Maybe they’ve been beaten, molested, or witnessed severe
violence. Maybe they’ve suffered
abandonment or neglect or seen parents go to prison. One way or another, they are troubled girls, and they’ve gotten entangled with
the law: drugs, shop lifting, major theft,
maybe assault or battery. One-third have
committed felonies. On average, they’ve been arrested eight times, convicted
four. Worse, they’re young – as young as
14 – and they’re all either pregnant or already mothers. So
now they’ve been sent to WINGS, the only Florida juvenile detention facility
where girls 14-19 can stay with their babies.
The girls will stay here for an average 9-12 months. They will go to school, learn life skills
and have intensive counseling. They will keep their babies with them after
they’re born, learn how to nurture and care for them, and in the process they
will break the cycle of crime, violence and poverty they grew up in. When they leave, they will be
transformed. Eighty-nine percent will
leave delinquency behind them to become successful, responsible mothers and
citizens.
“Juvenile justice is starting to get that they’re in the
business of treatment, not punishment,” says Karen Marcus, LMHC, CAP, Executive
Director of WINGS. “[The courts]
recognize that the girls are not adults and that kids don’t just behave this
way because they’re bad.”
They are girls like Monica*, abandoned by her mother at age
5, then again by her grandmother at age 15.
Between the ages of 15 and 18, Monica lived in 20 different foster
homes, ran away repeatedly, smoked a lot of weed to dull her pain, let her
grades fall from A’s and B’s to D’s and F’s, and got arrested for burglary,
grand theft and criminal mischief.
Like Monica, the girls often suffer from substance abuse, eating
disorders, underlying mental illness, and gang affiliations. They are inept at solving problems and have
poor values. Yet most are resilient and
can blossom in a properly constructed environment. Consequently, their detention focuses on understanding
the trauma they experienced and providing the therapy and education they need
to change.
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| The WINGS Campus |
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| Two Girls and Their Babies Share a Room |
A typical day at WINGS begins at 6:00 a.m., when the girls
get up and dressed, do chores, get baby ready for the day and have
breakfast. They’re in school until 12:30
or 1:00. After lunch, they go outside
for recreation, followed by afternoon activities, which might include Healthy
Start, trauma group, a field trip offsite.
By 5:00 they’re back in, showering and getting babies ready for the
night. Dinner is at 6:00. Quiet time, maybe phone calls to family, follows. They’re in bed at 9:00.
Rules are strict and demands restrictive. Buildings are locked (though rooms within
buildings are not), and supervising staff must know where the girls are and
what they are doing at all times. The girls must ask permission before entering
or exiting a room. Items that could be used as weapons – even everyday objects
like pencils -- must be checked out and
returned to a central location by a predetermined time. In concert with the basic principles of
behavior modification, everything the girls do is rewarded or punished: the way
they speak, the way they relate to each other, the way they perform everyday
activities. There is a complex system
of rank, each with a set of requirements that must be met in order to move up,
and points, which are earned for meeting or exceeding expectation as they go
about their tasks. As the girls rise in
rank and accumulate points, privileges mount.
While demands are severe, support is consistent and
unfaltering.
“The staff never gave up on me,” said eighteen-year-old Jackie[*], one of two girls looking forward to release in January. “They just kept reinforcing that I needed to
change. They said, ‘you can do good or
you won’t.’ But they never left it alone. Having that kind of support and
having all the resources – we had so many groups. It’s like they genuinely
cared and they just showed us the right way, and it makes you want to change.”
One secret to WINGS success is this transformative
combination of strict and demanding expectation together with unwavering,
caring support. The second is each
girl’s personal prescription for growth and development. Every girl begins her
stay at WINGS with an individualized plan she must complete before she is
released. This plan covers medical care and health education, mental health
counseling, academic education, and parenting education. Beyond attending all medical appointments for herself and her baby, her medical plan might include, learning what to expect from her medical appointments and how to voice her concerns, developing the skill to advocate for herself and her baby with healthcare providers, actively participating in planning for her release by identifying the professionals she will see.
Each girl’s educational plan is based upon her academic level,
which could be anywhere from 7th grade to 12th. Some have
not been in school in years. Others require special education. In general, the goal is to move everyone up
one grade level, or, if they’re in high school, to obtain high school credits
or a GED. Focus is on gaining competency in basic skills (English, math,
science) as well as life skills (goal setting, life planning, budgeting, check
writing), critical thinking and problem solving.
Depending on her history and diagnosis, each girl has
specific therapy goals governing anger and other mood management, behavior
management, control of anxiety and depression.
Placed in groups according to diagnosis, the girls work to process their
history and address such issues as substance abuse or sexual trauma. Each girl’s plan includes a family component
incorporating, if appropriate, baby’s father.
Group therapy takes place daily. Among other tasks, the
girls write the story of their personal past, present and future. In the process they explore how the trauma
they experienced influenced the decisions they make now and the kinds of
changes they want to make based on their new understanding. While group therapy
takes place daily, individual and family therapy (and/or therapy with baby’s
daddy) take place at least once a month, more often if needed.
Parenting education plans take on a more uniform shape. Healthy
Start, through the University of Miami, provides a formal curriculum of prenatal
care, childbirth and development, breast feeding, basic infant care, infant
safety, and the like. Equally, if not
more, important is the role of the infant mental health specialist, who teaches
the art of nurturing, which is difficult for all teenage mothers and especially
so for this population.
Like most teens, the WINGS girls tend to be egocentric,
impulsive, and lacking in sensitivity.
To compound these problems, most have had poor parental role models,
little nurturing, and poor nutrition. The
infant mental health specialist helps the girls break this pattern. While they are pregnant – when they are
feeling frightened and vulnerable and are therefore receptive – she helps them
see how their own childhood experiences harmed them and how changing the
pattern will make life better for both them and their babies. They talk about
the importance of eye contact and verbal communication with baby. The girls learn about child development,
appropriate expectation and constructive discipline. What does discipline
mean? Why don’t we hit our children? Why
do we talk to our children? What
expectations are appropriate at different ages?
While they are pregnant, the girls must write three baby
songs, and read and sing to baby. Because research shows that teen moms tend to
put their babies down and walk away, WINGS moms don’t wheel their babies in a
stroller. They carry their babies in a sling or carrier to underscore the
importance of holding baby and paying attention to her. They develop patience by learning that crying
is normal (not a reflection of their poor parenting) and how to interpret
baby’s cries. When the girls hold their
babies and peer into their eyes, their attachment and communication are
palpable.  |
| Mama and baby |
”I had a hard time with that,” she acknowledges. “I wasn’t ready to think about everything in my past, but with nothing but time and a therapist who wasn’t going to let me clam up or talk about the weather, I ended up working on issues that, if I hadn’t realized I had, would have slowly led me to my grave.”
While at WINGS, Jackie completed her GED and has been
accepted to a community college, where her four-month-old baby will receive
free childcare. Jackie plans to become a paralegal and one day a lawyer.
Monica, now out of the program for 2 years, is mature and
insightful about her past. She has
nearly completed her AA degree. Her two year old daughter is thriving, and
Monica is in a healthy, committed relationship. |
| Graduation -- A Triuimphant Moment |
WINGS, a 501 (c) (3)
not for profit organization, is an affiliate of the not-for-profit AMIKids,
Inc., which specializes in
rehabilitating troubled youth. WINGS operates with a staff of 31, including two
teachers supplied by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, a pediatrician and
two nurses, a mental health staff of 7 (4 full-time), childcare center staff,
and direct care staff, who supervise and coach the girls day and night.
Budget is just under $1 million, most of which goes to staff
salaries. Overhead consumes 15-20%. Under
contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, WINGS receives most
of its funding from the State and the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Because
the babies are not in State custody, this funding does not cover the babies’
costs. The childcare center receives
some funding from the Teenage Parent Program (TAPP), which provides childcare
financial assistance to students enrolled in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
But, says director Marcus, “There’s no way you could run your childcare on this
allocation.” To supplement government
funds, WINGS relies on private foundation grants and tax-deductible donations.
One hundred percent of these funds go directly to supporting program.
AMIKids WINGS South Florida
11000 SW 220 StMiami, Florida 33170
Office: 305-256-6275
Fax: 305-256-6278
www.wingssfl.org
