Keeping Kids in the Home and out of the System: Raising Law Abiding Children - Paperback

by Lisa A. Hill (Author)

Studieshaveconsistentlyconcludedthatmanypersonalitydisordersandmoreseriousmentaldisordersarebelievedtobethe resultof dysfunctionalfamilyrelationships, andvery oftenstemfromtheparent-childrelationship.Thismakessense, childreninitially learnimportantbehaviorsfromtheirfamiliesoforigin. Forexample, parentsarethefirstonestosocialize theirchildsotheycanteachtheirchildrensocialize andtosaypleaseandthankyou, taketurns, be patientetc.Theprimarypurposeofthisbookisto assurethatparentshavetheinformationtheyneed toproperlyraisechildrenwhohavetheskillsnecessary tobesuccessfuladultsandnotendupintheCriminal JusticeSystem.Bythetimeyouthendupinthe juvenilejusticesystem, itmaybetoolate.Theybecomelabelledanoffenderormaybeevenapredator.That labelgivessocietytherighttolocktheyouthup duringwhichtimetheywillbetraumatized. Sometimeswell-meaning, uninformed, andfrustratedparents perpetuatetheirchildrenenteringthecriminaljustice systemandevenofchildservingagenciessuchas socialservices.Whenparentsarefacedwithchildren whoareincorrigible, at-risk, ortheparentisunabletocareforthechilddue totheirownpersonalproblems, someparentswill welcometheinterventionofthecriminaljusticesystem forsupport.Aftertheirchildhasbeentakenintocustody, Ihavehadparentstellme, youraisemychildbecauseI cannotdoit.Someparentsbelievethathavingaccess toaprobationofficerwithabadgeandpowersofarrest, givesthemthereliefandrespitetheyneededtoaddress theirchildsdestructivebehavior.Mythreedecadesof experienceworkingwithyouthandparentsinthe criminaljusticerevealedthat, inmostcases, probationandsocialservicesinterventiondonotmakeyouthbetter. Converselyformostyouth, theirexperiencewith socialservicesandprobationdepartmentshas resultedinongoingdelinquencyandtheyouth transitioningintotheadultCriminalJusticeSystem. However, goodparentingisthegatekeepertothe criminaljusticesystem.

Author Biography

Dr. Lisa Hill spent three decades in the criminal justice system, where she served several hundred probation clients at the Alameda County Probation Department and the United States District Court, Northern District. Prior to her retirement in 2016, Dr. Hill served as superintendent of Camp Wilmont Sweeney, a residential program for high-risk, adjudicated adolescent boys. Dr. Hill has been a licensed marriage and family therapist for almost twenty years. Her clinical practice focuses on counseling system-involved youth and their parents or caretakers. Dr. Hill has been a certified parent educator for the past fifteen years, during which time she has trained hundreds of parents on how to discipline themselves in such a way to provide effective age-appropriate parenting strategies. Dr. Hill is an adjunct professor at California State University, Eastbay, in the Criminal Justice Department. She sees her work at the university as a succession plan to train emerging criminal justice professionals to enter the field with knowledge, compassion, and a high commitment to ethical standards. When Dr. Hill is not teaching and counseling, she enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.