he's a very dangerous person and he needs to remain detained. >> man, swear to god, man. >> i am telling you that that is the option. >> and i'm telling you if i go back to that school, i'm definitely going to violate my probation. >> and what's that supposed to mean? >> he reached out, had a gun, had it in my chest. >> if two years of placement didn't help you change your ways, i'm not so certain any more time here is going to do anything for you. so today what i'm going to do is -- >> i have a lot of years to live. if i keep messing around with this, i'm going to end up dead or in jail.

i want to go home, man. i want to go home, man. i can't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. >> you made a wrong decision. okay? but it's not the end of the world. you'll get over this, you know? you're not supposed to like it here. this isn't the hill. >> unfortunately what he wants is just to be with mom. what every kid wants, you know. and it has him very upset.

>> it's the brothers. you two are brothers? >> some weeks ago, we had did some stuff over at the bus station, but they just now coming to get us. >> there are few places in this world more tightly secured than the closed confines of america's juvenile justice system. but for some kids, the revolving door of lockup seems to snag one generation after the next. >> my dad, he's not there. so right now, my mom and my six sisters and my nieces and any fews, and my brother, and they don't have know man of the house to teach them what's right or what's wrong. it has been hard. >> 30 miles south of chicago, this judge presides over a numbing juvenile docket. 3200 cases this year alone.

it's her job to make sure that the kids who come to this detention center in court complex leave here and forget there's even an option of graduating to the adult prison system. >> i think some children are just born into a situation that's a bad one, and in some neighborhoods, it's almost like do unto others before they do unto you. and for those who weren't raised in those types of neighborhoods, it is difficult to understand. sometimes it's just survival that they get out there and have to perpetrate before they're perpetrated against. >> for years msnbc has been documenting the tragic stories that unfold in america's juvenile justice system. with extraordinary access from the indiana supreme court, we're about to go inside a world where cameras are, by law, forbidden go. >> you guys are the world's dumbest criminals. we caught you on video. >> they've been doing this over a three-month period. two of the cars were ransacked. two are on each street corner

watching that the police won't come. what they failed to understand is there are cameras. all we had do was put the face with a name. >> they had a picture of me. they asked my mom. she said no. they said they were about to lie for telling the police. my mom is on probation too. they said as long as i turn myself in, they won't give my mom sick years. i'm very mad at myself. i wish i would have never done the things that i did. >> is it kenneth or con trel. >> >> con trel. >> they hail from a two-time murder capital of the world. merry than two-thirds live below the poverty level. >> you know there's a good

chance you're going go home on monday. >> why. >> because you're currently on probation and you have an older complaint. that may be the case, but as far as come monday when court and the judge makes the decision whether or not you go home, there's a good chance you need to know that. >> many times intake department staff see the same faces over and over again, despite kids' previous promises they'll never return to the system. >> this is your sixth complaint. no, actually this will be your seventh complaint. you just left here and that is what, two weeks later and you're here. he has like a quiet reserve about him. and for somebody that has like a history like that, like his disposition doesn't add up. >> i'm looking at your history here, and i see that you first got arrested when you were 11 years old. >> yes. >> his dad is incarcerated for dealing crack, he said. >> and then a month later you were arrested for mischief,

battery, consumption, intimidation, robbery, and theft. mom, you know, there's ten kids. that's a large family. i've been here, so that tells me, you know, he's seen a lot. there's more to the story. ellen did the intake on your brother, and he's telling me you excellently shot him in the stomach last year. >> that's when i was 11. >> that's when you were 11 that you accidentally did that? wow? >> that's what got me into the juvenile system. >> oh. do you still thing about that? >> always. >> go ahead and walk on the right side of the hall. he don't know how this is. he ain't never been in a situation like this where he had to come here and do no days ahead. he don't know,000 react in here. he don't know what to do and the consequences and stuff whenever

you do something bad in here. >> read these rules. his brother is here as well. so i'm not sure where you want to put him at. >> he's still a little kid. he don't need to be in here. >> take the boxers off too, go ahead. squat down and cough twice. that's right. squat down and cough twice. like that. squat down. cough twice. >> i can't put him over there with his brother. >> put his brother on the lowerer side. >> we want to keep them separated so that when court comes they can't get their stories to match, they can't lie. so that's why we keep them separated. so he won't see his brother until his court date. >> to paint a richer picture of lake county indiana and its juvenile delinquency population, you have to head to the blue collar town of hobart. the median household income may be twice that of neighboring

gary, but juvenile crime does not discriminate. >> he had a bench warrant. he failed to appear in court. he had a criminal mischief and two counts of violation of probation. his mother was present, his probation officer was present, but he was not, so -- >> i was walking down the street and i had a bench warrant for not paying a warrant and a cop knew me by face and turned around and picked me up. >> the nurse said you could have an extra blanket to roll up to keep your arm up while you're in your room. >> all right. >> well, he just told me when i asked what had happened to his arm that he was robbed a drug dealer, and he stated that he was trying to be good to keep the drugs off the street. >> well, i have a reputation as a drug dealer, a gang member, just a bad kid. i'm under 18. this should just be dropped, won't it?

>> no, no. that's what juveniles think. it's up to the judge. he didn't come to court saying i'm turning 18, everything's going to be dropped. that's the misconception these juveniles have. they think once they're 18, everything goes awaying and that's not the truth. >> you're not really behaving yourself right now. >> yeah, i am. i ain't got in no trouble in a couple of months. >> beside this. >> i ran away from home when i was 17, just wasn't talking to my mom, wasn't getting along real well, and so i didn't go to the court date because i wasn't at home. >> tell me exactly what happened to your arm. >> one of my boys told me that this drug dealer was trying to get with his lady, so i had his lady set him up. i was going to rob him and take his weed. >> why would you have the lady set him up. >> because he was trying to get with her, so then she called him over and said that her boy wanted some weed, and when she gave him a hug, i started hitting him. >> hitting him with what? your first? >> yeah.

and then he pulled a gun out from under the seat and shot me. >> and they decided not to charge you with attempted robbery? >> i like to see how close i can get to getting caught without getting caught. that's kind of what i like. >> that's stupid. you're blackmailing me. i know you're not going do. that's stupid, mom. >> you being here wasn't that. >> that wasn't a stray bullet. that was a purposeful act in response to something devin was doing of a criminal nature. [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8. nick, what are you doing? oh, there's still a few more days of chevy's giving more. got to stay loose. how do you do it? i have my little helpers. boop. oh. [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] hurry in to chevy's giving more. these savings are almost over. now very well qualified lessees can sign and drive the chevy cruze ls

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from 1995 to 2002, juvenile arrest rates for robbery dropped a staggering 62%. unfortunately that statistic didn't last. by 2006 robbery rates for juveniles jumped 43% from their all-time low. >> what? i was driving, dude, got the lead, started stealing off him. he reaches over the seat, pulls

out a gun, had it aimed at my chest, but i moved at the last minute, and it hit me in the arm. >> it is not an armed robbery that has devon starky this time. this 18-year-old an adult in the eyes of the law is seeing a judge for failing to appear at his last court hearing when he was still a kid. he's walking a fine line. the judge could dismiss him monday from the juvenile system or take the extreme system of waving him to adult court. >> i had multiple violations. i have been locked up three of the past four years. three of the past four years. that's a lot of my childhood. >> you got to be tired of this, man. >> i done seen this guy four or five times. he's basically one of those incidents where practically raised the kid. >> teenage years down the drain. this is the time i'm supposed to have the most fun of my life.

i have been inside these damn cells. >> i seen a lot of kids come in and out of the system, a lot of them i got close to that have unfortunately got killed. different situations whether it be something they initiated or being in the wrong place at the wrong time. >> this gunshot wound, man, that kind of turned me around. made me kind of thing, man, i was this close to being killed and i'm only 18. i want to do something with my life. i'm tired of coming into this damn place. >> while boys represent nearly three-quarters of all juvenile arrests, girls aren't immune to the system. >> there's a lot more male residents than female since i have been here eight years ago, it has always been like that. we may have ten girls to 80 boys. >> nationally girls make up only about a quarter of the juvenile population, but 58% of all runaway cases involve girls.

>> i know if i were you, i would probably want to go home, shower, and put on some of my own clothes. >> my own underwear. >> my own underwear, and a bra that fits. >> this 15-year-old is serving time in detention for running away, resisting arrests. like clock work, her mom shows up for visitation every night, hoping she can get through to sidney before her approaching court date. >> why are you picking them? >> because i feel like it. >> why are you so angry? >> i'm not. i'm playing with the orange piece of thread. >> so if you do get out, what are we going to do? >> well, i'm probably going to be -- it's not like i'm going to be here forever. i'm getting out soon. >> and then you can go back to school shortly after that. >> i told you i'm not going back to highland. i told you the one school i will not go to is highland. >> that's the one school district we live in.

>> so? >> again, there's no alternatives. >> yeah, there is. i'll go to any alternative school. i don't want to go to highland. i hate everyone in it. >> i am telling you that that was the option at this point. i'm telling you if i go back to that schooling i'm definite going to violate my probation. >> what is that supposed to mean? >> don't worry about it. >> no, i am worried about that. what's that supposed to mean? >> don't worry about it. >> you know you can't go to the judge with that attitude. >> you're not black mailing me. you're not going to do it. that's stupid, mom. >> you being here isn't? >> not really. >> juvenile courts are set up to allow kids to do certain things in their life that they later don't have to have held against them, you know, like making the mistake for the first time, and okay, let's shake it off, move on, and that's hopefully what a juvenile court does for kids who have a harder time figuring out what the right path is. ♪

>> i can't stop getting behind the wheel, like i was walking down the street, i seen somebody left the keys in the ignition, i took that car too. >> a need for speed. >> people who was in places like this ain't just bad kids, they just make bad choices at that time. >>ual, i've been in two high-speed chases. three, four. >> do something bad, because we get bored, ain't got no type of activities, no clubs, no fun centers or nothing out here. that's why people, they just trying to have fun, even though it's breaking the law. they think of it as having fun. >> how many guys are ready to make a change in your life today? i want you to raise your hand and hold it differently. >> every day i think about how to survive when i go outside. if i'm going to be able to come

back home piece peacefully. >> but you know what? the minute you show up at someone's house and someone pops a cold brew in your face, what are you going to do? exactly. we got one honest person in here. >> i need to be in different environment, less violence happening, less bad activities going on in the neighborhood. that's where i think i need to be. >> i acknowledge, lord, that you've done everything for me by dying on the cross. by raising from the dead. >> been through so many of these court dates. i don't know. i mean, right now, in my head it's a 50/50, detained or released. i mean you think about it.

a judge, the prosecutor, that's a lot of people to go against me when you're just by yourself. when you sleep in here, you always think about what's going to happen in court, like what they going to say, what they going to do to you, if they going to detain you or if they going to release you. >> i can't be doing this. i'm 18 years old. i got a lot of years to live, and if i keep messing around with this, i'm going to end up dead or in jail. >> i know, kenneth, you want to leave, and i'd like to give you break here, but in light of this is your sixth referral to this court in the year of 2008 -- ragu for years. [ thinking ] i wonder what other questionable choices i've made? [ '80s dance music plays ] [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. yeah, our low prices are even lower. we need to teach her how to walk. she is taking up valuable cart space. aren't you, honey?

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as sunday morning breaks over crown point, indiana, the kids inside lake county juvenile center wake up to face another 24 hours without freedom, family, or friends. the kids who were arrested friday have to wait until monday to see the judge. >> here you always think about your court dates, you think

about what's going to happen in court, like what they going to say, what they going to do to you. >> luckily for 17-year-old kenneth and his 14-year-old brother kentrell who is also here at lake county juvenile, they are not alone in their desire to be released and sent home. attorney don ruck represents kids in court. >> i think the perception or misperception of juvenile court is that it is similar to the adult court. the reality is that the system is much more concerned about getting kids rehabilitated and giving kids an opportunity to not have this happen again as opposed to just locking somebody up. one of the challenges we're going to have is convincing the court and the judge in particular that despite you having been here before and not learned your lesson that you're going to learn your lesson this time, and not get into trouble again. so kentrell, help me understand some of the things that are going on in your life that help demonstrate that. >> playing ball. >> where do you play ball at? >> at the court.

>> tell me a little about that. what do you do, what position do you play? >> i just play ball. >> and what else do you do besides playing basketball? >> chill. >> i just wish, you know, he hadn't got himself into this. he's still a little kid. i pray every day i hope he get out. >> i know you're a quiet person. you have to make a decision if you want to stay in here or not, because it will put both you guys on the stand, ask you guys some questions, and the prosecutor's going to have a chance to ask you guys some questions. she is tough. her job is to protect society from people who commit crimes and people who commit crimes repeatedly. that's what she sees in you two right now, okay, let's be frank. if the judge thinks you're an on-going threat and you're still a danger, get used to this place.

>> what you doing? >> a bench warrant. >> what did you get the bench warrant for? >> not go to court. >> that's what i'm talking about. what you not go to court for? >> probation. >> what were you on probation for? >> i been on probation like five years. >> five years? >> i'm not really too worried about these court dates. i don't know. now that i'm 18, legally they can't hold me no more than 120 days. as soon as i get this legal trouble out of the way, i know i'm going have a good life. i have all the essential tools and capabilities to carry me anywhere i want go, but it's just me finding a way to use them. >> monday morning means court is back in session. those detained downstairs in the

detention center are shackled for their own safety and the safety of those bringing them to the juvenile court wing. >> no talking in the hallway. >> on judge bonaventura's docket, two different but equally heavy hearings. the case of two brothers who have been in detention over and over, but still could face years in the juvenile system. and then there's devin who at 18 will stand in the judge's courtroom one last time. if he gets locked up again, it will be an adult jail. >> i wish i could go back to when i was 10 years old with the knowledge i have now. i could be anywhere if i wouldn't have messed with the drugs. >> do you think your kids can come home with you today? >> i want them to come home, but it's for the best. >> i said, no, i can't do that. i can't let you in the house. and then i found out he was shot. visit us... in louisiana. visit us... they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama...

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here's what's happening. police hope a security camera can help them solve a series of fires. a half a dozen cars were set on fire new year's eve, totaling 356789 it's guesting nasty. newt gingrich said today, quote, mitt romney would buy the election if he could. romney has pointed out gingrich has raised quite a bit of money himself. now back to "lockup." >> it's court day at lake county juvenile, and though this hearing is not open to the public, indiana court has given us special privileges to see what's going on behind closed doors at the juvenile detention center. today, judge bonaventure decides which kids will be detained and which will go home with their parents. >> ken, i want to let you know i talked this morning with your sister. apparently your mother was

having some hypertension or high blood pressure, some heart problems this morning, can't be here today. i don't know if she went to the hospital or what the circumstances are, but i talked to your sister, and your sister supposedly is coming, although she was supposed to be here at 8:30 and she is not here yet. it's now about noon. so that's the update on things. is there something you want me to tell your sister when i talk to her again? she's supposed to call me back in a few minutes. >> tell her she needs to bring my mom up here. i need my mom up here. >> i'll let her know. hang tight a little longer. we'll see if either your mother or your sister can get here and we can get to court, okay?

come on, man. come on, guys. best behavior. if you don't act right in court, no way a judge is going to trust you to behave in society, okay? on the left, on the left side here. your sister is here. >> raise your right hand, please. do you swear or affirm that the testimony given today is the truth, nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> yes. >> please be seated. >> do you have any witnesses to call on behalf of the boys? >> i call octavia to the stand. your mother is not here. >> yes. >> tell us for what reason. my mom has been going through high blood pressure and she's just been diagnosed with cancer. she was sick last night, and i had to take her to the hospital. and from that point i have to stay with the kids. >> how many other brothers and sisters do you have? >> besides aunts? >> yes. >> right now there are nine. >> are you the oldest?

>> i'm the oldest girl, yes. >> is your dad in the picture. >> he was until about four months ago. he's incarcerated. kenneth is the one that's been the man of the house, you know, he is really our backbone. >> no questions, judge. >> ken, we spoke yesterday about what the court is here today to decide, that is whether you should stay detained or whether you should be released. >> i should be released because i know i ain't a bad kid, i ain't no harm to nobody. i just made a bad decision at that moment, and i know i did something wrong, but i know i could fix it. now i know that life is serious and life is about me being at home, being with my family than being locked up. >> kenneth, how many times have you been on probation with this court? >> twice. >> are you on probation right now? >> yes. >> is getting involved in criminal acts a violation of probation?

>> yes, ma'am. >> i have no further questions, judge. >> as related to kentrell, this is his fourth criminal delinquency. presently he has an attempted robbery. that would be a b felony if he were an adult. criminal recklessness, that would be a d felony. and attempted robbery is a b felony that tells me either a winnipeg was used or a victim was seriously injured. as related to kenneth gant, this is his sixth criminal delinquency referral. he is obviously not following the rules of probation. i ask they both remain detained as serious dangers to this community. >> judge, a preference in any case like this when children are being detained, rather than stay locked up they go home, and i would suggest to the court to release them home. it may not be the home that we all think is the best environment, but it's their home.

>> the probation officer has weighed in and has indicated to the court that he feels both boys should be detained as a danger to the community because of the repeated acts of delinquency. what i'm going to do today is order that they remain detained, pending the next hearing. any questions? >> no, judge. >> then these hearings are adjourned. these are two boys, certainly the younger brother following in the older brother's footsteps. the oldest boy, six times he has been detained here, six times. and the mom is not here today, and she may or may not be ill, i have no idea. there's no supervision, and i think tomorrow they would be out on the street. they don't know any different. if six incarcerations don't change your behavior, one overnighter is not going to do it. i think eventually they will end up hurting somebody, if not

themselves. >> both staying, detained. >> going to bonaventure. >> state your name, please. >> devon starky. >> how old are you, devon? >> i'm 18. >> all right. we're here today because devon was arrested on a bench warrant which was issued by this court. it says here devon starky's whereabouts have been unknown by lake county juvenile probation department. further that he has failed to attend his court ordered counseling. and lastly, that he failed to attend an educational program on a regular basis. all right. want to have a seat up here, please? >> you were ordered by the court to attend counseling, is that correct? >> yes, ma'am. >> did you attend counseling? >> i had left the home and was trying to live on my own, so i didn't attend from april to june. >> let's talk about why you left the home. why did you leave your mother's home? >> the reason i left, we started getting into arguments. i was getting into a little bit of trouble.

i started smoking weed again and i left the home because i was scared that when i did go to court, these would be brought up, and i would end up getting in trouble. >> what were you thinking that was going to happen to this case, devon? >> i was thinking upon my 18th birthday, it would just be dropped, but as the case is, it isn't. >> as it relates to your arm in the sling, what happened to you, devon? >> well, while i was on my own, i was hanging with the wrong group of people, i got myself into a situation where i got shot. >> so you are very lucky that you're alive, aren't you? >> yes, ma'am. >> you indicated that you wanted to take devon home with you today? >> yes, i do. >> do you think he learned his lesson this time? >> i really do. he almost died. i almost lost my son. i had to give him some tough love. and my tough love was he couldn't come home, and for two weeks prior to him being shot, he came to me for two weeks, begging mom, please, let me come home, please, i'll straighten

up, mom, please, and i wouldn't let him. i said no. i can't do that. i can't let you in the house. and then i find out he was shot. >> so on this monday, the judge has found it is in the best interest for kenneth and kentrell to be detained until the next court hearing. will devon's mother's pleas and his age be enough to convince the judge it is time for him to come home? >> he is on the verge of doing something horrible in his life and taken from you forever or on the verge of turning that corner. oh, hi, yes...wow, you really went all out on the decorations, huh?! yeah, but i'm so slow taking them down after all the fatty holiday food. but that's normal. what do you mean that's normal? it doesn't have to be. to me, normal, means feeling good inside. not slow. try some activia. activia helps with occasional irregularity, when eaten 3 times a day. keep a video diary and let me know about your new normal.

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in 1998, mary beth bonaventura advocated for the building in this courthouse to replace the original facility. her demand, better facilities for kids and families. >> the family support in these hearings or in general with the

kids, whether in the hearing or outside the hearing is monumental. i think if there was one single thing i could point to to be able to predict the success or failure of a young person is the family involve management and support. >> sounds like for about four years now the court has been involved not only with his life but obviously your life as well. >> uh-huh. >> and so he's turned 18 now. you're a family that's had a lot of intervention and pretty quickly here there will be none. >> we are there to back him up 100%. i do have a lot of family support. everybody is pulling for him, you know. but he has to pull for himself. >> judge, i'm really torn. everybody is tap dancing around the shooting of devon. that wasn't a stray bullet that entered his arm. that was a purposeful act in response to something devon was doing of a criminal nature, but we also have problems with he's an adult now.

if he sits here for three or four months, i don't know what that's going do for him. >> i don't either. i agree 120 days here, if two years in placement didn't help you change your ways, i'm not so certain that any more time here is going to do anything for you, but hopefully getting shot in the arm has. you know, everything happens for a reason, at least i believe it does. today what i'm going to do is -- today i'm going to grant this petition to modify your probation, and e-mail going to order that you be released to the custody of your mother today. >> thank you. >> and i order you are released from probation, all right? >> thank you. >> any questions? >> no, ma'am. >> this hearing is adjourned. >> thank you. >> i was a little surprised that she gave me one last break. >> if he was 14, i would be doing something totally different, i'm sure. >> you got a good break. >> i know. >> how long have i known you now. you have been coming here since you were this big when i first met you, 13 or 14.

>> we've done all we can do. he needs to begin his adult life and accept the consequences for whatever his actions become now in his adult life. >> are you going home? >> yes. >> huh? >> hope so. >> you hope so? >> i been hanging in. i been praying every day, reading the bible every day. >> what's your p.o. saying? >> i don't know. >> did they give you a recommendation? >> i don't know. what i think would be fair if she gave me and my brother one more chance, but anything but boys school placement and lake county jail.

>> call your first witness. >> judge, i call kentrell's mother to the stand. >> the brothers' chances of being released are greater now that their mother is in court. there are no juries in the system. the judge has the final say what's best for the kids and the community. >> are you able to take ken and kentrell home today and provide the oversight and support they would need if released today? >> yes. >> tell us how would you be able to provide the structure to your sons so that they wouldn't get in any more trouble. >> for one, i'm going to keep them in the house because i don't want to see them on the streets, and i don't want them to get hurt, and i don't want them to do the wrong things. i been trying to teach them, but they goes out in the streets and they listen to their friends and get in trouble.

but i want them to come home because their brothers and sisters miss them too. >> anything else you would like to say? >> no. >> miss gant, what are you going to do differently. he's had four referrals to the juvenile court this year alone. >> i'm going to take control over them. >> how are you going to do that? >> i'm going to be a harder parent. >> so you don't have any plan in action for it to change. you just think it is going to change. >> no, i know it is going to change. >> what is the plan of action? >> i'm going to put my foot down. >> so you didn't before? you just let them do what they wanted before? >> no. i didn't let them do pretty much anything they want do. i tell them to do the right thing, but they've taken it on themselves to do what twhanlt do when they outside my house. when they in my house, they do what i tell them to do. >> so kenneth defies you. >> sometimes. >> i have no further questions.

>> the probation department is recommending that they remain detained and be ordered to complete a psychological evaluation. also in the neighborhood, i talked to mom about this, a lot of gang activity on the street they live on, and i believe that they are affiliated with the gangs, a lot of drug-related activity as well. i discussed that with her. i strongly recommend they remain detained pending the psychological evaluations. >> anything else? >> yes, judge. regarding kentrell, the state would definitely concur with mr. smith's recommendation. he is a very dangerous person, and he needs to remain detained. as far as mr. gant, state also feels he's a very dangerous person, and i think the court cannot take the chance he may cause another person harm and he needs to remain detained as a danger to the community also. >> judge, we agree with the psychological component of the recommendation, but i would like the opportunity to argue that they should no longer be

detained while the case pends. >> the decision is not an easy one for the judge, and answers won't come overnight. services need to be ordered, placement options explored, and ultimately she must decide if it is in everyone's best interest to send the boys home while all this is in motion. >> well, today of course the court will order that both boys have a psychological evaluation. i know kenneth that you want to leave. i read the letter you wrote to the court about your girlfriend having a baby soon. i'm certain you would like to be there as you told me in your letter, and i would like to give you a break here, but in light of this is your sixth referral in the year of 2008, the court's going to order that you remain detained pending your next hearing and that you may be a danger to yourself and the community. as relates to kentrell, the court also orders him remain detained, this is his fourth referral to the court, these are serious charges, and for all those charges. and for all of those reasons the court may find that he may be a danger to himself and the

community and both are detained pending the next hearing on september 5th. all right. this hearing's adjourned. thank you. i don't like anybody to be in pain. certainly not kids. i love them. i've been doing this job for 26 years. the work is heartbreaking. but there is no more work that's more important than the work in a juvenile court. >> i can't do it. i can't do it, man. [ child 2 ] i call first player. no. i already called it. [ dad ] nobody's playing anything until after we get our homework done. thank you. hello? test drive's not over yet. [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. [ louder ] hello? but we still need your signature. right now during sign then drive, it's never been easier to get the all-new passat, the 2012 motor trend car of the year, for practically just your signature. that's the power of german engineering. visit vwdealer.com.

>> several weeks ago, we ordered a psychological evaluation to be completed. both of those evaluations were completed. with kentrell, we did decide that, at this time in the best

interest of the community and for himself, that he be placed in a residential treatment facility. >> with respect to kenneth, tell us about your recommendations. >> we also agreed that had he needs residential placement to meet his needs. >> you're not recommending that they go home with their mother? >> not at this time. >> that's all i have, judge. >> all right. >> i have no further questions. >> did you want to speak or no? >> i can't. >> you want to try? i can ask you the questions very simply. judge, i call their mother very briefly just for a couple quick questions. now, you understand that there's a recommendation that both of your sons be placed in a residential placement for the purpose of receiving a variety

of services and educational tools and things like that? >> yes. >> what did you want to say with respect to those options? do you think your kids can come home with you today or should they -- >> it's for the best. i want them to come home, but if they need help, i agree with that. >> you will just leave it to the court to decide? >> yes. >> that's all i have, judge. >> thank you. you may have a seat back there. >> judge, there's no argument that kentrell needs some type of therapeutic placement. the psychological evaluation shows that kentrell has significant mental health needs. my problem with kenneth is that he's committed numerous acts of delinquency.

that's what indiana boy school is meant to address. then you factor in that he's had counseling provided to him, and he hasn't been terribly aminable to the counseling. he has a track record and the track record isn't very good at this point. you know, it's a serious matter for this court to decide that it's going to invest itself in a child to the extent that this county and this court is being asked to invest themselves in kenneth, and i don't see that there's going to be a lot of bang for our buck, to be perfectly honest. i think he's a dangerous person. i think he should be committed to indiana boy school. >> well, i would agree that i think indiana boy school can address a lot of the issues that kenneth is facing. i know this much, if he were in the adult system, he would not be able to receive the treatment

and the rehabilitation and the services that the juvenile court is designed to provide to children like kenneth and like kentrell. the state and the taxpayers are going to pay whether we send them to the department of correction or we send them to placement. maybe we won't get the bang for the buck, as you've described it, but i'm going to still put my faith in the juvenile court system in that i think we can do and do a better job with kids than the adult system can do, and going to jail is going to do for him. i would love nothing more than to send both boys to you home. i think you as a mom, why you're crying your heart out back there, knows that's not the right thing right now. kenneth is on the verge. he's on the verge of doing something either really horrible in his life and taking him away from you forever, or he's on the verge of maybe being able to turn the corner. maybe if we hold his hand and help him turn that corner, he'll be able to do that. today, i'm going to make him a ward of a court in order that he placed appropriately.

i will set his matter for review in three months in any event. as it results to kentrell, i think this is a young man that probably the juvenile court system was designed for in some respects. i couldn't let him walk away from us without trying to get him to a point where he's at least literate and can function in some type of a job. today the court is going to make him a ward of the court in order that he be placed at idtc, the indiana developmental training center in indianapolis. all right, then this hearing is adjourned. thank you. >> man, they don't care about us, man. that is [ bleep ]. this is [ bleep ]. i can't do it, man.

>> i really, truly feel that this was the time for us to intervene, and it's sort of like now or never situation for them. they're either going to get the help now or they're never going to get the help.