Justin Martinez, 29, will be a first-generation graduate when he earns his psychology degree from San Francisco State University this month. Martinez was formerly a foster child and shared his story at a Youth Listening Session, an event where young people in the foster care and juvenile justice systems engage in honest dialogue and self-expression.
“The listening sessions allow people to be empowered by their truth,” Martinez said. “It’s a place where they can express themselves and what they’ve been through and is an opportunity to ask for help.”
A newly released report titled Youth Listening Sessions: Hearing the Voices of Youth Involved in the Foster Care and Juvenile Justice Systems details findings from the sessions held throughout Northern California. It demonstrates the ways trauma has affected this population and how mental health providers can better serve it.
In the report, young people expressed a general desire for technologically advanced mental health care through social media, teletherapy, and apps. They also revealed a need for cultural sensitivity training programs for educators and all health care providers.
“Youth need better access to affordable mental health care and supportive services,” Martinez said, adding that awareness for current services is low.
The listening events were created in partnership with Mental Health California earlier this year as part of Kaiser Permanente’s focus on mitigating the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). They also support efforts to combat California’s youth mental health crisis that was recently announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s likely the pandemic will cause an uptick in adolescent mental health issues due to the breakdown of social and education support systems, according to JAMA Pediatrics.
Powerful Findings
The report collected data from 160 youth: 52% formerly in foster care, 17% previously in the juvenile justice system, and 31% who had been in both.
More than 20% of participants felt unsafe in both systems, and an overwhelming 74% reported being in an unsafe environment after leaving the systems, with some experiencing homelessness, extreme poverty, and health issues correlated to their living conditions.
Additionally, around 15% of foster care and 7% of juvenile justice system youth said they were physically abused and more than 30% said they experienced a traumatic event in either organization.
To improve the systems, youth said trauma-informed social workers are needed along with housing and transitional support and a more rigorous recruitment process of foster parents.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...u.be&app=desktop
An overview of the Northern California Youth Listening Sessions, an ACES/ trauma-focused project for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems in Northern California. Produced by Mental Health California in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.
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