Kids Exposed to Violence Need Our Help

What will it take to curb youth violence? Reasonable firearms restrictions, tough penalties for crime, gang intervention, expanded after-school programs and the curtailing of media violence--all will help. But a successful strategy also must address the issue of children who are caught in abusive home or neighborhood environments. These children are much more likely to suffer from anger, stress, anxiety, depression and alcoholism and ultimately are more likely to commit a violent crime themselves.

There are more than 50,000 domestic violence crimes annually in the city of Los Angeles alone, many involving children, and thousands of other violent crimes perpetrated on or by juveniles. Few of the children in jeopardy receive the care that they need.

Appropriate intervention and treatment can help break the cycle, but identifying the children at risk and getting them effective assistance is no easy task. There are some promising new programs, but now there must be greater collaboration among city, county and private agencies involved in law enforcement and social services and a substantial commitment of additional resources. Our goal must be a new way of thinking about violence prevention that includes immediate mental health intervention and ongoing treatment for children who are victims, witnesses or even perpetrators of violent crime.

Last January, a new partnership between city and county law enforcement, mental health and social service agencies was begun to evaluate, improve and expand programs that treat young people damaged by exposure to violence. But new funding is needed to foster these efforts. A federal grant, if awarded, would help. So will a hearing later this year that will bring all relevant city and county agencies to the table.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles can learn from communities around the nation that are forging model law enforcement-mental health partnerships. Among the most promising is a program in New Haven, Conn., created by the police department and the Child Study Center at Yale Medical School. The program brings together police officers and mental health professionals for cross-training, consultation and support. Thus, when New Haven police officers encounter children suffering from violence or emotional trauma, they’re able to get immediate professional guidance in the field and make clinical referrals. Clinicians and police supervisors experienced in the program are on call 24 hours a day. Officers and clinicians meet weekly to discuss difficult cases, and children referred for counseling are closely monitored.

Similar alliances now exist in Baltimore, Nashville, Charlotte, Buffalo, Newark and elsewhere. Los Angeles has pilot projects underway as well, but they require refinement, expansion and substantial increases in funding. Among them is the Emergency Response Intervention Network (ERIN), a joint undertaking of the LAPD and Children’s Institute International, a nonprofit service provider, that teams professional counselors with police officers responding to domestic violence incidents. ERIN provides on-scene counseling and follow-up visits for children as well as referrals for emergency shelter, child care, food and medical treatment. Similarly, under the Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART), volunteers trained to provide referrals and counseling ride with LAPD detectives to domestic violence scenes after patrol officers have secured them.

Both programs are a good start, but neither can address the broad spectrum of violent situations that damage children emotionally. In addition, together they serve only seven of the city’s 18 police divisions. A much broader program is urgently needed.

But where will the money come from? One possibility is for government and private agencies to assist more eligible children to get funding for mental health counseling under the state’s Victims of Crime Program. Also, the Safe Start grant aimed at reducing the impact of family and community violence on young children, could help us build on the success of ERIN and DART.

The key is to create a partnership between the city and county not only to press for more resources but also to coordinate services, to set standards for mental health intervention and treatment and to build a broader intervention structure that includes schools, courts, hospitals and child care providers.

Thousands of minors who are indirectly victimized in Los Angeles are in jeopardy of becoming criminals because of the violence that surrounds them. We can help break the cycle of violence by healing the minds and mending the hearts of our children.