week 5 post 2

Transparency in juvenile dependency courts has been a fundamental subject matter in the media and discussion about ethics. Juvenile dependency courts are used to determine the fate of children who have been classified or suspected as victims of abuse. The issue in these courts lies in how public they should be and if the media should have reason to report on them. Judge Trina Thompson, as well as many others, stresses that the child's confidentiality is the primary concern, and people who are genuinely invested in the outcome of the Court should be the only ones allowed to access it. The issue with involving the media is that it can change the ability to allow a family reunification and access,  the ethics of what is fair and sound, and if media over these courts would be beneficial to the child. Judge Thompson makes the point that people should look at the situation as if it was their own child and circumstances to understand the privacy issues and intimate fragility of the situation. Exposure to Media like this can re-traumatize and victimize these children, especially when their stories and situations are not put into context. In over half of the United States, all of these hearings are presumptively closed two members of the public and press because of its private intentions. Typically the media will argue that press access to these courts can present an opportunity for sweeping reform and is necessary for social change even though there are other ways to go about this topic. With this counterargument, many people have done it correctly, and it has promoted social change; however, if these people were very cautious and supportive of these children. 

 For example, Karen De Sa has used her journalism to unanimously get a bill signed that strengthen children's rights to appear at their hearings. She works effectively and ethically with the children and the system to make a story that was genuine and told the story of a child so that the writing would be able to promote the right kind of change. She used rigorous confidentiality programs and Support Systems to have these children's voices heard but protected: because she believed these kids needed to be part of the process so that people can understand the full issue. This goes all the way back to empathy and using storytelling in journalism to make a sector change.  Karen used her writing to discuss topics such as the abuse of psychotropic medication and antipsychotic medications, which have serious side effects which the children could not refuse to take. Karen's work has brought much light to how Justice is being strangled by the clock and the number of cases being taken on per day is astronomical and leaves no time for True Justice to be served. Without this work, the working discussion over this very complex issue would not have a public base.