Incorrigible Kids takes the readers on an intimate tour of the Juvenile Court System, similar to Bel Kaufman's view of an intercity school in Up the Down Staircase. It follows a rookie probation officer and the evolution of his attitudes over the course of a year as he as he relates his interactions with fourteen youth offenders and their heartbreaking yet hope filled stories.
While the characters are fictional, their situations, attitudes and outcomes are drawn from my personal experiences working with at-risk youth. The book does not sugar coat the harsh problems these young people face; their stories give testimony to the intensity of experience and the resilience of the human spirit. These stories are not only tremendously moving, they cause us to re-examine the label ‘incorrigible’ and to the ways we respond to caught in troubled situations. While the characters are fictional, their situations, attitudes and outcomes are drawn from my personal experiences working with at-risk youth.
