in a household without a father can be traumatizing for a child, especially if he was lost to the streets. B. Interview with Claudia Marshel of Greater Richmond League of Therapists

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1. “A lot of the people are low income and they’ve experienced some [level] of trauma in their lives. Some have experienced some kind of abuse.” 2. She says the services are paid for with insurance, but most likely Medicaid, which is a public service. 3. Claudia feels that if social work were more readily available that “families would function better,” which would reduce the chance the children would get involved in crime. a. “Less crimes, happier lives, better community.” 4. She says the minors she’s seen that have committed crimes have been pushed to do it because it’s the way things are done in their families, or as a way of getting attention or recognition they don’t get in their own families. a. “Some kids have been so terribly neglected at a young age that they don’t have a conscience and aren’t really aware that what they’re doing is wrong III. Conclusion A. Kids need attention, love, and care from their surroundings. Neglect = trauma Abuse = trauma lack of peer support = trauma 4. peer pressure towards unhealthy activities (i.e. drugs, violence, gangs, etc.) = trauma 5. Trauma cause kids to act out a. If traumatized kids are not helped, care just gets worse. B. Less traumatized kids = better, safer community