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>> THIS IS MY CELL.
I LIKE IT.
>> WHEN JAY WAS CAUGHT DOING
*** AT 15 HE SAYS HE COULDN'T
SEE PAST THE DRUG.
>> I LOVED IT I LOVED EVERYTHING
ABOUT IT.
IT WAS THE GREATEST RUSH I EVER
FELT ALL IN ONE BOWL, YOU KNOW.
I LOVED THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO
EAT.
I LOVED I DIDN'T HAVE TO SLEEP.
WHEN THE PERSON CAUGHT ME SAID I
LOOKED DEAD.
I REMEMBER TELLING HER SHE
SHOULD OF LET ME DIE.
I DIDN'T SEE MY LIFE CLEAN.
>> AT THE TIME OF THE FILMING
JAY WAS CLEAN.
JAY WHO DIDN'T WANT TO USE HIS
REAL NAME HAS HAD A YEAR AND A
HALF IN TREATMENT.
WHEN HE WAS FIRST LOCKED UP HE
WAS 108.
NOW ALMOST 18 AND LEAN ESQUE
WEIGHS 160 POUNDS.
>> I'M VERY NERVOUS.
BECAUSE I KNOW THE ADDICTION IS
STILL IN THERE.
I DON'T WANT TO DISAPPOINT.
MYSELF AGAIN.
I SEE MYSELF DOING GOOD.
I SEE MYSELF HIGH, THIS IS THE
LAST TIME, THIS IS THE LAST
TIME.
USUALLY IT ENDS UP WITH ME BACK
DOING IT AGAIN.
>> AND BACK IN DETENTION.
HE'S TURNING 18 WHICH MEANS IF
HE'S CAUGHT AGAIN HE WILL BE
THROWN IN WITH ADULTS.
>> I WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN
LIFE.
YOU KNOW, I WANT TO MAKE MONEY
THE RIGHT WAY.
I DON'T WANT TO, I DON'T WANT TO
FAIL.
I WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE, FINISH
HIGH SCHOOL, GO TO COLLEGE AND
BE A PAIR MED ILL I CAN AND HELP
PEOPLE.
>> I LIVE HEALTHY AND HAPPY.
THEY HAVE SEEN ME.
THE STAFF KNOWS HOW BAD IT WAS.
I'M DOING THIS FOR ME.
THIS IS MY LIFE.
THIS ISN'T HOW I WANT TO BE.
SO, I HAVE TO MAKE THE CHANGE
FOR MYSELF.
THEN I WANT TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE
CHANGE.
BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN THERE, I
HAVE DONE THAT.
YOU KNOW.
I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS.
>> WHEN ARRESTED KIDS GO TO
SCHOOL INSIDE THE JAIL.
TEACHERS THERE GIVE STUDENTS A
LOLL OF INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION.
>> A CAPSULE ON TOP.
>> PAPER AND PENCIL TESTS DON'T
WORK WELL.
HANDS ON WORKS REALLY WELL.
>> IF YOU LOOK AROUND RATHER
THAN A QUIZ OR TEST THEY HAVE TO
BUILD PROJECTS AND EXPLAIN
THOSE.
>> THE STUDENTS RANGE IN AGE
FROM 10-17.
THEY'RE OFTEN TWO TO FIVE GRADE
LEVELS BE LOW THEIR PEERS.
HERE THEY DON'T HAVE
DISTRACTIONS.
>> NOBODY IS YELLING AT THEM OR
BEATING THEM.
>> THE STAFF USES THE TERM
"STABILIZE."
THEY'RE STABLE, SOBER AND DON'T
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FOOD AND
SHELTER.
THEY CAN FOCUS ON LEARNING.
MOST HAVE NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES
IN SCHOOL.
THEY DON'T GET THE ATTENTION
THEY NEED, IDENTIFIED FOR THEIR
NEEDS OR RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR
STRENGTHS.
>> MOST OF THE TIME THEIR RETURN
TO THE ENVIRONMENT THAT CREATED
THE BEHAVIOR IN THE FIRST PLACE.
YOU KNOW, FROM A PHYSICS
PERSPECTIVE IT'S, LIKE A VECTOR.
THEY'RE ONE ON TRAJECTORY.
HOPEFULLY WE CAN BUMP THEM
ENOUGH.
SO THEY'RE SIMILAR BUT HOPEFULLY
ENOUGH BUMPS TO TURN THEM.
>> THE CENTIMETERS ON THIS ONE
TOO.
>> JUVENILE SENTENCES ARE ONLY A
FEW WEEKS.
THE STAFF HAS A SMALL
OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A IMPACT ON
KIDS.
WHEN THEY LEAVE DETENTION MANY
STAY IN SCHOOL.
80% ARE MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE
ACCORDING TO DETENTION RECORDS.
>> WHAT DO YOU HOPE THEY WALK
AWAY WITH.
>> THE CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
KNOWING THEY CAN LEARN.
THAT'S THE NUMBER ONE.
TO TURN THEM BACK ON, MAYBE NOT
TO SCHOOL BUT TO LEARNING. Audio: How long until you turn 18?
AUDIO -- LAUREL --Once the kids are released home, many attend the transition school to
get caught up on credits they missed. The transition counselor, John Lee, assesses the
kids and helps them find their talents.
[John Lee, Transition Counselor] 4:40-5 SOT -- JOHN LEE --To leave this place
believing that they are good at those certain things so I feel it’s my job to really instill
hope, confidence and self esteem because I’m not going to be there in their lives so they
need to leave on their own with that confidence.
AUDIO -- LAUREL — Sometimes Lee will make a breakthrough with kids when he opens up
about his own struggles when he was their age.
VISUALS --12:58-13:05 Close up of John talking with inmate
6:14-6:37 SOT -- JOHN LEE -- I was stealing. My parents owned a grocery store I was stealing
at different stores. I was stealing from my own parents. I stole thousands of dollars
from them they filed bankruptcy. I ran away from a cop one time got involved with some
drugs.
VISUALS -- 11:45 -- John walking down the hall, then back to office interview
6:56-7:16 SOT -- JOHN LEE -- It was around middle school and high school which is a pivotal
time in life I got connected with a church and I met a few men that became my mentors
and they really poured their lives into mine they gave me hope and skills and the tools
to succeed. They were a huge part of my life.
VISUALS 55:11-55:17 Gilbert giving tour of bravo unit
LAUREL: Detention manager Gilbert Contreras remembers that critical time when he was young.
[Gilbert Contreras, Coconino County Juvenile Detention Division Manager]
1:11:52-1:12:53 SOT --GILBERT CONTRERAS -- A lot of my peers I grew up with are in prison.
The difference for me was having those caring parents that provided some of that structure
and provided boundaries and values I needed to make sure I didn’t wind up in the same
place. But I was very fortunate very fortunate. Sometimes it’s not a matter of having those
skills but it’s luck. Some of our kids they made a mistake, they made a poor decision.
But I would say 99.9 percent of our kids aren’t bad people they made a bad decision and it
is my hope, and it is our staffs hope, and it is our department's hope that that decision
isn’t something they spend the rest of their life paying for.
AUDIO -- LAUREL -- Contreras and other detention staff all agree the hardest part of their
job is seeing kids succeed in detention, then regress to their old ways as soon as they
leave.
[Bryon Matsuda, Director of Coconino County Juvenile Court]
40:20-40:24 SOT -- BRYON MATSUDA — One thing that we have to do as adults, and what we
learn working with really troubled kids, change doesn’t come all at once.
AUDIO -- LAUREL — Bryon Matsuda points to a long-term study by Emmy Werner and Ruth
Smith that showed even troubled teens changed. The two researchers followed the lives of
five hundred men and women who were born in 1955. A third were considered at risk. After
tracking them into their forties, they discover most become competent caring adults.
44:39-44:59 SOT -- BRYON MATSUDA -- Kids do grow up. Sometimes it's a long journey sometimes
they do things they have to be in prison for a long time but the great majority do grow
and develop, and sometimes eighteen, like that study showed, eighteen doesn’t mean
that you’re all grown up.
AUDIO -- LAUREL -- If only we could fast forward Jay’s life to find out where he will be.
Since the filming, he’s been released from juvenile detention and has turned 18. Authorities
have lost track of Jay and he hasn't checked into school. They're concerned about a relapse.
I’m Laurel Morales in Flagstaff, Arizona.