REDEMPTION, NOT RETRIBUTION
The advocate’s role is to coordinate everyone’s performance as a team. Smooth and efficient traffic flow relies on designated drivers in each lane remaining within the lines, signaling lane changes, and coordinating their moves to get to their shared destination. The shared destination is the young person’s redemption.
Continuing this analogy, the success of any journey, whether by car or other means, depends on general weather conditions. In the cases of these journeys, the “weather” is created by the media. One way or another, the hidden stories of abuse and family dysfunction will be revealed, especially if a child is tried in an adult court. We encourage families to take a proactive lead in revelations—or at least take an intentional role—and thereby have a better chance to heal and grow in the process.
(This acknowledges the importance of strengthening families as support networks for children in their future lives. Trend data suggest that permanent removal of children from families and into the foster care and adoption systems will begin to wane in the future for a variety of reasons.)
This is a public information posture which is very different from that typically assumed in lawyer-centric defenses in which lawyers attempt to restrict the flow of information to the media. We’ll do what we can to help influence a favorable climate for travel by providing the media with the best and most accurate information available.