The Ecological Impact of COVID on the Mental Health of Black Children
Start Date
21-6-2021 10:10 AM
End Date
21-6-2021 10:55 AM
Topic
Mental Health
Session Chair
Lindsey Disney
Abstract
It is no question that COVID has brought forth a multitude of conversations on the state of health, financial, criminal justice and educational systems. None of these areas exists in a bubble, rather they are intersecting points that warrant analysis. While these exchanges are often discussed as isolated topics, they are exchanges of system behavior, which did not just appear with the progression of COVID-19, but have been magnified and showcased. This work is an analysis of the disproportionate impact of COVID on Black children’s mental health, which in turn poses a long-term impact on the criminal justice system. It considers the role of system behavior in the non-detection of mental health concerns. This unawareness stems out of flawed assumptions and perceptions. This work also centers on the systematic issues that result from the lack of adequate proactive and reactive resources, along with the social factors that are produced by poverty and low socio-economic status. In addition, the work poses suggestions to alleviate this impact. This is not a paper on tangible resources, but rather the emotional and connectivity weaknesses that are a function of system behavior and systematic flaws. These flaws are explained as products of workplace culture and system functioning. This paper is not an affront to teachers, but to system behavior and structural issues that have put Black children in vulnerable situations, compounding distress. It offers suggestions in regard to the detection of mental health concerns, as well as suggestions involving school procedures, community resources and local policy. It also involves a reframing of workplace culture, as well as the development of collective efficacy.
Author Bio
LaNina N. Cooke is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Center for Criminal Justice Studies Department at Farmingdale State College. She received a PhD in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Public Policy from the City University of New York Graduate Center. Her previous education was from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Morgan State University. Professionally, she served as Deputy Executive Director of ComALERT at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, a nationally recognized reentry program aimed at reducing recidivism. In her time there, she collaborated with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and provided in-services to state correctional facilities. Prior to this, she served as a field researcher, examining rape and sexual assault at local and federal correctional facilities. Dr. Cooke has presented in the areas of race and the criminal justice system, juvenile justice, corrections, reentry, and police and community perception. She is also an experienced researcher in the areas of drug court, substance abuse, reentry, rape and sexual assault, social ecology, and the juvenile justice system. In 2019, Dr. Cooke authored a chapter in New York's Criminal Justice System titled The Corrections System in New York State. In 2015, she authored the book Structure Matters: Predicting Juvenile Justice System Behavior. Along with this, she has contributed to academic and media publications in community policing and has sat on numerous advisory groups, panels and conferences on incarceration, reentry services, and government-community relations. Additionally, she sits on numerous academic and professional committees regarding diversity, academic policy and curriculum development.
Document Type
Extended Abstract
The Ecological Impact of COVID on the Mental Health of Black Children
It is no question that COVID has brought forth a multitude of conversations on the state of health, financial, criminal justice and educational systems. None of these areas exists in a bubble, rather they are intersecting points that warrant analysis. While these exchanges are often discussed as isolated topics, they are exchanges of system behavior, which did not just appear with the progression of COVID-19, but have been magnified and showcased. This work is an analysis of the disproportionate impact of COVID on Black children’s mental health, which in turn poses a long-term impact on the criminal justice system. It considers the role of system behavior in the non-detection of mental health concerns. This unawareness stems out of flawed assumptions and perceptions. This work also centers on the systematic issues that result from the lack of adequate proactive and reactive resources, along with the social factors that are produced by poverty and low socio-economic status. In addition, the work poses suggestions to alleviate this impact. This is not a paper on tangible resources, but rather the emotional and connectivity weaknesses that are a function of system behavior and systematic flaws. These flaws are explained as products of workplace culture and system functioning. This paper is not an affront to teachers, but to system behavior and structural issues that have put Black children in vulnerable situations, compounding distress. It offers suggestions in regard to the detection of mental health concerns, as well as suggestions involving school procedures, community resources and local policy. It also involves a reframing of workplace culture, as well as the development of collective efficacy.
Comments
The recording of this speaker ends at 2:21:45