<ul class="summary-list"><li>Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he raised his grandnephew, Mark Martin, "as a son" from the time Martin was 6.</li><li>Revelations that billionaire Republican Harlan Crowe paid for Martin's education have fueled a scandal engulfing the Court.</li></ul>The man who was raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, as their own son from ages 6 to 19 is in jail awaiting trial on drugs and weapons charges, Business Insider has learned.Mark Martin, the grandson of Thomas' sister, Emma Mae Martin, lived with the Thomas family in Virginia from 1997 to 2010, during which time <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-clarence-thomas-alabama-judicial-conference-2024-5">Clarence and Ginni Thomas</a> were his legal guardians. He's a central figure in the furor over undisclosed gifts that Thomas received from a billionaire friend, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harlan-crow-clarence-thomas-new-financial-disclosure-flights-scotus-2023-8">Harlan Crow</a>.Now 32 years old, Martin told BI in an interview from the Jasper County Detention Center in South Carolina that Clarence and Ginni Thomas washed their hands of him years ago."I haven't really heard much from them in a long time," Martin said. "I tried to communicate with them a couple of times, but I've never gotten any response."In a 2007 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/transcript/?id=8098">C-SPAN interview</a>, Thomas told the host Brian Lamb that Martin, who was 16 at the time, was living with him and his wife and that they were "raising him as a son.""For me, in so many ways, it's rewarding because it's brought me, again, full circle," Thomas told Lamb. "I was about the age my grandfather was when he took my brother and me. And Mark was about the age my brother and I were when he took us in."The Thomases sent Martin to the elite military prep school Randolph-Macon Academy, as well as a residential therapeutic treatment center called Hidden Lake Academy, which frequently used camping trips and wilderness programs as therapeutic tools.(Hidden Lake Academy became the subject of congressional hearings about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-child-hidden-lake-academy-congress-testimony-2023-5">facilities for troubled teens</a> over claims they could mislead families and turn abusive.)Crow, a conservative donor and longtime family friend of the Thomases, paid the tuition for both schools, ProPublica reported. None of the payments were recorded at the time as gifts on Thomas' financial disclosures. Crow is an alumnus of Randolph-Macon. This month, in financial disclosures, Thomas acknowledged two vacations Crow had funded in 2019, one to Bali and another to California."I guess they looked into Randolph-Macon Academy because Harlan Crow actually graduated from there, so I guess that was behind their decision to send me there — and then apparently he helped finance the HLA trip, too," Martin told BI, though he said he wasn't aware at the time that Crow had footed the bills.While the total amount of tuition Crow paid on Martin's behalf remains unclear, fees for all four years at both schools would have exceeded $150,000, ProPublica reported.When neither placement prevented Martin from acting out with minor drug use and other petty crimes, the Thomases cut him off, Martin told BI.Last summer, according to court records reviewed by BI, Martin was arrested on charges of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-drug-smugglers-drug-trafficking-actually-works-2024-2">drug trafficking</a> and weapons possession. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24664813-state-v-martin-arrest-warrant-drug-trafficking-charges-stemming-from-sex-trafficking-investigation-042324-1?responsive=1&amp;title=1">warrant</a> reviewed by BI indicates that at the time of his arrest in June 2023, Martin's vehicle was stopped as part of a juvenile-sex-trafficking investigation. He has not been charged with any crimes related to sex trafficking.In separate charges from 2021, Martin was accused of trafficking more than 400 grams of meth and heroin. Those charges are still pending, according to records reviewed by BI.If convicted, Martin faces at least 25 years in prison as part of mandatory-minimum <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c053.php">sentencing laws</a> in South Carolina for certain types of drug offenses. He faces at least five additional years for three charges related to the unlawful carrying of a pistol.Due to the nature of the charges against him, which are considered violent crimes in South Carolina, Martin is ineligible for bond, his lawyer told BI. Martin denies the charges against him but has not entered a plea in either case because of a court backlog that has delayed proceedings.Thomas and Crow did not respond to repeated requests for comment on this story.While his own father was incarcerated, Martin remembers much of his childhood as the Thomases' ward as relatively privileged. Together, Martin said they traveled to more than 20 countries; he frequently spent summers wakeboarding or waterskiing and babysitting Crow's son when the elite families vacationed together.That all stopped when Martin entered high school, he said, when the Thomases decided they "just didn't have time to deal with" him and sent him away to the boarding schools. From his freshman year of high school on, Martin said he rarely saw his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/clarence-thomas-clerks-brought-lobsters-rv-batteries-loyalties-nyt-scotus-2023-12">Supreme Court-justice</a> great-uncle or his wife, who Martin said had raised him "like another mother and father" since childhood.Clarence Thomas was 7 when his mother sent him to be raised by his grandfather in 1955. Thomas lived with his grandfather Myers Anderson, whom Thomas called Daddy, until Anderson kicked him out of the house when Thomas dropped out of his freshman year at Conception Seminary College in 1968.Comparing their experiences, Thomas told C-SPAN Martin was "more of a challenge than I was.""But I think the thing that I'll be able to do is, I'll be able to always look my grandfather in the eye and say that I did for my great-nephew what my grandparents did for us — my brother and me," Thomas said.Martin says he was eventually expelled from Randolph-Macon Academy for failing a drug test as a junior in high school. At that point, Martin told BI Clarence and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ginni-thomas-founded-nonprofit-with-funding-harlan-crow-2023-9">Ginni Thomas</a> shipped him back to Martin's mother's house in Georgia, where they'd taken him from a decade prior, and he'd rarely heard from them since."I actually don't know if they know that I'm locked up — I'm not sure they'd care too much," Martin told BI. "I've seen — I've probably seen them two times, maybe three times, over the last 14 years."Representatives for Randolph-Macon Academy declined to comment for this story, and BI could not independently confirm Martin's claims regarding the reasoning for his expulsion.Martin, now a father of four children himself, said he believed the Thomases were probably disappointed in the direction of his life. He understands why they would be. However, between his father's imprisonment and being taken in by a justice of the Supreme Court at a young age, Martin said he had to "grow up a lot faster" than a normal kid would have — and wished his great-aunt and -uncle saw that he could have used their continued support while he was struggling."I just wish they'd at least communicate with me — get to know my children," Martin said. "They raised me like another mother and father, so I wanted my children to know who raised me into the person that I became. I want them to be around for that, at least — to see my kids grow up."

Clarence Thomas raised him 'as a son.' Now he's facing 25-plus years on weapons and drug charges.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sacramento County approved a plan to give low-income families $725 a month.</li><li>The money is set to go to qualifying Black and Native American families.</li></ul>Sacramento County is joining a growing list of places around the United States offering no-strings-attached payments to its lowest-income residents.The Sacramento Board of Supervisors approved the basic-income pilot program last week. It's set to offer $725 a month to low-income Black and Native American families. The county is funding the program through a partnership with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yourlocalunitedway.org/our-work/invest-in-families/guaranteed-income-program/">United Way</a>.Sacramento County has partnered with United Way for other basic-income programs in the past. About 100 families received $300 monthly from the county in its first program, which began in June 2021 and lasted through May 2023.United Way is still tracking the results of that program, but an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yourlocalunitedway.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GIP-Cohort-2-Data.pdf">initial report</a> found that three out of four participants said they were more confident they could reach their financial goals after joining the program.Michelle Callejas, the director of child, family, and adult services for the county, spoke at the <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/6cFjIOOXjNI?si=IqgmCj-6hPUTqMTu&amp;t=1475">county board of supervisors meeting</a> on Tuesday. She said the guaranteed-income program was just one piece of a six-step plan to eliminate child poverty.Callejas said that data collected by the county showed that Black children were four times more likely to be removed from their parents by the state than white children in the county. Native Americans, she said, were two times as likely to be removed."Our ultimate goal is to promote self-sufficiency, family stability, and then reduce involvement with the juvenile justice system," Callejas said.Many other counties, cities, and states around the country are also experimenting with basic-income projects to address rising poverty and housing insecurity. Participants in these programs largely say they spend most of the money they receive on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/austin-guarunteed-basic-income-gbi-ubi-housing-security-homeless-2024-1">basic needs such as food and paying rent</a>.In Baltimore, the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guaranteed-universal-basic-income-ubi-baltimore-young-families-success-fund-2023-11"> Baltimore Young Families Success Fund</a> gives young parents $1,000 a month. The director of policy of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, Tonaeya Moore, previously told Business Insider that surveys suggested participants mostly spent their money on the same general necessities, such as housing and food.In Austin, officials gave $1,000 a month to low-income families from May 2022 to August 2023 to help boost housing rates. Researchers found that, on average, program participants said they spent more than half of the cash they received on housing.Sacramento County safety officials surveyed community members to help form its strategy for the program, and the main areas where people expressed need were basics such as food, diapers, transportation, housing, affordable childcare, and accessibility services, Callejas said.The basic-income pilot is set to start sending out payments in July 2024 and distribute the payments for 12 months.

Sacramento has approved a plan to give low-income Black and Native American families $725 a month, no strings attached

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Paris Hilton has become an advocate for abolishing abusive residential-treatment centers for teens.</li><li>In a new essay, she described strangers taking her from her bed to a treatment facility.</li></ul>"I'm about to be raped. I'm about to be murdered," Paris Hilton recalls thinking when, as a teenager, being jolted awake by a pair of men who then would take her from her home in handcuffs.In a new essay for <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paris-hilton-memoir-extract-provo-canyon-abuse-2023-pjhps5qkv">The Times of London</a>, the hotel heiress recalled in detail being taken from her bed in the middle of the night and transported to one of a series of residential-treatment centers where she lived as a teen, and where she said she faced <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-was-abused-at-boarding-school-utah-2020-8">physical</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-was-abused-at-boarding-school-utah-2020-8">sexual</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-was-abused-at-boarding-school-utah-2020-8">and emotional abuse</a>.Her parents, who she said watched from their doorway as she cried for help, had called the men to <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-her-mom-doesnt-talk-about-alleged-abuse-2021-11">take her to therapy for her</a> "<a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-her-mom-doesnt-talk-about-alleged-abuse-2021-11">wild child</a>" <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-says-her-mom-doesnt-talk-about-alleged-abuse-2021-11">antics</a>. "One man clamped a sweaty palm over my mouth, wrenching my head back," Hilton wrote. "The other held up a pair of handcuffs."Representatives for Hilton did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Hilton, who has in recent years become an advocate to end abusive therapeutic boarding schools for teens, said she was then taken to a school run by CEDU, transferred to a wilderness program, and eventually sent to Provo Canyon School in Utah — where other <a href="https://www.insider.com/kat-von-d-alleges-abuse-boarding-school-provo-canyon-paris-hilton-2020-10">celebrities</a>,<a href="https://www.insider.com/kat-von-d-alleges-abuse-boarding-school-provo-canyon-paris-hilton-2020-10"> including Kat Von D</a>, <a href="https://www.insider.com/kat-von-d-alleges-abuse-boarding-school-provo-canyon-paris-hilton-2020-10">have said they were forced to attend</a>.Mel Wasserman, who founded CEDU Educational Services, Inc., died in 2002. The CEDU therapeutic schools and treatment facilities stopped operating in 2005 after multiple allegations of abuse. Representatives for Provo Canyon School did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.<h2>Cavity searches and forced snuggling</h2>Hilton wrote that, at the CEDU school, staff subjected her to an invasive cavity search and hours of screaming abuse by staff and other patients, as well as forced cuddling with the people who had abused her in a giant, forced snuggle puddle called "smooshing," which she was told was part of the therapeutic program.She tried to run away multiple times, but was ultimately caught each time. She said the CEDU staff used her escape attempts against her "especially the moment I kangaroo-kicked the door into the transporter's face — to convince my parents that I was on a dangerous downward spiral," so she was sent to a more restrictive mountain-wilderness program."I mean, think about it: On the advice of a mental-health professional, you send your struggling kid to this beautiful boarding school that costs a fortune," Hilton wrote. "When the kid tries to run away, do you believe the kid who's been royally pissing you off? Or do you believe the psychiatrist who says the kid is a crazy, incorrigible liar?"The teenager was later transferred to Provo Canyon School, where she said staff "got off on the power they had" over patients."They took us to the infirmary and made us lie on the table," Hilton wrote. "Made us open our legs for their stubby fingers. If we resisted, there was always a tray with syringes. I don't know what was in the 'booty juice,' but I saw kids hit the floor the moment it was injected."<h2>Treatment centers compared to juvenile detention</h2>As of 2016, 678 facilities identified themselves as residential-treatment centers, or RTCs, according to 2019 <a href="https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/model-programs-guide/literature-reviews/juvenile_residential_programs.pdf">statistics</a> by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Hilton, now <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-reliving-school-trauma-while-planning-wedding-2022-1">married</a> with <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-mother-kathy-hilton-didnt-know-about-son-birth-2023-2">a child</a>, has become an <a href="https://www.insider.com/paris-hilton-reliving-school-trauma-while-planning-wedding-2022-1">outspoken advocate of ending abusive RTC practices for teenagers</a>."There appears to be a general acceptance that the youth being sent to RTCs present increasingly intense and severe behavioral and emotional problems, academic problems, and substance-use problems," a 2019 OJJDP report found. "However, there is almost no research on the best target population for this type of facility and treatment."The OJJDP report added that, in a study of 693 licensed and/or accredited child and adolescent RTCs in the United States, 82% of the facilities reported using seclusion or restraint in the prior year.And, while the OJJDP said mental-health and substance abuse professionals called for clearer admission criteria to prevent "incarcerating youth in inappropriate settings," the department found children incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities may be more likely to receive meaningful mental-health help. Representatives from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Paris Hilton describes being abducted from her bed, forced snuggling, and patients drugged with 'booty juice' at the abusive residential treatment centers where she spent her teen years

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kaia Rolle was 6 years old when she was <a href="https://www.insider.com/retired-police-dennis-turner-restrained-kaia-rolle-6-zip-ties-2020-2">arrested at school in 2019 after throwing a temper tantrum.</a></li><li>The traumatizing incident is an example of how Black girls are criminalized in schools, experts told Insider.</li><li>A bill passed in <keyword id="6357385" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida">Florida</keyword> aims to prohibit children under the age of seven from being arrested.</li></ul>Meralyn Kirkland was in the delivery room when her granddaughter, Kaia Rolle, was born unresponsive. As the doctors worked to get Rolle to take her first breath, it was Kirkland who prayed over her, promising that she would be there for the baby if she pulled through. Since then, Kirkland has been Rolle's guardian for most of her life residing in Orlando, Florida. Her granddaughter, who she calls her second in command, loved to sing gospel songs and hugged everyone around her. But this was before she was arrested at <keyword id="6356508" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="school">school</keyword> when she was six years old.<div type="image" title="Kaia Rolle 5" height="620" width="739" msid="81557603" hostid="261"></div>Two years ago, on September 19, 2019, Rolle <a href="https://www.insider.com/retired-police-dennis-turner-restrained-kaia-rolle-6-zip-ties-2020-2">begged a school resource officer</a> for a "second chance" as her tiny wrists were zip-tied and she was escorted out of Lucious and Emma Nixon Academy. Rolle was taken into custody after she reportedly threw a temper tantrum which Kirkland told Insider was triggered because of her sleep apnea, a condition Kirkland said the school was well aware of and makes her irritable during the day. After the <keyword id="42737" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="arrest">arrest</keyword> Rolle had developed extreme separation anxiety, her grandmother told Insider. She would wake up screaming with night terrors and wet her bed until she had to move into her grandmother's room to finally go to sleep. <h2>Kaia Rolle needed to stand on a step stool to take a mugshot, her grandmother says</h2>"Don't put handcuffs on.""Please let me go!""Give me a second chance!" Rolle pleaded with a school resource officer as she was taken out of her school, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqNstnnDuo8">body camera footage</a> shows. The first-grader loudly cries that she doesn't "want to go in the police car," while being escorted to the street. She is placed in the back seat and her sobs can be heard until the car door is shut. According to Kirkland, the school resource officer, Officer Dennis Turner, called to inform her about her granddaughter's arrest, which happened after Rolle <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-kaia-rolle-arrests-minors-20210311-u5km4w6qgna3jjnb7exysnu33u-story.html">reportedly punched and kicked school staff during a tantrum</a>. Kirkland said the call felt like being on the receiving end of a punch she didn't expect. <div type="image" title="In this image taken from Sept. 19, 2019, Orlando Police Department body camera video footage, Orlando Police Officer Dennis Turner leads 6-year-old Kaia Rolle away after her arrest for kicking and punching staff members at the Lucious &amp;amp; Emma Nixon Academy Charter School in Orlando, Fla. Turner was fired shortly after the arrest for not getting the approval of a watch commander to arrest someone younger than 12. (Orlando Police Department/Orlando Sentinel via AP)" height="1329" width="1993" msid="81557605" hostid="261"></div>"When he said arrested, all the wind went out of me. My brain could not process that she has been arrested and taken to a juvenile center," Kirkland said. "When I went into the office, there was a charge sheet. Next to the charge sheet were two photographs of my 6-year-old granddaughter. One was a side view of her face. One was a front view of her face." Kirkland said at the juvenile center, Rolle was photographed, fingerprinted, and initially charged with misdemeanor battery. An employee at the center told her that her granddaughter had to stand on a step stool to take her mugshot, Kirkland said. However, the state attorney <a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/2019/10/02/6-year-old-girls-record-expunged-after-arrest-at-orlando-school/">dropped the charges against Rolle and expunged her record</a>. Officer Turner was <a href="https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2020/02/27/orlando-police-sergeant-disciplined-for-forgetting-procedure-during-6-year-old-girls-arrest/">terminated from his job</a>, for failing to get approval from a supervisor before detaining an individual under the age of 12. "How do you put expunged in the same sentence as a 6-year-old <keyword id="6355892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="child">child</keyword>?" Kirkland said. "That's what's creating the school to prison pipeline for our children of color."<div type="image" title="Kaia_Rolle charge document" height="907" width="1173" msid="81557607" hostid="261"></div>"They have ruined her life over something that was 100% preventable," Kirkland continued. "She's still a loving child, but she's not as fun and loving the way she once was. Before, she saw some good in everything, and nothing used to bring her down, but now she has to bring herself out of despair." More than a year later, the incident has led Rolle, who is now 7-years-old, to fear uniformed officers, her grandmother said. She has been treated by several therapists and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and is failing school as according to her latest report card, her grandmother said. While Kirkland, who pays for Rolle's medical bills and a new private school, has received $6,997 amount from her <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/t4bff-kaia-rolle-6-year-old-arrested-in-orlando-fund?pc=fb_co_campmgmtbnr_m&amp;rcid=r01-157022389848-d9c646cf95ce4a27&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=p_lico%2Bbanner&amp;fbclid=IwAR2r3OSxOddDkIYGm8USjVc1NBfiOIKXwQMLinKRbLw5ziORBDpNi1uiP70RbLw5ziORBDpNi1uiP70">GoFundMe</a> campaign, and Rolle had been offered scholarships, she said she still faces a financial strain to mend her granddaughter's trauma. Rolle's mother, who lived in the Bahamas, returned to live with her daughter and Kirkland in Orlando to help aid her back to normalcy. "I really and truly feel that had we not been a Black family, we would've had more help," Kirkland said. "We would have had a better opportunity to help Kaia through this a lot better and a lot faster." <h2>'There's just a very disturbing trend.'</h2>Amid <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/13-concrete-changes-sparked-by-george-floyd-protests-so-far-2020-6">mass protests</a> after the deaths of <a href="https://www.insider.com/police-body-camera-footage-reveals-george-floyds-death-2020-7">George Floyd </a>and <a href="https://www.insider.com/brett-hankison-officer-involved-breonna-taylor-shooting-charged-grand-jury-2020-9">Breonna Taylor</a> and conversations around policing in schools, activists in Florida have been demanding resource officers' removal altogether. Their <a href="https://www.wftv.com/news/local/activists-push-change-after-2-incidents-involving-black-female-students-school-resource-officers/IJCV5P4ZARDAXKBQVNBWKDB77Y/">calls were amplified</a> after two instances in January were captured on video and went viral.Taylor Bracey, 16, was seen in a video getting body slammed by a school resource officer at Liberty High School in Kissimmee, Florida. The video was shared by local reporters and renowned national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, on Twitter at the time. Like Rolle, Bracey's mother has publicly said that her daughter is <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-florida-student-slammed-in-viral-video-suffering-from-memory">traumatized and has suffered from side effects</a> from the incident, including memory loss, headaches, and blurry vision. At Eustis High School in Eustis, Florida, a 15-year-old girl was <a href="https://www.wesh.com/article/student-tased-eustis-high/35352965">tased by a school resource officer</a>. In the incident report obtained by Insider, an officer said that he was trying to break up an altercation between the teen and other students. The officer said the teen struck him multiple times while trying to restrain her, which led him to tase her, the report said. The teen had been charged for battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence, according to the incident report. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1354305888262078465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 27, 2021</a></blockquote>"I think that there's just a very disturbing trend, Tosh Pyakurya, 25, the state coordinator of Florida Power Student Network, told Insider. The Florida Power Student Network has been protesting and attending county school board meetings, <a href="https://actionnetwork.org/letters/remove-police-after-assault-at-eustis-high-school">calling for the end of the School Resource Officer program</a>. "It is important to recognize that this is part of a pattern. These aren't isolated incidents, this is part of a pattern of violence that Black girls have been experiencing for years. And it's something that many of us have been seeking to disrupt, and there are easy ways to disrupt it," Dr. Monique Morris, <a href="https://www.moniquewmorris.me/">a social justice scholar and filmmaker</a>, told Insider.<a href="https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Listening-to-Black-Women-and-Girls.pdf">Research</a> shows Black girls are more likely to be perceived as an adult compared to their white counterparts and face harsher punishments in school. "It has to do with the adultification in that Black girl's experience," Morris said. "This way in which Black girl behaviors are read as provocative or dangerous or problematic when their counterparts of other racial, ethnic groups are not perceived this way. And a lot of that has to do with the historical tropes and stereotypes associated with Black girlhood that present a particular risk for Black girls."According to Morris, one way to disrupt this pattern would be to include more practices in schools that "facilitate healing, that is not about adding more police officers to the school environment, but rather more clinicians, counselors, youth development workers that are about developing robust restorative approaches that can respond to young people who are in moments of conflict."<h2>Kirkland's fight does not end with her granddaughter</h2>In March, Kirkland testified before the Florida Senate <a href="https://floridapolitics.com/archives/408639-senate-panel-gives-warm-hug-to-bill-preventing-young-kids-from-being-arrested">Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs</a> in support of a bill to prevent children under the age of seven from getting arrested. The <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-ne-bill-sets-minimum-arrest-age-amended-20200302-7jmpnh6ig5eehe3esb74y3ac3u-story.html">Orlando Sentinel</a> reported that there's no minimum age for arrests in Florida."I came to realize that situations like this predominately happen to children of color," Kirkland said. "And nobody was raising an alarm. Nobody was pushing any buttons."<div type="image" title="kaia rolle 6" height="2661" width="3992" msid="81557613" hostid="261"></div>The <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/626/BillText/c1/HTML">bill</a>, named the Kaia Rolle Act, was sponsored by State Senator Randolph Bracy and passed the Florida Senate on March 2. It states, "A child younger than 7 years of age may not be adjudicated delinquent, arrested, or charged with a violation of law or a delinquent act on the basis of acts occurring before he or she reaches 7 years of age unless the violation of law is a 19 forcible felony."Kirkland wants the age limit to be raised to at least 12. "I fight because I have three grandchildren younger than Kaia. The thought of this happening again to people I know or people I don't know is just too much," she said.

Kaia Rolle was arrested at school when she was 6. Nearly two years later, she still 'has to bring herself out of despair.'

<ul><li>As many as 22 bills are to be tabled this session, which intends to protect women, senior citizens, and transgenders and turn adoption easier. </li><li> Added to that, the most discussed bill that will be tabled will be that of data protection that has been buzzing ever since the Aadhar scandal broke out. </li><li>The Narendra Modi-led government is on a warpath to amend many laws this winter session.</li><li> Some of them intend to modernize laws with changing times and empower the central government. </li></ul> After passing 28 bills in the budget session of the Parliament including the controversial abrogation of <keyword id="405091" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-370">Article 370</keyword>, the Narendra Modi-led government is on a warpath to amend many laws this winter session. Some of them intend to modernize laws with changing times and empower the central government. As many as 22 bills are to be tabled this session, which intends to protect women, senior citizens, and transgenders and turn adoption easier. Added to that, the most discussed bill that will be tabled will be that of data protection that has been buzzing ever since the Aadhar scandal broke out. The winter parliament will seek a way to end the many river disputes between states. However, the winter session also has controversial bills which can empower the central government to cancel an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card. Here is a list of major bills to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 It protects the rights of transgender persons and provides for their welfare. <keyword id="250148" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Bill">The Bill</keyword> was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19,2019 and passed by the Lok Sabha on August 5. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 The bills bans commercial surrogacy in India. Constitutes the National Surrogacy Board and respective State Surrogacy Boards to regulate the practise of surrogacy. Introduced in Lok Sabha on July 15, 2019 and passed by the Lok Sabha on August 5. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2019 The bill empowers the District Magistrate instead of the Court to reduce delays for receiving adoption order. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 The Bill aims to make life easier for senior citizens by amending the existing act to make it contemporary as per the changing socio-economic needs. The Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 The Bill if it turns into a law will protect and regulate all aspects of personal data, and promote the growth of digital economy. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import,Export, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019 It will replace an ordinance and prohibit the production, manufacture, import, export, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of e-cigarettes, vaping products and similar devices. The Healthcare service personnel and Clinical Establishments (Prohibition of violence and damage to the property) bill, 2019 It will prohibit violence against healthcare service personnel, and damage or loss of property of clinical establishments. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 Amends the definition of illegal migrant, reduces the residency requirement to obtain Indian citizenship through naturalisation, and empowers the central government to cancel the registration of an Overseas CItizen of India (OCI) card. The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 It repeals the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970 and sets up a National Commission to regulate the education and practise of Indian systems of medicine. It was introduced on Jan 7, 2019 in Rajya Sabha. A standing committee report is pending on the matter. The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment Bill, 2019 It removes the president of the Indian National Congress as a trustee and empowers the central government to remove nominated members. Introduced in Lok Sabha on July 8, 2019, and passed by the Lok Sabha on August 2. The Dam Safety Bill, 2019 As the country suffered through many floods this year, the bill intends to manage its dams better. The Bill provides for the surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of specified dams across the country. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 29, 2019 and passed by it on August 2. The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 It provides for a permanent tribunal with multiple benches and a Dispute Resolution Committee for adjudication of inter-state river water disputes. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 25, 2019 and passed by the Lok Sabha on July 31. The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019- Amends the <keyword id="7183713" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arms-Act-1959">Arms Act, 1959</keyword> to enable the law enforcement machinery to curb crimes related to illegal arms. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2019 Establishes the National Board, the state boards and the National Registry to regulate and supervise assisted reproductive technology clinics. Establishes assisted reproductive technology banks to prevent misuse and promote ethical practices. The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2019 The bill intends to meet the recommended standards and practices laid down by ICAO for the safety and security oversight function. The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulations) Amendment Bill, 2019 Amends section 5(1), section 6(1), and section 17A (2A) of MMDR Act, 1957 to remove the requirement of prior approval of the central government before the grant of a mining lease. The National River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Bill, 2019 It prescribes measures to prevent, control and abate pollution in the river Ganga and ensure its continuous and adequate flow.

Here is a list of major bills to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b0083069ec867c4108b4a49-2000/gettyimages-960095854.jpg" border="0" alt="santa fe high school shooting" data-mce-source="Getty Images/Scott Olsen" data-mce-caption="Crime scene tape is stretched across the front of Santa Fe High School on May 19, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas." />Getty Images/Scott OlsenCrime scene tape is stretched across the front of Santa Fe High School on May 19, 2018.</div></div></div><ul><li>The suspected Santa Fe high-school shooter cannot be sentenced to death or life in prison without possibility of parole.</li><li>That's because the suspect is just 17 years old.</li><li>Two recent Supreme Court rulings have found it unconstitutional to impose death or mandatory life sentences on defendants who are under the age of 18.</li></ul><hr />The teenager who allegedly gunned down 10 of his high-school classmates and teachers in a grisly rampage in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday will never get the death penalty or a mandatory life sentence.Though the suspected shooter, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, has confessed to the massacre and potentially faces charges from both local and federal prosecutors, the maximum sentence he's eligible to receive is a life sentence with parole eligibility after 40 years.The reason is Pagourtzis' young age. He is just 17 years old, and two major Supreme Court decisions within the last two decades have ruled it unconstitutional to sentence a defendant to death, or impose mandatory life sentences if he or she was under 18 at the time of the crime.The first major ruling came in 2005, in the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-633.ZO.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Roper v. Simmons</a> case. The justices ruled in a 5-4 decision that sentencing a person under 18 years of age to death violated the Constitution's Eighth Amendment against inflicting "cruel and unusual punishments."The opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that people under 18 cannot truly be "classified among the worst offenders," because research has shown that their maturity, decision-making skills, and characters are all underdeveloped and leave them prone to "reckless behavior" and "impetuous and ill-considered actions and decisions."The second major decision came in the 2012 <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/567/460/opinion3.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miller v. Alabama</a> case, which ruled that juvenile offenders cannot be sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole. The justices' reasoning was much the same as it was for Roper v. Simmons - they ruled that mandatory life sentences are unconstitutionally too harsh of punishments for children."By making youth (and all that accompanies it) irrelevant to imposition of that harshest prison sentence, such a scheme poses too great a risk of disproportionate punishment," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the majority opinion.But even with those two rulings, it's possible Pagourtzis could remain in prison for the rest of his life if he's convicted. It would eventually be up to a parole board to decide if he could successfully reintegrate into society.Pagourtzis is currently being held without bond at the Galveston County Jail on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault on a peace officer. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-happens-next-north-south-korea-peace-treaty-2018-4">What will probably happen with the North and South Korean peace treaty</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/WjFBmKHL-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

The Texas school shooter can't get the death penalty

Her son said his stepdad was sexually abusive. A judge gave the stepdad custody anyway. Then she found the photographs.

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e243855cc2190f106883-2400/ah6i9454.jpg" alt="AH6I9454.JPG" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>Meek Mill, Philadelphia 76ers partner Michael Rubin, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, co-founders of the Reform Alliance, hosted a VIP holiday experience on Saturday for families adversely affected by the US probation system.</li><li>The Reform Alliance treated 50 children from families impacted by technical probation violations to a NBA Store shopping spree and a trip to a New England Patriots football game on the team's charter plane. </li><li>Over the course of the day, Business Insider shadowed and spoke to Rubin, a few special guests of Reform, and members of the invited families. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Onboard the New England Patriots' private charter plane, on its descent into T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, Philadelphia 76ers partner and Reform Alliance co-chair Michael Rubin reflected on the cause behind a remarkable day in progress that he'd helped orchestrate. In less than a week, Rubin had arranged with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meek-mill-interview-lids-investment-jay-z-amazon-series-2019-06">Meek Mill</a>, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Brooklyn Nets co-owner Clara Wu Tsai, his co-founders in the <a href="https://reformalliance.com/">Reform Alliance</a>, to put together a "once-in-a-lifetime" holiday experience on Saturday for families who have been adversely affected by the probation and parole systems in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.Rubin and the Reform Alliance co-founders, a group that includes Jay-Z, launched the criminal justice-reform organization in January following Meek Mill's release from prison in 2018. Meek's release on bail came five months after the rapper and entrepreneur was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meek-mill-attorney-says-judge-biased-prison-sentence-2017-11">controversially sentenced to two-to-four years in prison</a> in 2017 over a technical probation violation. (His case has since been dismissed.)On Saturday, the Reform Alliance treated 50 children from families impacted by similarly non-criminal probation violations to a NBA Store shopping spree in Manhattan and a subsequent trip to a New England Patriots football game on the team's charter plane. Each kid who attended has a parent who is either in prison or has experienced incarceration or a probation extension solely due to technical probation violations."Seeing the stupidity of the system, seeing the many people that need help, this is a great cause and truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of the people on this plane," Rubin told Business Insider. "But at the same, we're going to use this to help change the law."Rubin said that Reform is currently focusing its energy in Pennsylvania, where the group has introduced plans for a bipartisan bill that will put limitations on how long Pennsylvanians can be on probation, prevent non-criminal (and non-repeat-offending) probation violations from sending people to jail, and allow for those with good standing to get time off of their probation. The Pennsylvania State Legislature will soon vote on Reform's bill, which Rubin said he hopes to have passed by the end of January. "In Pennsylvania alone, [the bill] will help tens of thousands of people directly, hundreds of thousands or millions of people indirectly," Rubin said. "So we've just got to keep getting the word out there and keep changing laws.""In America, there's probably a quarter of people that are stuck, that come from upbringings where they're familiar with the system," he continued. "But I think three quarters of the country doesn't understand this, and we need to educate that three quarters about how unfair it is, so we can get their support to change laws and do all this while keeping communities safe."Minutes after Rubin and I spoke, the flight crew prepared for landing. The plane touched down in Warwick, Rhode Island, where two charter buses drove the day's attending children and families behind a police escort to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. <h2>Notable guests at a holiday shopping spree</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e310855cc21929762ed3-2400/ah6i9314.jpg" alt="AH6I9314.JPG" />The day started off, though, with a shopping spree at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. According to the event's organizers, single children of invited families received $500 gift cards to the store, most families received a gift card of $1000, and larger families received more in store credit.Prior to shopping, the kids and their families gathered on the store's second floor for an introduction from Rubin, Meek, Wu Tsai, and two special guests, DJ Khaled and Brooklyn Nets guard Caris LeVert. "Some of y'all come from my neighborhood, some from New York I know," Meek told the crowd. "I'm just like y'all. In the times of my coming up, I didn't have outlets like this or people who really cared about the issues I went through as a child growing up in a single parent home."Later, as the families started to shop, the Reform co-founders and their guests took turns speaking to the press before joining the families in their shopping."I watched Meek go through the holiday season without his family when he was locked up," Rubin said. "For Meek it was awful to live through, and for me, it was awful to watch. All these kids here have parents that are incarcerated or previously incarcerated for technical violations - again, they didn't commit a crime - and we want to make sure we give them one of the best days of their lives.""There's four and a half million people on probation and parole in the United States," Rubin continued. "We have five times the rate of incarceration of the rest of the world. When we realized how big the problem was, Meek came out of prison saying to me, 'Michael, things happen for a reason. We've got to turn this into something bigger.'"Wu Tsai discussed how her philanthropic work in attempting to increase economic mobility in Brooklyn ties into the larger issues of criminal-justice reform that the Reform Alliance seeks to address and change. "Many people in Brooklyn and urban environments are in this endless cycle of incarceration, probation and parole, and often going back to prison for technical, non-criminal reasons," Wu Tsai said. "Criminal justice-reform, there are so many ways to contribute in this area. Reform Alliance is one. That is a long-term game because it's trying to change laws and policy, and we know that that's not easy. So at the same time, we're also trying to change the narrative, trying to change hearts and minds, so that people are aware of these issues. And that's partly why we're doing this today."DJ Khaled - who would soon, at the event's conclusion, walk into and purposely stop slow-moving traffic in the middle of Fifth Avenue as he got in a car, to the amusement of a crowd in front of the store - spoke to Business Insider about what it meant to him to stand with Reform."This is powerful. This is what it's about," Khaled said. "If you think about it, man, if they weren't putting light to this, it'd be a secret. There's no way to help somebody if you don't know about it. And freedom is a blessing that God has given us. That word freedom, we can't take that word lightly. And to see them help people get freedom - but right now, today - look at the kids' smiles on their faces, and their mothers and fathers who've been through it. Just to uplift them, that's what it's about. I'm getting goosebumps talking about it."<h2>Charter buses to a singular charter plane </h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e377855cc219376f3752-2400/ap3y0081.jpg" alt="AP3Y0081.JPG" />On the charter bus that took us from Manhattan to the Patriots' team plane at Newark Airport, I sat next to and spoke to a man who identified himself as Shahein Allen, one of the parent chaperones for a kid in attendance. Allen, a New Jersey resident by way of Scranton, Pennsylvania, said he brought his step-daughter Sahadii to the event in the place of a parent who's in prison. Currently working in juvenile corrections in Pennsylvania, Allen told me he had seen both sides of the system, as he'd spent 20 years himself in the Pennsylvania state court system on probation and parole due largely to technical probation violations. "I was in Pennsylvania, went on vacation on probation. Once I got there, got violated on multiple dumb things," Allen said. "Having a cell phone. Having three hundred dollars in cash. Being in a place more than six hours. Like stuff they were just making up just to violate me. I did over 20 years in the system, back and forth, and most of it came from technical violations."Allen said he was surprised to see Meek, DJ Khaled, and the Reform co-founders at the NBA Store, and he spoke to the impact of Meek's activism in the face of an unjust probation system."To have Meek step up and be the face of this movement and actually saying something, we finally have a voice," he said. "Before it was just like, you can't beat the system. So we're shining light on it, and it's going to take a little bit, but the [Pennsylvania] system is so corrupt. It's going to take changing the commonwealth. Structural change."We eventually pulled into Newark Airport, where a turn through an airplane hangar offsite of the terminal gave way to what was for the kids and their families a surprise reveal of the Patriots' private jet. "I can't lie. I'm looking to catch a football from Brady, at top speed," Allen joked, before we left the bus for a security line directly in front of the plane's boarding staircase - a one plastic table, one metal detector situation that someone behind me in line referred to as "TSA-Light."The plane contained hundreds of Patriots hoodies and beanies in its overhead bins, which the kids and their families sorted through before and over the course of the 45-minute flight to Warwick, Rhode Island. <h2>The players' experience at Gillette Stadium</h2><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e3d2855cc21e5012ac22-2400/ah6i0820.jpg" alt="AH6I0820.JPG" />Once off of the buses that took us from Warwick to Gillette Stadium, members of the Patriots staff directed the group through the stadium's inner hallways and into the Patriots' team film room.In the room, Rubin introduced Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and a co-founder of the Reform Alliance. Kraft addressed the crowd to say that he had learned of the unjust nature of the probation system through Meek Mill's imprisonment, and that the two had been close beforehand."It's an honor for me to have you," Kraft told the group. "Because I've learned how unfair this system is, and for you to suffer at the holiday time and not be with loved ones. ... We wanted you to come here and have an experience just like our players. We just want you to have a great day, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for the unfair treatment, and we're really committed to trying to change the system."Kraft introduced two guests of his own, Hall of Fame Patriots linebacker Andre Tippett and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins. Rollins related how she, the "highest-ranking member of the criminal law enforcement community in Boston," had two siblings who had been to prison for parole violations and other circumstances, but that the experience had inspired her run for office and a personal desire to bring representation for black and brown people into the top ranks of Boston law enforcement. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e443855cc21958441012-2400/ah6i0553.jpg" alt="AH6I0553.JPG" />We were then led onto the field through the Patriots players' stadium entrance about an hour before kick-off in a game between the Patriots and Buffalo Bills that held playoff implications. The children and their families stood on the sideline and watched the teams warm-up, met Tom Brady, and took a group picture with Kraft and Rubin on the field. <img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e03e4d5855cc2196368b364-2400/ah6i0911.jpg" alt="AH6I0911.JPG" />The group watched the game on large television screens from inside the Optum Field Lounge, located behind an endzone, over a meal of chicken fingers, fries, macaroni and cheese, and salad that the Patriots staff had laid out buffett-style. At halftime, we left the stadium to board charter buses for the team plane on our way back to Newark and Manhattan.Spirited discussions abounded on the return trip about the impending probation bill in Pennsylvania that Reform had introduced earlier this year, and about the events of the day - a significant day for 50 children and their families that held a greater symbolic significance in the fight for criminal-justice reform.

Meek Mill, Michael Rubin, and the Reform Alliance hosted a holiday shopping spree and VIP trip to a New England Patriots game for families adversely affected by the US probation system

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e31effa24306a0d7a5afa33-2400/nicole roder.jpg" alt="nicole roder" />Courtesy of Nicole RoderNicole Roder.<ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="http://nicoleroder.com">Nicole Roder</a> is a freelance writer and former child therapist and foster-care social worker. She has worked with children and adolescents of all ages who have been diagnosed with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, ADHD, and other psychiatric disorders.</li><li>She says that when it comes to parenting children with mental illnesses, avoid comparing them to children who don't have a mental illness - and find a support system among other parents.</li><li>Understand that therapy takes work and that some parenting methods may not be effective for a child with a mental illness.</li><li>Be sure to block off time for having fun with your children - and time to take care of yourself.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Is my child "normal"?Nearly every parent has asked themself that question at some point, even if we don't want to admit it. And though our culture seems to be making progress toward reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness, many of us think of mental-health problems as something that affects other people, not us.As a master's-level social worker who has treated children with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses, I used to think that way myself. It's tragic that these problems affect so many young people. Thank God this will never happen to my kids.I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I thought that way. I knew that an estimated <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html">one in six children ages two to eight in the United States</a> has been diagnosed with a mental disorder. I also knew that <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/common-genetic-factors-found-5-mental-disorders">psychiatric disorders are often hereditary</a>, and I have a family history of anxiety and depression. The odds that one of these disorders would affect one of my children were pretty good.Now, many years later, I have four kids, and three of them have been diagnosed with a mental illness. Even though I am a mental-health professional, I felt utterly unprepared to parent one child with a mental illness, let alone three.After my first child was born, I chose not to renew my license to practice social work. That's when I began the next phase of my mental-health education: parenting children with mental illnesses. Fortunately, I have learned a few lessons the hard way. I offer them to you.<h2>Don't try to compare your child to other children without diagnoses</h2>Children with mental illnesses require a different style of parenting, and some things you have tried with your other kids just won't work.I can't count the number of parenting books I've read. I've pored over expert advice for managing kids' behavior and dutifully implemented time-outs, reward charts, and stern, authoritative commands. I've begun each new "method" feeling hopeful that this one would be the one, only to finish it feeling defeated and hopeless.The problem with these books is that they are written for parents of neurotypical children. It's not impossible that their methods will work for your child. It's just that there are other factors at play that might make them work differently.For example, my son has explosive anger issues. He most definitely receives consequences for yelling, hitting, and kicking. But he also has coping tools that he's learned in therapy that we pull out when he's starting to melt down. One of his tools is snuggling our dogs. When he yells at me, I tell him to go snuggle the dogs. After he's calm, I give him his consequence.Some parents might think of snuggling the dogs as a reward for bad behavior, but for my son it's more like medicine.If your child is not responding to traditional techniques that work with neurotypical children, I recommend that you talk with your therapist about tools that can help.<h2>Your friends won't get it, so talk to other parents who do</h2>I've listened to other moms complain about their toddlers' tantrums and thought, My kid attempted suicide last week. I'd love a "regular tantrum."This doesn't help. Forget about what's happening in your Instagram feed and find a group of parents who are also parenting kids with mental illnesses.I have two such friends. Recently, I called one of them in tears because my son's symptoms had gotten worse and I didn't know what to do. A tiny demand from me sent him into a meltdown. He was punching, biting, and throwing things at me.A parent of a child without a mental illness would've been thoroughly confused. I would've spent the entire conversation explaining how my son's mental illness affects his behavior and how I'd already tried every "regular" method of controlling it.But my friend had been there before, so she told me the truth: I needed professional help, ASAP. She gave me some phone numbers and offered to babysit my other kids so I could get my son to a provider right away.You need a tribe of parents who know what you're going through. You might find them locally or through a social-media group. The National Alliance on Mental Illness has family support groups all over the country - you can <a href="https://www.nami.org/find-support/nami-programs/nami-family-support-group">search for one in your area here</a>. Or you might try a Facebook group for parents of children with mental illnesses.Even if your tribe is online only, they can still offer you support and empathy that would be difficult for other people to muster.<h2>Therapy is not passive; it requires work</h2>Many people start therapy thinking that they're going to receive some magic pill that will "fix" their mental-health problems. I wish it were that easy.The truth is that therapy is work, and most of the job falls on the patient and their parents.This might be a bit surprising at first, but the rationale is simple. You don't live your life inside a therapy room. If your child is depressed or anxious at home or at school, that's where you will have to address those problems. Therapy is a place to learn how to do that.<h2>Know the symptoms of your child's illness and work with a therapist on an action plan for dealing with them</h2>The good news is that your therapist probably has a huge bucket of tools to pull from when teaching you how to handle your child's symptoms. The bad news is that you might have to try several of them before you find one that works.Therapists and psychiatrists have lots of knowledge and research to draw from when it comes to choosing treatment modalities. They know which drugs and therapeutic techniques are most likely to work for people with certain conditions. But that doesn't mean they'll get it right on the first try.My son's therapist started off by teaching him to take deep breaths or to count to 10 when he started to feel angry. My job was to recognize the signs that an anger episode was coming and remind my son to use his tools.This should have worked. It would have worked, if my son had followed my instructions. Unfortunately, whenever I reminded him to take a deep breath, his anxiety would kick in and convince him that deep breaths don't work. He'd panic, insist I couldn't help him, and never even try to take a deep breath.It was a mobile crisis worker who helped him identify the puppy-snuggling technique. This worker asked my son what usually helped him to calm down, and the dogs instantly came to mind. Now we know that if he starts to panic, he goes to the dogs.<h2>Know your community resources</h2>Speaking of mobile crisis workers, these people are a godsend. They have helped my family tremendously. They are part of a program called <a href="http://citinternational.org">Crisis Intervention Team</a> that is globally recognized as an effective model for assisting people with mental illnesses who are experiencing a crisis. Think of them as mental-health first responders.As I mentioned above, there are many children with mental illnesses, and many of these children are in crisis. Suicide attempts and other violence are not uncommon. The systems we traditionally use to help people in emergency situations are ill-equipped for mental-health crises, and too many children with mental illnesses end up in juvenile detention or psychiatric hospitals as a result.The CIT workers can help people with mental disorders access treatment resources rather than place them in the criminal justice system when their symptoms put them in crisis. I have had to call 911 because of my child's mental illness twice now. The first time was a disaster: Only police officers were sent, and these officers shouted at my son, berated my parenting, and argued with me about his diagnosis. The second time, I knew to call the CIT as well. The workers turned a stressful, difficult incident into a therapeutic one, and I couldn't be more grateful.Many parts of the country have community organizations and hospitals that specialize in treating mental illnesses. You can <a href="http://citinternational.org/stateCITorgs">find contact information for a CIT in your state here</a>. You might also want to Google "mental health community organizations near me" to find out what other resources are available in your area.Find out where these places are, and save their contact information in your phone. Chances are you'll need them at some point.<h2>Psychiatric drugs should be prescribed by psychiatrists, not your pediatrician</h2>All three of my children with mental illnesses take prescription drugs to treat their disorders. These medications can be extremely effective and improve quality of life tremendously.But taking psychiatric drugs without an evaluation from a mental-health provider can be dangerous, ineffective, or both. Unfortunately, this is exactly what many Americans are doing when they get psychiatric prescriptions from their pediatricians and general practitioners.A <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db76.htm">study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> from 2005 to 2008 found that more than one in 10 Americans age 12 and older were taking antidepressant medication. But less than one-third of those people had seen a mental-health professional in the past year. This is a serious problem.General practitioners do not have the right training to recognize when a patient might be better served by other evidence-based treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy or play therapy. Even when medication is appropriate, GPs don't have the expertise to know which medication will best treat your child's symptoms with the least risk of troublesome side effects.For example, symptoms of depression are somewhat subjective. They can include fatigue, difficulty concentrating, social withdrawal, irritability, and sadness, among other things. A pediatrician might see those symptoms and think "depression," then prescribe an SSRI (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) like Prozac.The problem is that these symptoms might also indicate other disorders, such as anxiety, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, or ADHD. A skilled mental-health professional can interview the child and parent and apply their expertise to determine which of these diagnoses is most appropriate and therefore which medication would work best.I learned the hard way that Prozac, a common prescription for depression and anxiety, can actually increase irritability and rage in children with DMDD.Whenever possible, you should take your child to see a pediatric psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner for any psychiatric prescription drugs. And any child taking psychotropic medications should also see a therapist to learn the skills necessary to manage their symptoms every day.If you absolutely can't access one of these providers, ask your doctor to read the <a href="https://www.apa.org/practice/guidelines">treatment guidelines developed by the American Psychological Association</a>. This might help them to choose better treatments for your child.<h2>Parenting a child with a mental illness is hard, and it's a lot of work</h2>It's important to remember that your relationship with your child isn't all about work and mental-health care. A good parent-child bond is built on love, trust, respect - and fun. Even though you love someone deeply, it's hard to really like that person if everything you do with them involves work.Here's what my typical day looks like:Get the kids up. Stand in my daughter's room while she gets out of bed so that she doesn't go back to sleep. Give gentle reminders, using my "therapy words," to get her through her morning routine. De-escalate a tantrum. Prevent disruptions by speaking in a calming voice, even through the morning rush to get ready for school. De-escalate another tantrum. Drive someone to therapy. Fail to de-escalate a tantrum and hold a child down so he doesn't bite me. Teach someone how to appropriately express their feelings for the millionth time. Talk to a teacher about missing assignments. Referee a sibling fight while I'm cooking dinner. Forget to use my calming voice and work through yet another tantrum.And on. And on. And on.Who wants to live life that way? I don't, and I'm guessing you don't either. But if we're not careful, days and weeks can get swallowed up by the sheer volume of work.That means you need to spend some time together doing things you both enjoy. When you're balancing school, work, and therapy appointments, it might seem like a chore to pencil in yet another thing. But it's so important, and I promise it's worth it. The fun stuff doesn't even have to take up a lot of time. My kids and I have a blast laughing with each other when we look at funny dog memes on my phone while we're in the therapist's waiting room.Need more ideas? Feel free to use one of mine:<ul><li>Tell a story by letting each family member take a turn adding the next detail. Make it as silly as possible.</li><li>Play a board game.</li><li>Make up a silly voice for your pet and have "conversations" where you let the kids answer in your pet's voice.</li><li>Talk like a pirate for an afternoon.</li><li>Play "What If?" - ask your child what would happen if their favorite TV character had to do this homework assignment, or how their school day would change if they had to learn underwater.</li><li>Have a dance party in your living room.</li><li>Look through old photos on your phone and reminisce about your favorite memories.</li><li>Tell them the story of the day they were born.</li></ul><h2>Take care of your own mental health</h2>Several studies have found that parents of children with developmental disabilities experience more <a href="https://www.aaiddjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1352/0895-8017(2006)111%5b155:MOCSOD%5d2.0.CO;2">symptoms of depression</a> than parents of neurotypical children. It's not hard to see why. Parenting children with mental illnesses is stressful, hard work. And while you have this overwhelming responsibility to care for your child and their needs, you can't forget to take care of yourself, too.We put a massive amount of time and energy into parenting our kids. But we can't do it - literally cannot function - if we don't first take care of ourselves.If you've ever flown on an airplane, you've gotten the flight-attendant safety spiel: "In case of a drop in cabin pressure, face masks will drop from the ceiling. Be sure to secure your own face mask before helping others."I'm sure you know why you have to secure your own mask first: It's impossible to help your child breathe if you can't breathe yourself.If you're parenting a child with a mental illness while living with untreated depression, you can't breathe, mama. You need to see your own therapist, take your own meds, or do whatever else you need to do to stay mentally healthy. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adam-grant-on-narcissism-happiness-leadership-careers-at-davos-2020-1">Leading behavioral psychologist reveals how to be a successful narcissist and why you should stop trying to be happy</a></h3> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/upKTM3Nk-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>

I was a child therapist. Here's how I parent children with mental illnesses - and how I had to overcome my own biases.

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/518291e6ecad04f02a000002-858-802/kiera%20wilmot.png?maxX=400" border="0" alt="kiera wilmot" width="400" /><a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/312878/79/Teen-girl-arrested-for-science-project-gone-bad">screenshot from WTSP</a></div></div>On Monday, April 29, honor student <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kiera-wilmot-arrested-for-science-explosion-2013-5">Kiera Wilmot was arrested for playing with chemicals</a> on school grounds.
After mixing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgDhizxCeIY">aluminum foil and toilet cleaner</a> in a small water bottle — a common prank called "The Works" <keyword id="30627" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bomb">bomb</keyword> — the bottle exploded with a small pop and a bit of smoke, from the creation of hydrogen gas.
<a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/138927259/Wilmot-Arrest">According to the police report,</a> Kiera is facing the possibility of two felony charges: "possession/discharge of a weapon on school grounds" and "discharging a destructive device."
She told officers that she was conducting a <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword> experiment.
We talked to her lawyer, Larry Hardaway, to get the latest on the case. This is a lightly edited version of our chat:
Business Insider: What's the latest on Kiera's situation?
Larry Hardaway: Right now we have stayed the administration's proceedings with the school board until we can work out a resolution. On the juvenile prosecution part, the state attorney's office has not decided to file charges. We will have further negotiations next week about how to move forward without harming her. So things are moving forward.
BI: What about those two felonies?
LH: I'm working as hard as I can to keep those from happening. Those are still available for the state of <keyword id="6357385" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="florida">Florida</keyword> to do. Those conversations that we've had are confidential, but personally I don’t think they will go forward in that fashion.
BI: What are other possible outcomes?
LH: From alternative charging, they can do that from misdemeanors … to something called diversion. That means they take the matter out of the normal criminal process, they allow for some conditions for the suspect or defendant to accomplish. If that person accomplishes those satisfactorily, then the case is dropped. That is available.
 BI: What's the worst case scenario?
LH: The worst case scenario has been all on the news, and that is that they file the criminal felony charges, they treat her as an adult, and that opens her up to a prosecution that could lead to jail time.
For those offenses that she could be charged with, if she were to be treated as an adult, are punishable by up to five years in state prison. Here in Florida we have a process of sentencing that uses a recommendation from what we call scoring, via [circumstances] surrounding the events. She doesn't have a prior history, she wouldn't get points for prior history, there is limited aggravation, and what occurred was unintentional.
There would not be any jail time in a case like this. And probably the warranted sentence would be probation with some conditions.
BI: How would being charged with a felony impact her life going forward?
LH: Here in Florida Governor Scott limited the restoration process of restoring rights here in Florida, and also the law here in Florida lets you only expunge one felony offense, [so if she is charged with both felonies], one would be on her record for life.
These offenses will stay with you for the rest of your life, and there will be some jobs you won't be able to get.
BI: What's the best case scenario? Is there a possibility that this could all be dropped?
LH: Certainly, there is a scenario where that could happen. And that's the one I'm seeking!
BI: What's the situation with Kiera's expulsion from school?
LH: We are actually challenging the recommendation [of expulsion]. All districts have different rules that they work under in the [state]. Here in Polk County, a level 8 offense is the offense of possessing or manufacturing a bomb on a school board's campus.
This is what she's been charged with, and with that offense,there's an automatic recommendation for expulsion. Either the kid agrees to the expulsion, or goes through a process where you have hearings to address it.
That recommendation of expulsion goes through this process to the school board; Polk County School Board has the ultimate decision-making authority.
If they find that the individual committed the offense, that individual is automatically expelled for one year. As you know Kiera is ending her 11th-grade year, so expulsion for one year really removes her from her regular learning education environment, and she'd have to go elsewhere, either to an alternative school here or to another district.
BI: How are Kiera and the family holding up?
LH: I'm in contact with them several times a day, every day. They are holding up well.
We are hopeful that everything will work out. Things are moving forward, we can see improvements in our relationships with the school board and the state's attorney's office.
And we think that eventually this will work out in the best interests of Kiera.
BI: How has she been reacting to the situation, and the outpouring of support from the community?
LH: I've taken the time, and her mom has agreed, to make this a teaching moment for her, one in which she understands the involvement of government in one's life, and how government can significantly affect your life.
It's also a teaching moment for conduct that you want to stay away from.
And so, I've been keeping her advised of everything that I'm doing, and I'm allowing her to tell me how she feels about the different stages that we are going through. And so I think she feels better about it; she clearly wants to get back to school with her friends. But she knows she's not going to be able to do that for a while.
I think she's psychologically stable, emotionally stable right now but that clearly can change if we happen to lose some hope. But, so far so good.
BI: Are they still planning to charge her as an adult?
LH: Actually, they've not decided to charge her as an adult. They will only do that if they file formal documents that will include her as an adult. Presently, she's still being held within the juvenile jurisdiction.
BI: Since writing my original story on Kiera, I've had many people ask how they can help. Have you set up a legal defense fund?
LH: We really do need to do that to complete what we are doing. Kiera lives with her mom and her mom is, as you might imagine, a single parent who is trying to take care of twins. Kiera is a twin, has a twin sister, who actually was there when this occurred, at the same school and in the same grade.
Her mom is trying to do the best she can. She doesn't have funds to do all that we want to do. We are trying to just do the best that we can. We may set up something to get funds, but I tell you, what's really helping us the most right now is the outpouring and community attention to this and the many petitions seeking the kind of justice that we think should occur. That is really helping us the most right now.
[Sign the <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/state-attorney-jerry-hill-drop-charges-against-kiera-wilmot">Change.org</a> and <a href="https://www.aclu.org/secure/high-school-science-experiment-ended-felony-conviction">ACLU petitions</a> to get Kiera's charges dropped.]
BI: I've heard the term school-to-prison pipeline thrown around a lot in this conversation — can you explain that to me?
LH: The proximity of how it applies in this situation is not good, there are better examples.
Yet, what is being said is when you have no-tolerance policies that prevent or prohibit considering some of this stuff case by case — and fully appreciating differences in these occurrences — you do start warehousing people toward prison.
This is what occurs, really. You get charged with an offense for something minor that when I went to school you'd get a few licks and put back in the classroom. It starts you down that road of limiting and hindering your life. You do something like what could potentially happen to Kiera, in which she can't get a certain job, or she can't go to college, and then they start losing hope, and eventually they lose so much hope and they start committing things that do lead to prison.
BI: Are there any similar cases that have happened before — where kids have been charged for an accident on school grounds?
LH: Yeah. I've seen a number of [them].
I've seen instances where kids are playing and it looks like one is striking one intentionally to do harm, and that is not the case. And law enforcement comes in because we have resource officers here in Florida, which are police on campus. And that police officer who sees something that looks like a crime, it's his job to investigate and determine if it has occurred, and his next step is to send a complaint to the state attorney's office that there's a crime that has occurred, even if it's just a prank between kids.
So that prank becomes reason for that kid to have a criminal record. 
Yes. It happens a lot.
BI: Does Assistant State Attorney Tammy Glotfelty have a history of levying too-harsh charges?
LH: Oh, no. No, Tammy is a very fine prosecutor.
Some of the comments I've heard are inaccurate. I wish people wouldn't make those comments about Tammy, because they are untrue.
There are prosecutors that are sometimes hardened, and aren't as sensitive as they should be, but that wouldn't be Tammy Glotfelty.
BI: People are drawing correlations between Kiera's case, and the story of Taylor Richardson, who wasn't charged when he accidentally killed his brother with a BB gun. What's the story there?
LH: There's a little difference. There's a gun, and gun control situation, in the Richardson matter, but what increased the sensitivity here in the case with Kiera, was that it's a bomb on a school campus of young people.
So, you've got two instances that occurred here in our country where you've got a bomb that exploded in Boston and hurt people, and then you've got some act on a school where young people are.
There was really heightened sensitivity when there's any report of a combustible item on a school campus when some kid could have gotten hurt. People immediately think of Boston, and start calling it a bomb when it isn't a bomb. They are using words like it was detonated — and I hear this and I’m going, "wow." But that's how they were viewing it.
Bi: Do you think this overreaction can be connected to the Boston bombings, then?
LH: Yeah, yeah, I'm certain that people will overreact to something that they think will be similar and they could be far different.

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