Will the Juvenile Justice System Ever Learn? How Minors with Learning Disabilities Can Find Remedies in Problem‐Solving Courts

• Date: 01 October 2017
• Author: Dominique Chin
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12308
• Published date: 01 October 2017

STUDENT NOTES

WILL THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM EVER LEARN?

HOW MINORS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES CAN FIND

REMEDIES IN PROBLEM-SOLVING COURTS

Dominique Chin

Although research suggests a compelling connection between juvenile delinquency and minors with learning disabilities, rarely

any action is taken to thwart or prevent the continuation of this trend. This leaves minors with learning disabilities predisposed

to a future with a criminal record, and left at the mercy of the juvenile justice system that fails to accommodate them. This

Note proposes the nationwide adoption of problem-solving courts that implement screening procedures alongside treatment

programs for children with learning disabilities. Without preventative measures and proper handling of these minors, the rise

of recidivism rates, stigmatization, and the deficiency of treatment are inevitable.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

Minors with learning disabilities are more likely to commit juvenile offenses than minors without learning disabilities.

A disproportionate number of minors in juvenile detention centers have an identifiable learning disability.

There are hundreds of mental health courts in the United States, but few that specifically screen or treat youths with

learning disabilities.

Screening at intake for learning disabilities, as well as creating treatment programs for future care, is pivotal in deter-

rence and diversion of minors suffering from such disabilities.

Not all learning-disabledminors charged with an offenseare required to participatein the problem-solving courtprocess.

States ultimately save money through problem-solving courts by lessening expenditures on litigation, incarceration,

and the long-term economic productivity of youths.

Participation in the problem-solving court program can save a minor from a future clouted with a criminal history.

Problem-solving courts that fully address the needs for minors with learning disabilities will ultimately lessen public

stigmatization while increasing acceptance and awareness.

Keywords: Learning Disabilities; Learning Disabled Minors; Learning Disabled Juveniles; Specialty Courts; Problem-

Solving Courts; and Screening.

I. INTRODUCTION

“Everyone at school said that I was lazy or stupid or both. After a while I began to believe them.

Sometimes, I just gave up. I couldn’t write, spell, read, or answer quickly. I didn’t even know which

hand to put over my heart when we recited the Pledge of Allegiance.”

1

Judge Gallet’s reflection on

his childhood with an undiagnosed learning disability is one filled with frustration, setbacks, and the

disappointment of his scholarly parents.

2

Luckily, Judge Gallet had the support of a professor and a

law school friend to push him back on a path of success when his learning disability often forced

him to veer off course.

3

By the time Judge Gallet was “by chance, diagnosed as learning disabled at

the age of thirty-five,” he “had already learned to deal with [his] disabilities.”

4

By the time Judge

Gallet turned thirty-seven, he was elected as a judge.

5

Although Judge Gallet’s story is one that is

awe-inspiring, especially considering his many successes,

6

Judge Gallet is part of the minority of

youths with learning disabilities that learn to overcome the challenges faced in the educational set-

ting

7

without engaging in criminal behavior.

8

Correspondence: Domchin128@gmail.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 55 No. 4, October 2017 618–632

V

C2017 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts