Remember Dominic Hawranke, the kid sent to PV after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder? PV's policy on untreatable problems:
Exclusionary Criteria
Peninsula Village is unable to help every adolescent. Some problems that we cannot treat are:
Intelligence below the average range (Full Scale IQ below 90)
History of fire setting and pyromania
Sexual Offenders / Sexual Disorders
History of chronic/severe physical aggression including use of weapons[/color]
Physical or medical condition that would hinder participation in vigorous, outdoor activities (diabetes, epilepsy)
Homicidal intent at time of admission[/color]
Psychotic Disorders[/color]
Pregnancy (females)
Impairment resulting from traumatic brain injury / Neuro-psychiatric issues
Eating disorders that are not medically stable
The Detrimental Effects of Group Placements/Services for
Youth with Behavioral Health Problems
In a recent report entitled Deviant Peer Influences in Intervention and Public Policy for Youth1,
the Society for Research in Child Development (SFRCD) posits that rather than helping children,
current policies regarding intervention may actually have an adverse effect. Indeed, the study
concluded that at-risk adolescents? propensity to become further unruly or delinquent is
exacerbated through association with other antisocial individuals and peer groups. Group
residential programs, not only reduce intended benefits of interventions but actually encourage
deviant behavior as youth seek out others who are ?like them,? a phenomenon called homophily.
According to the report, ?placement of deviant teens into groups with other deviant youth is the
most common and most costly of all public policy responses to deviant behavior by a child.?2
Despite prevailing evidence of this problem, segregation of youth with problem behavior from
the mainstream peer group and ?quarantined? placement with other juvenile youth continues to
be a widespread occurrence in the mental health, education, and juvenile justice systems. The
authors conclude that ?the children whom we are attempting to help may in fact be made worse
by our efforts.?3
Finding that most interventions are less effective when administered in a group rather than
individually, researchers note: ?Rarely is placement with deviant peers associated with no or an
incremental positive impact; more frequently, the marginal effect is negative.?12 The effects of
labeling, being part of a cohort group with non-normative behavior, reinforcement of deviant
behavior, and deviance training are all factors contributing to adverse outcomes.
o Labeling and the self-fulfilling prophecy. Labeling individuals leads to self-fulfilling
prophecies for both the child and his peers. There is a link between being ?booked? in
juvenile court and future offending, suggesting the negative influence of labeling
someone as a member of a deviant group.13
o Placement with other deviant youth fosters peer influence. Undesirable behavior
escalates when youth with deviant behavior are grouped together. Research suggests
that these youth are more likely to influence each other in negative rather than positive
ways, frequently providing motives and opportunities to use drugs, obtain weapons and
instigate gang rivalries and hostility to authority. Aspiring to be successful with their
peers, these youngsters perceive that the behavior norms of the group are the bad
behaviors which brought the group together in the first place. This dynamic
perpetuates patterns of bad behavior that are positively reinforced by the peer group.14
In RTCs, for example, research suggests that peers are more likely to respond to a
youth?s behavior than staff, giving peers greater power to shape behavior.15 A study
involving girls in a RTC found that over two thirds of peers? responses to poor behavior
were reinforcing while staff failed to consistently punish or reinforce any behavior.16
o Peer Influence. Juvenile delinquents influence their peers.17 This phenomenon occurs
when one youth demonstrates rebellious behavior and the group elevates him to high
status. Other adolescents in the group begin to emulate this behavior, further
strengthening the deviancy of the group. The ?training? has been observed regardless of
adult presence or supervision.18
Peninsula's focus on the financial bottom line puts every child placed there at risk of harm or leaving the facility with far worse behaviors than they had before. Dominic Hawranke has the ability to organize others into violent plots. I would be uncomfortable even if I were a counselor at Peninsula Village.
