{"id":14727,"date":"2023-08-10T02:44:43","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T09:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=14727"},"modified":"2023-08-12T21:00:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T04:00:05","slug":"issue-of-the-week-disease-human-rights-personal-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=14727","title":{"rendered":"Issue of the Week: Disease, Human Rights, Personal Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo
Kids,Trauma and Mental Health<\/em>, Frontline, WFAE
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Frontline on PBS is always important and illuminating. Never more so than in a partnership for a radio broadcast that may have been overlooked by many on June 20. A departure from the usual TV broadcasts and streaming. But radio has it’s own positive cognitive characteristics in absorbing information and is enthralling when well done. Here is such an example, in partnership with NPR affiliate WSAE in Charlotte, on children, trauma and mental health, often with lifelong impact on millions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When parents who need mental health care go without, their kids often suffer. Children who grow up in chaotic or abusive environments are more likely to develop their own mental health problems. They\u2019re also more likely to end up in jail or on the streets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the cycle often continues \u00ad\u2014 at least in North Carolina, as Victor Armstrong<\/a> knows all too well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong has held some of the top mental health jobs in the state. When WFAE asked him about kids and trauma, he immediately thought of an adult from 30 years ago, when he was working in Child Protective Services.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a mother who was struggling herself with drugs and alcohol, and she did not want to deal with her child\u2019s sexual abuse,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cAnd I was trying to say how we\u2019re going to get her treatment, and she said, \u2018No, I was raped when I was her age, and I\u2019m fine.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cAnd I looked at her and, in my mind, what I wanted to say was, \u2018You\u2019re not fine. I mean look at you, look at how you\u2019re living, and now your child is repeating this.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, research<\/a> shows that children who experience a lot of trauma can suffer lifelong consequences<\/a> such as physical or sexual abuse, homelessness<\/a>, poverty, living with violence, having a parent behind bars, and divorce.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s that trauma that\u2019s repeated, passed down,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cKids witness, you know, domestic violence, kids witness even some of the racism that the parents experience. It tells them a lot about their value, their self worth. It tells them a lot about how you survive. How you carry yourself in this world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more trauma kids endure, the more likely they are to develop a host of medical and social problems, including learning disabilities and addictions<\/a>. They\u2019re also more likely to end up in the juvenile justice<\/a> system and eventually in jail<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re even more likely to develop serious mental illnesses<\/a> such as schizophrenia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the full transcript and link to the audio:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo from Alexander Gill\u2019s Facebook (Alexander Gill)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Kids, Trauma and Mental Health”, Frontline, by Dana Miller Ervin, JUNE 20, 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In partnership with: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Listen to the story:<\/a><\/em><\/small>

When parents who need mental health care go without, their kids often suffer. Children who grow up in chaotic or abusive environments are more likely to develop their own mental health problems. They\u2019re also more likely to end up in jail or on the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the cycle often continues \u00ad\u2014 at least in North Carolina, as Victor Armstrong<\/a> knows all too well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong has held some of the top mental health jobs in the state. When WFAE asked him about kids and trauma, he immediately thought of an adult from 30 years ago, when he was working in Child Protective Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was a mother who was struggling herself with drugs and alcohol, and she did not want to deal with her child\u2019s sexual abuse,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cAnd I was trying to say how we\u2019re going to get her treatment, and she said, \u2018No, I was raped when I was her age, and I\u2019m fine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cAnd I looked at her and, in my mind, what I wanted to say was, \u2018You\u2019re not fine. I mean look at you, look at how you\u2019re living, and now your child is repeating this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, research<\/a> shows that children who experience a lot of trauma can suffer lifelong consequences<\/a> such as physical or sexual abuse, homelessness<\/a>, poverty, living with violence, having a parent behind bars, and divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s that trauma that\u2019s repeated, passed down,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cKids witness, you know, domestic violence, kids witness even some of the racism that the parents experience. It tells them a lot about their value, their self worth. It tells them a lot about how you survive. How you carry yourself in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more trauma kids endure, the more likely they are to develop a host of medical and social problems, including learning disabilities and addictions<\/a>. They\u2019re also more likely to end up in the juvenile justice<\/a> system and eventually in jail<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re even more likely to develop serious mental illnesses<\/a> such as schizophrenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll we see is the end result,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cAnd oftentimes what we\u2019re actually responding to and treating is the worst possible outcome of this combination of very, very complex things. And what we don\u2019t know is, what would have happened if we had the right resources for the mother or the child \u2014 or for both?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong has been the director of mental health for North Carolina\u2019s Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the vice president of behavioral health for Charlotte-based Atrium Health. A constant in his career: The right resources are hard to come by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Victor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Victor Armstrong, former director of the NC Division of Mental Health for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and former vice president of behavioral health for Atrium Health (Dana Miller Ervin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read and listen to the series: FRACTURED<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of the problem is lack of access to care. There are 1.1 million uninsured<\/a> adults in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a big problem for kids is that the mental health system isn\u2019t <\/em>designed to treat traumatized kids before they predictably worsen. Insurance companies and Medicaid pay to treat specific diagnoses, Armstrong said. So kids have to get sick before they get help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou almost have to fail first because you\u2019ve got to reach that diagnosis,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like we\u2019re pushing kids toward a diagnosis \u2014 to say, \u2018OK, if you want this level of care, you\u2019ve got to act out to this degree.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Judge Elizabeth Trosch<\/a> meets them, they\u2019re criminal defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vast majority of children who were coming into our delinquency court were experiencing some kind of behavioral health or mental health disorder and were in need of support or services that were either unavailable, inaccessible or unknown to them and their families,\u201d Trosch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trosch, the chief district court judge for Mecklenburg County, used to preside over juvenile court. The parents of many of the kids she saw needed help too, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany, many, many, many parents were experiencing mental health disorders or illnesses,\u201d Trosch said. \u201cThe majority [were] experiencing some version of traumatic stress themselves and in need of support and services that were not available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trosch said she\u2019s seen parents lose custody of their kids simply because they didn\u2019t have access to mental health care. That loss further traumatized their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Judge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judge Elizabeth Trosch, chief district court judge for Mecklenburg County (Dana Miller Ervin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: When Criminal Justice Systems Have to Deal with Mental Illness<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cycling through the system<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It may explain what happened to Alexander Gill. He was a 20-something man who\u2019d been cycling in and out of the Gaston County Jail. WFAE hoped to interview him last summer for this series. We couldn\u2019t find him, but his Facebook page showed a young man who really wanted to connect with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis smile would light up a room. He\u2019s always smiling, always joking,\u201d said Annikka Jeffries, Gill\u2019s aunt. She said he desperately wanted to fit in, to have friends. \u201cHe wanted to make other people happy. I just knew he was going to get himself together.\u201d She thought he might even have a future on television someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Gill\u2019s childhood was tough. His mom was addicted to drugs. She racked up a long record of arrests for things such as prostitution, assault and breaking and entering. She didn\u2019t want to speak with WFAE, but Jeffries says the mother\u2019s trauma left its mark on Gill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gill\u2019s childhood, Jeffries said, included \u201cwalking the streets, being in drug houses, being left alone with his siblings for hours with a kerosene heater running.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Gill was 7, he and his two younger sisters went to live with Jeffries in Gastonia to keep them out of foster care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the time, they told me that Alex only had attention deficit [disorder],\u201d Jeffries said, \u201cbut then as time went by, I\u2019m like, \u2018It\u2019s got to be more than that. Something ain\u2019t right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight-year-old Gill told Jeffries he was planning to kill his sisters, then cover up the crime, Jeffries said. So she took him to a psychiatric hospital. It was the beginning of what Jeffries said was a decade of Gill\u2019s cycling in and out of North Carolina\u2019s juvenile mental health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system is designed to treat kids in the community whenever possible. If that doesn\u2019t work, they move to gradually more restrictive environments. But kids still may not get what they need. As Gill moved through the system, Jeffries said, he got more aggressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s having to go to school with people [who are] \u2026 way older than him,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cTheir mental health issues may be even more severe than he is. But they done come from very violent environments themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Annika<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annikka Jeffries outside her home Dana Miller Ervin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: How the Mental Health System Affects North Carolina\u2019s Jails and the People That Work There<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Gill would cycle in and out of the most restrictive environments for troubled kids, called psychiatric residential treatment facilities \u2014 or PRTFs. Critics call them \u201ckiddie jails.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers at the University of North Carolina found<\/a> that some PRTFs may do little to improve children\u2019s mental health. And studies<\/a> have found that locking kids away in large, disciplinary settings with a lot of other troubled or violent kids can make them worse<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA PRTF itself is not an evidence-based practice. It\u2019s a level of supervision,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201c<\/strong>And you have the level of supervision so that you can do these other evidence-based practices.\u201d But, in the end, kids are locked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRTFs, he said, have \u201csome pretty good providers who do really good work with the resources they have available to them.\u201d However, he said, \u201cWe don\u2019t have enough providers who are really skilled in dealing with trauma [and] \u2026 skilled in dealing with kids that have dual behavioral and developmental disability type needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armstrong added: \u201cWe\u2019re oftentimes trying to force [children] into the resources we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Gill, each move, each new facility, meant he never had stability or permanent relationships, his aunt said. His schooling was repeatedly interrupted, and he kept switching doctors and medications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of Gill\u2019s diagnoses grew. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, conduct disorder, substance abuse and bipolar disorder are all mentioned in Gill\u2019s records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Gill turned 18, Jeffries lost any say in his care. He went to live in a shelter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Jeffries said, he just wanted to be with his mom on the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was so hurt from not being with his mom. He was like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna be just like my mom. I\u2019m going to smoke crack,\u2019\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Gill started to rack up dozens of arrests for drug possession, larcenies and resisting arrest. It\u2019s a sad but predictable story for many kids who\u2019ve gone through deep trauma without proper care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: Inmates With Both Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders Cycle Through Jails Relentlessly<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vulnerable communities suffer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It affects kids of all races, but Trosch says especially children of color<\/a> like Gill, because they\u2019re more likely to experience trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reality is that people of color are more likely to be living in our poor neighborhoods,\u201d Trosch said. \u201cPeople of color are disproportionately arrested and presented to the magistrate for booking into the Mecklenburg County Jail. And people of color are disproportionately incarcerated pretrial in our jail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationally, Black people are more likely<\/a> than most other groups to be poor and homeless<\/a> \u2014 both traumatizing experiences in themselves. A University of Massachusetts study<\/a> found that 60% of Black people reported incarceration by an immediate family member, compared to 42% of Hispanic people and 37% of white people. Black children are more likely<\/a> to end up in psychiatric residential treatment facilities and four times<\/a>as likely as their white peers to end up in the juvenile justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben David, district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties, says trauma affects kids from every racial and income group, both urban and rural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when you focus on trauma, specifically childhood trauma, and say we need to get the right resources to the children experiencing this trauma, what you end up doing is positively impacting communities of color and impoverished communities, because that\u2019s where a lot of this trauma lives in our state,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family court in New Hanover County has been trying to reduce repeat infractions by nonviolent offenders by addressing childhood trauma. Its work is based on research that shows childhood trauma can affect brain development<\/a> in infants and small children. Scientists call it \u201cadverse childhood experiences\u201d or ACEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildhood trauma is the reason that we\u2019re seeing so much domestic violence and gang violence,\u201d David said. \u201cAnd so if we can take care of our children now, then we\u2019re not going to have them as victims or as defendants later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David is also a co-chairman of the Chief Justice\u2019s Task Force<\/a> on ACEs-Informed Courts. It\u2019s a two-year effort working with several North Carolina universities to instruct district court judges<\/a> \u2014 those working directly with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ben<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben David, North Carolina district attorney for New Hanover and Pender counties Dana Miller Ervin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: Life Sentence on the Installment Plan<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve come to understand is that a lot of times we shouldn\u2019t be asking what\u2019s wrong with you, but what happened<\/em> to you?\u201d David said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July, the task force will begin to pilot the first of five<\/a> local \u201csafer baby courts\u201d so children of struggling parents get removed from the home quickly to prevent further trauma. Infants or toddlers will live with a foster family while their parents get help. Parents will continue to see their kids, stay involved in their lives, and take parenting classes or get child-parent therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re hoping to do is to literally bring that baby and that mother into court and say, \u2018Make me a promise: Stay alive, stay alive next week, stay alive,\u2019\u201d David said. \u201c\u2018Two weeks from now, we\u2019re going to see you every other week over this next year, while you\u2019re getting drug treatment, while you\u2019re getting mental health counseling, while you\u2019re getting your life right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal is to reunite parents with their kids. Similar courts are up and running in Florida. Their data show<\/a> that the courts help kids reunite with their parents sooner. Kids are also less likely to be removed a second time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five North Carolina pilots will be funded with nonprofit and foundation money. David said the task force is asking the General Assembly for funding for state coordinator positions, and for $300,000 to research the courts\u2019 efficacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it hopes the General Assembly will be willing to do more, including using victims\u2019 compensation funds to help pay for care for kids suffering from the after-effects of trauma. David also hopes the General Assembly will reinstate funding<\/a> for drug treatment courts, which it eliminated more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those five pilots will be a drop in the bucket for a state of nearly 11 million people. Most of North Carolina\u2019s kids will still end up in a system that\u2019s slow to recognize the toxic effects of trauma on small kids. It\u2019s a system which Annikka Jeffries said was inadequate to help her nephew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WFAE never got to speak to Alexander Gill. A few weeks after we started to search for him, the police found his body<\/a> in a tent behind a homeless shelter, dead from a drug overdose. The toxicology report found alcohol, fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t stand a chance,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I was so desperate for help and beg[ged] for so much help from the mental health system. Because I knew that\u2019s the only chance he had was to get well and to get mental help. But they made it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story is part of a collaboration with WFAE<\/a> through FRONTLINE\u2019s Local Journalism Initiative<\/a>, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional reporting on this story:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Story Behind Fractured, a WFAE Investigation<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 by Dana Miller Ervin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fractured: Frequently Asked Questions<\/a> <\/strong>\u2014 by Dana Miller Ervin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Methodology: Data Collection<\/a> <\/strong>\u2014 by Robert Benincasa, Mona Dougani, Julia Ingram<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Data About Capacity to Proceed is Important<\/a> <\/strong>\u2014 by Neil Gowensmith<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Picture on Wait Times for Restoration
<\/strong><\/a>\u2014 by Susan McMahon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental Health Care in North Carolina Jails<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 by David L. Rosen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Effectiveness of Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 by Paul Lanier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frontline on PBS is always important and illuminating. Never more so than in a partnership for a radio broadcast that may have been overlooked by many on June 20. A departure from the usual TV broadcasts and streaming. But radio has it’s own positive cognitive characteristics in absorbing information and is enthralling when well done. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,54],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14727"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14740,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14727\/revisions\/14740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}