Keeping Kids in the Home and out of the System
Raising Law Abiding Children
by
Book Details
About the Book
Studies have consistently concluded that many personality disorders and more serious mental disorders are believed to be the result of dysfunctional family relationships, and very often stem from the parent-child relationship. This makes sense, children initially learn important behaviors from their families of origin. For example, parents are the first ones to socialize their child so they can teach their children socialize and to say please and thank you, take turns, be patient etc. The primary purpose of this book is to assure that parents have the information they need to properly raise children who have the skills necessary to be successful adults and not end up in the Criminal Justice System. By the time youth end up in the juvenile justice system, it may be too late. They become labelled an offender or maybe even a predator. That label gives society the right to lock the youth up during which time they will be traumatized. Sometimes well-meaning, uninformed, and frustrated parents perpetuate their children entering the criminal justice system and even of child serving agencies such as social services. When parents are faced with children who are incorrigible, at-risk, or the parent is unable to care for the child due to their own personal problems, some parents will welcome the intervention of the criminal justice system for support. After their child has been taken into custody, I have had parents tell me, “you raise my child because I cannot do it.” Some parents believe that having access to a probation officer with a badge and powers of arrest, gives them the relief and respite they needed to address their child’s destructive behavior. My three decades of experience working with youth and parents in the criminal justice revealed that, in most cases, probation and social services intervention do not make youth better. Conversely for most youth, their experience with social services and probation departments has resulted in ongoing delinquency and the youth transitioning into the adult Criminal Justice System. However, good parenting is the gatekeeper to the criminal justice system.
About the Author
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.