No Place for Kids | Patrick McCarthy | TEDxPennsylvaniaAvenue (14 min)

Tonight, more than 60,000 of America’s young people will be locked in a cell within a couple of feet of a toilet. Some will be forced to remain in isolation, often for many days, at the discretion of a correctional officer with little to no training on the developmental risks associated with such punishment. In his forceful, conscience-raising talk, Patrick McCarthy, President and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, issues a national call to action urging all Americans to help close every youth prison in the United States.

A respected clinician and public sector leader, Patrick McCarthy joined the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 1994 to manage its Mental Health Initiative for Urban Children. Throughout his tenure, he led efforts to improve human services practices and policies to boost positive results for the nation’s most vulnerable kids and families. He held positions of increasing responsibility before being appointed the president of the Foundation in 2010. Before joining the Foundation, McCarthy held positions ranging from psychiatric social worker and head of a school for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges to university professor and division director at the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families. He holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx