On May 19, 11th Judicial District Judge Verity Gentry hosted a Courts Training all-day workshop for individuals and entities who work with Sabine Parish Juvenile Court.
The Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training offered evidence-based research developed at Texas Christian University which provides tools for positive outcomes when dealing with youth who have been abused or neglected, who have faced unusual adversity, who may lack healthy home and parental structures, or have experienced other traumas which impact brain and biological development, belief systems and behaviors.
Invited to attend the course were judges, attorneys, Dept. of Children and Family Services staff, Court staff, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Families in Need of Services (FINS) staff. Sabine Supt. of Schools Shane Wright, First Assistant District Attorney Anna Garcie, Sabine FINS Officer Kem Jones and Student Services Director Kristy Brumley all attended the session in addition to some 20 more court-involved staff, law enforcement and others who interact regularly with Sabine Juvenile Court.
The information and tips shared offered techniques to intervene and correct “relational trauma,” defined as abuse, assault, interpersonal violence; familial physical, social, emotional abuse and incest; molestation; severe bullying; physical, medical and emotional neglect; witnessing domestic violence; and disruptions in care due to a young person’s caregiver having mental illness, substance abuse, criminal involvement, or the youth experiencing abrupt separation and loss.
Attendees learned scientific correlations of trauma’s impact on young people’s brains, bodies, beliefs and behaviors, as well as TBRI techniques to intervene, build trust and help correct the negative impacts caused by childhood trauma.
“Whether it’s truancy, delinquency, ungovernability, substance use, child maltreatment, [or] mental health issues, trauma was the one thread that wove its way through all of this,” Caddo Parish Chief Juvenile Judge David Matlock commented. “The understanding of relational trauma was the thread running through so many of the problems we see in society.”
The course taught engagement and connecting strategies which, when used, have been shown to result in not only a drop in juvenile cortisol “fight or flight” levels, but increased trust and compliance toward authorities, school and court systems, law enforcement and others involved in juvenile correction.
“I am committed to the youth of Sabine Parish and to the safety of all of our citizens,” Judge Gentry noted. “We must find good solutions to meet the needs of our youth, including their need for structure and safety within their families, to break unhealthy trauma cycles which result in juvenile delinquency. I thank everyone who attended today for working with me to do all we can for a brighter, safer future in Sabine.”
TBRI Program Director Lucinda Miles of Shreveport helped lead the session. She is a TBRI practitioner, life coach and author of “Disciple of Joy, an Interactive Spiritual Journal.” She also works closely with Caddo Parish Juvenile Court and has trained hundreds of parents, caregivers and stakeholders across Louisiana in TBRI Caregiver strategies.
Also helping lead the training course offered by Judge Gentry was Anna Palmer, Founder, Executive Director and TBRI Trainer of Crossroads NOLA in New Orleans.