this is embarrassing. my frienmy fdsily has never gon jail. no one. right now i'm an embrassment to my family. >> i have a record of runaways. sometimes it's best to go in a place like this. it's better to get help than to stay in some place you're not wanted. >> what it's really like is hell. you want to be at home. you want to do the things you want to do. you want freedom. that's what you want.

>> i'm a little nervous. this will be my first time going to dlc. >> up against the wall. take off all your clothes. put them in this bag. >> all right. so what are you doing tomorrow with carlton white? we are transporting carlton. >> once a week staff from the lake county juvenile detention center transport kids to

facilities run by the department of corrections. >> this is the real thing. this is yes, sir, no, sir, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am. otherwise you're going to feel the wrath. they're very strict. they're very fair, but this is the way you do it. >> are you going to cuff and shackle him here or do that on intake? >> carlton white was committed to the department of corrections about a week ago. and he's going for his charge of possession of marijuana, disorderly conduct, fleeing law enforcement, and one, two, three, four violations of probation. when looking at his probation officer report, you see that he was given chance after chance to get his act together. >> in my home, it is nice, you know. i didn't have no problems. but the outside community that i was in was ridiculous. rival gangs, drugs, all that bad stuff. like a couple of days back before i came in here i got jumped by 12 guys. they just hopped out of a car like what's up, man? what you want to do today, man?

you want to smoke some weed? you want to drink some beer? let's have some fun. they look at you like what you going to be? if you don't want to be in that gang, it's a problem. >> after three stints in detention, carlton's judge sentenced him to boys' school. the toughest words a teen can hear from a juvenile judge. >> i was like, what? boys' school. why i got to go to boys' school for? all the way down in indiana. i'm like, man. that's going to be kind of hard. i ain't never been to boys' school. i'm used to this. i ain't used to boys' school. >> boys' school and girls' school is basically prison for children. it's run by the department of correction, as is the adult prisons. and the only people housed there are kids under the age of 18. going to indiana boys' school or girls' school is the worst thing we can do to them. you lose your freedom. you're in a prison.

>> got a couple of friends in logans port. they wrote me some letters and said it ain't a walk through the park. in their words, only the strong survive. >> following kids like carlton would normally be off limits to cameras. but for years msnbc has been documenting these tragic stories as they unfold in america's juvenile justice system. with extraordinary access from the indiana supreme court, we've been allowed to take our cameras inside a world where they are by law generally forbidden. >> sometimes i get mad because girls come in here for like really serious things, and me, my mom just wanted to teach me a lesson. >> 17-year-old ruby is back at lake county juvenile for the seventh time. >> i'm completely normal, you know. i'm not like crazy or anything. just because i've been here so many times and they think that i

like don't listen to my parents. i'm not going to lie and say that i'm like the perfect child, but i'm not as bad as they make me out to be. >> i've been here a number of times. i don't think they actually ever really look into why i'm here. they see that, you know, the report says run away. so they think i'm running away from my house every time, which, that's actually not the case at all, ever. >> ruby is not your typical admit that we have in here. educationalwise, she's on the ball. very intelligent. parents are divorced. they don't communicate very well. i think it's somewhat of a tug of war. >> divorce hit me really hard. i was really close to my dad. he moved out of my house. me and my mom would never get along, ever. and like my mom would never let me do anything. i was never allowed to leave my house.

just any little thing i would do, i would get the cops called. if i didn't clean my room right or something. >> i don't think she's a danger to herself. i don't think she's a danger to society. i think it's a family situation. i don't think mom has fully complied, you know, with the court. i can recall a time when the mother wouldn't come to her court date. at her detention hearing she was ordered released to her dad. the mother called and said she's a runaway. i started looking into the computer. i asked how can she be a runaway? she was released at he detention to her dad. that's not technically a runaway. the police department was getting the tired of the mom calling all the time. >> my mom turned me in for everything that i've been in here for. last time i was here for using my mom's credit card. i spent more than i was supposed to. i spent like $5,000. i was supposed to spend $500 for my birthday. and my mom called the cops on me. >> here's a family who's rich with history with calling the police every time there's a problem in their household. what she did was probably

technically a criminal act, but how about some other way of dealing with it besides calling the police? that's not what the system is designed to do. it's not designed to take care of the childrens' problems in the home when a lot of it is from lack of parental control. >> even though her own mother turned her in, ruby's parents have no control over what happens next. >> my mom, like every time she sends me here, she wants me back home, even though she's the one that sends me here. they can't do anything about it, even though it's the parents. >> once the court assumed formal jurisdiction it's not up to the parent to decide how long the child is going to be here. it's 100% up to the judge. you might find yourself in a situation that snowballs out of control as a parent. >> my heart just dropped. i was immediately scared. >> nervous.

i just don't feel right.

17-year-old carlton has a history of violating probation. as a result he has been sentenced to indiana boys' school, a juvenile prison run by the department of correction. his transfer from the lake county juvenile center is scheduled for tomorrow. >> carlton, how old are you? introduce myself. [inaudible] >> i'll be able to get my ged or diploma? >> yes, you will. my suggestion would be try to get your high school diploma. ged is good. you're young. high school diploma is the much better one. you want to go to college? absolutely. you can do it. exactly.

it's all up to you. it's not up to me, not up to the judge, not up to the probation officer. they've all tried to help you. now this is the last resort. now it's up to you, right? okay? >> i understand. >> two and a half years ago brett burkholder joined as the arts and crafts teacher. >> who wants to do work time? one guy. that's it. come on up and get your pencil. >> brett's path to lcjc is a unique one. in college he was a star basketball player at depaul university in chicago and then spent most of his career working at the chicago stock exchange. >> when i was playing for college, four of my teammates went to the nba. four were successful and graduated. four went to prison. i always had this idea of giving back. i saw this opportunity here to come work with the kids. it's just a perfect fit. and i really like it. which one you on? pistol.

did you know who pistol pete was? >> yeah, i know who played that ball. >> you got it. good job. what grade in school are you? >> 11. >> you all caught up on your credits? >> yes. i hope i can get out so i can go back to school and get the rest of them. >> can you get back and stay out of trouble? that's the key. >> yeah. i wasn't in trouble while i was there. >> while you're here. >> i'm not in trouble. >> you're not in trouble? okay. what you perceive as doing nothing is probably breaking a law, right? or hurting somebody else. i had this vision of what i could do here. people are telling me you're crazy. but i find a lot of good in the kids. especially when they open up to you. along the way i am helping kids. i really feel like i am. >> nearby in the girls' pod of lcjc, ruby has learned, too, that she will be leaving the detention center.

after seven times in the court each time after accusations from her mother, ranging from stealing to running away, ruby was placed on intensive probation. after another fight at home ruby took off and left the boundaries of lake county, a violation of probation rules. and now like carlton, ruby is headed to juvenile prison. >> i'd say most of the time when i see kids get ordered to boys' school or girls' school, it's like, yeah, that's what they need. with ruby i believe it's basically a situation domestic with the mom and the dad, and she's somewhat caught in the middle. not saying that she's innocent. just my experience with her, she's never been disrespectful. she's been nothing but pleasurable and a nice smile. so if i -- i just don't know if girls' school was the right spot for her. at the same time, if mom is going to constantly call the police and it's going to be an issue, the alternative, i don't know. that's a tough call.

>> everyone, they're like oh my gosh. your mom is crazy. i can't believe she's doing this to you. which i mean she didn't want me to go to girls' school, but because of her it's why i'm in here all the time. at first i was really, really, really upset about it. now they told me that i could be there until my 18th birthday, which is only four months away. after i go there, i'm going to be 18. you can't go to jail for running away or like coming home an hour late. so i think it's just better that i just hurry up and get this all over with and try to be more calm about it. >> being sentenced to girls' school will drastically alter ruby's immediate future. she's a senior this year. but even if she graduates, her options for college might be limited. >> i was planning on going to nyu, but that's a really, really hard school to get into. you have to have really good attendance in school too.

me coming in here so many times and missing so many days of school i have horrible attendance. i don't think they'll accept me. i have no idea what i want to do now. once you're in the system, it's really hard to get out of it. just any little thing you do, you can get put in here. you don't want to be in here. this isn't the place to be. >> lake county with one. >> hands behind your back. pull your hands up. [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

early wednesday morning, detention officers wake carlton to prepare him for his transport to juvenile prison. also known as boys' school. >> ready to rock 'n' roll? >> yes, ma'am.

most kids going to boys' school are not happy. most of them are pretty angry. they feel like their future is uncertain. they don't really know what's going to come of it. >> it's going to be a big day. i ain't never been. whatever it take me through i'm just going to go through. >> there you go. >> take care, man. >> i don't think i'm bad kid. i mean i got the power to do anything i want. i'm intelligent, smart, you know. but then again everybody messes up. we ain't perfect.

>> i've been in lcjc three times. the first time i was 13. that was overnight. so i really didn't count it. that's for runaway. >> all right. i'm ready now. >> 15-year-old paradize is also a familiar face at lake county juvenile. like carlton, paradize will soon leave lcjc for placement outside of her home. >> you've never been to placement, ever? how old are you? >> 16. >> oh, you're young. what's going on at home that you can't go home? >> i don't know. my dad and all that. >> your dad what? >> just family problems and whatnot. >> what about your mom? is she around? >> yeah. she's living with my uncle. >> do you have contact with her?

>> every so often. >> like many kids at lcjc, paradize's history includes an unstable home life. >> i don't like my dad. we never really got along. i really didn't have a father figure when i was growing up. >> a lot of the girls that are in here, they're here for running away, and they're always running away from something. it's never just like happy child running away from a happy home. there's always some sort of story behind there. they do tell you their stories. they're always very sad. >> every year the court sees thousands of kids whose behavioral problems stem from a tense family life. for paradize, the stress of being at home became overwhelming. >> i was living with my mom. she was working at the gas station. so it would be me and my three younger siblings at home while my mom works till 11:00. i just never really got used to it. i just left. like running away from my

problems basically. >> the majority of the cases are sad cases. and we need something to help these girls out. they're not getting it. somewhere along the line, they just forgot. and we go straight from them, you know, being in an unhappy home to them being in jail. like there's no in-between for them. >> i have two older sisters, one older brother, two younger sisters, and one younger brother. >> other times in lcjc, me and my sister stole from a store last year. when i ran away the second time, i robbed a house too. so they kept me here for a month. then i went home on my ankle bracelet. >> reporter: while on house arrest, paradize was closely monitored by the probation system. but it wasn't long before family drama escalated once again. >> it just got too wild. i cut off my ankle bracelet and left.

and then two weeks later i got caught and came back in here. my last court date i knew i was going to placement because i have a record of runaways. and i knew they weren't going to send me home. >> placement would be like a foster care situation. it's like group homes, residential treatment. sometimes kids have to be removed from the family setting because a they just cannot function in a home, so we separate them out so that we can really concentrate on what the issues are. >> did they tell you how long they think you're going to be there? >> three months if i'm good. but if i'm bad, i could be there six months to a year. >> when are you going to be 16? >> march 30th. >> oh, right around the corner. >> can't wait. >> the public does not see it. but you have like this picket white fence in your head, and what these kids are going through in their home life is not always positive. so to expect for them to listen

to me when i tell them you got to stay in school, listen to your mom. all that is words. i think a lot of times the kids want to do good. but depending on how their home life is set up, it's very difficult for even the strongest child to rise above and go to a positive path. >> so are you okay to going to placement? better than being here? >> mm-hmm. i'd rather be there than here. i'm actually lucky i'm in here. i'm not lucky. this ain't the place you want to be. but i'm thankful because when i was out there, i was drinking and i was smoking and having sex. when i'm in here, i'm not drinking, smoking, or having sex. so it kind of puts a lot of stress off of you instead of putting stress on you. some of the times, you know, it's best to go in a place like this and get help.

it's better to get help than stay some place a that you're not wanted. >> have a nice day. >> yep, you too. >> carlton white is on his way to logansport, indiana, for processing into juvenile prison. as a repeat offender he's been in and out of lake county detention. but boys' school is unfamiliar territory. >> if i'm there for the two weeks, where would be the next place they shift me off to? >> it's all going to depend on how you do these two weeks here. >> say if i do fantastic. >> there's a real good chance that they would do like we were discussing in the hallway, some place where you can work on a trade or ged. there's an option like that. >> education and vocational training are key elements for rehabilitating juvenile offenders. he's hoping it will have a lasting effect on his behavior in the community. >> we get them here.

they change a little bit. and then you ship them back to the same environment they came from. so what's going to happen a? their peers have a lot more influence on them than we do is what i see. >> carlton, were you ever in a gang? been pressured to be in a gang? >> yeah. >> what would they entice you with to get you into gangs? they come to when you're young, obviously? do they offer you things, they promise you things? >> so it's protection? what i do is i pray. prayer changes things. that's what i do. >> it's not always answered right away. >> not right away. but it comes. >> everybody want to know what i'm here for.

can you fight? >> i just started to cry. did not want to be here.

msnbc now, i'm vinita nair. an historic heavy storm killed three people. it brought down power lines, leaving over 2 579 mi.5 million dark. states of emergency in new jersey, new york, and massachusetts. and a california surfer attacked by a shark. it bit a 27 yltd m-year-old man neck and arm. his injuries do not appear life threatening. now back to "lookup." 17-year-old carlton is on his way to indiana boys school. a juvenile prison run by the

indiana department of correction. there he will try to reverse a lifetime of delinquent behavior learned on the streets. >> you ever lost a close friend? >> yeah, i lost a couple close friends. see, when i was little, i used to be -- i ain't going to say outrageous or like that, but i was like -- i always wanted to try to fit in. >> nearly five years ago carlton and a friend attempted to rob a home. carlton came dangerously close to the worst-case scenario. >> i was telling him, i don't think we should do this, man. he's like, man you got this far and you're going to punk out on me, man. i'm like, man, i just don't feel right. so i left. i guess about 45 minutes later police was all around the house because they been watching. he tried to run, flee, whatever. the police shot him in the back of the head. i'm thinking, man, that could have been me, man. >> they armed? >> both armed.

>> how old were you? >> i was about 12 or 13. >> 12 or 13 and you were armed? >> yeah. >> wow. >> these kids grow up so fast. it's unbelievable. i try to put myself in their place, but, really, i can't. i've never been through what they have been through, so that's hard. and i've told them that. i don't know what i would do if i was in your situation. i don't know. carlton, you were 12. i have a 12-year-old. i couldn't even fathom the thought of him carrying a gun, robbing someone, going to somebody's house. how did it get to the point where you wanted to do that? >> i was out in the streets. i wanted to make a name for myself. it was a bunch of us. like it was a crime watch neighborhood. so drug traffic, pistol-carrying. it was just crazy. it came to the point that i was

almost dead. >> i'm pretty convinced this is my last stop in the system because i see what it's like. this ain't what nobody wants really. you want freedom. that's what you want. ruby herrera did not grow up on the streets or struggle with gangs, but a life of financial privilege hasn't spared her from prison. over the past few years ruby's mother has made a habit of just using the juvenile justice system to discipline her daughter, calling the police seven times to have her arrested. regardless of whether or not the arrests were necessary, ruby's repeated stays at lcjc have finally landed her in indiana girls' school, where she could remain for another 6 to 12 months. >> my mom turned me in for everything that i've been here for. i've been to juvenile for

runaway a bunch of times because my mom called the cops on me. but i've never run away, ever. parents aren't always right. just because they're parents doesn't make them right. i am completely embarrassed to be here. my friends have never been in anyplace like this. my family has never gone to jail. no one. like right now, i'm an embarrassment to my family, to say the least. >> but upon arriving at juvenile prison, ruby had a lot more on her mind than what people back home were thinking of her. >> the ride here, at first i was kind of nonchalant about it. and then once we actually got to the gates and i saw the fenced in place in here, my heart just dropped, and i was like immediately scared. i thought i was going to come here and get raped because i heard that all the girls here were lesbians, and i thought people were going to want to beat me up because i'm smaller.

i just thought horrible things. horrible, horrible things. oh my gosh. i want to go back to county. i just started crying. i did not want to be here. >> luckily for ruby, the reality of life in girls' school did not live up to the horrors of her imagination. nevertheless, she's spending her last and most important days of high school incarcerated, something that could haunt her for years to come. >> i thought i was going to be going to mexico for spring break and getting a car. i thought my senior year was going to be my best year ever. not at all. >> while being locked up at girls' school, ruby will be able to earn credits toward her high school diploma a. >> we have a regular high school so a child can earn credits, just like they would in a normal high school. >> if ruby does well in her program, she could be released in as little as four months. time to enjoy the last half of her senior year.

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as the months have passed for ruby, her 18th birthday, thanksgiving, and christmas have all been spent behind bars. originally she was on track to get out of prison and back in high school for the final half of her senior year. that release date came and went. >> i was supposed to get out in january. but i kind of slipped up a little, and i got two jcrs in a week. juvenile conduct report.

and it's basically like the worst thing you could get here. one of them was for bringing pictures to school, which was contraband. the other one was for failure to comply. >> though ruby came to juvenile prison resigned to her fate and hopefully to return to high school, the frustration of being sent to prison and spending months locked up eventually took its toll and ruby began acting out. >> i was really upset. i felt like i was going through so much. everyone was just making me mad. i wanted to do whatever i wanted to do. >> now, ruby is being faced once again with what it will be like to go back to her home. >> i missed my entire senior year of high school. i can't make up for it. it sucks looking at your friends going to colleges. nyu, liola.

i mean, i wish i could be that that position right now. >> finally after eight months inside the razor wire fences, today ruby will go home. even though i'm in here because of my mom, no one else is going to take care of me but my parents. i have to go to them. i'm happy to go home to them. this is the worst place to be. i mean it's prison. it can't get any worse than that. >> take care of yourself, okay? >> i will. i'll miss you. i'm glad you're going home. >> i am nervous because i've been here for so long that i don't know if i'm going to know how to react to certain situations, like just getting up to get something to eat whenever you want. that will be weird. >> over the course of her eight-month stay ruby has gotten used to life in a confined, highly structured environment. >> it's overwhelming. i mean i am so happy to go home, but i met so many people here. i'm going to miss them. i mean you get attached to them. >> ruby's high school friends

are ready to graduate and move on. now ruby is going to leave her new friends behind. >> i'm going to miss you guys. >> don't be sad. >> it's going to be sad. >> i don't want to go yet. i didn't mean to make you cry. >> i was going to cry anyways. >> who's going to be mean to me all the time? >> i wasn't mean to you. who am i going to pull around? >> i think people think just because you come here and they tell you, you're not here to make friends, blah, blah, blah. really no one comes in here with the thought of wanting to make friends, but some things just happen. >> eight months ago ruby was arrested and eventually sent to

juvenile prison. now in the early morning hours of her last day at girls' school, ruby waits for her mother to arrive so she can be released. >> ruby! it's now 9:15. your mom hasn't showed up. i had to explain to her she will be on her way shortly. i don't understand why her mom would not be here. supposed to be here at 8:00 in the morning. >> oh, yes. she's going to be here at 2:30? i knew it. is there any way to get ahold of her and tell her to be here at 2:30? >> i was pretty shocked when i approached her with it she was excited. she wanted to not leave until 2:30 anyway. >> she hasn't even left yet. >> i knew it. she's so lazy. >> after a few more hours with her friends, ruby's moment finally arrives.

>> don't forget about me. >> bye. >> i've come to the conclusion that my mom, even though i think she's too strict on me, i know i'm a better person now than what i was before i came here. i've gotten to know myself better. everything i have at home i should be grateful for. not take anything for granted. >> i can't wait to see her. she's probably big. >> ruby's mom is five months' pregnant, so ruby has another sibling to look forward to. >> i hope we can make it work for real this time. i believe in her. i believe in god. i know that everything is going to be okay. >> if you were to come see me in

another year, i hopefully would be in college. i would be a freshman. i'd have a job. i'd have another brother because my mom will have a baby then. and i won't have split ends. and that's about it, i think. i hope i'll be doing really, really well. i think i am.