Grace, a fifteen-year-old Black girl with ADHD and a mood disorder was put on probation for assault and larceny. She had gotten into an argument with her mother, Charisse on November 6, 2019 over phones, technology and social media and had bitten her finger and pulled her hair. Weeks later, Grace had stolen a fellow students cellphone from school, and received a charge for larceny. Grace wrote in her police report “After I was caught, I felt instant remorse and guilt. I wanted to take back everything I had done,” 

While waiting for their court date, she and her mother attended family and individual therapy, and no other incidents occurred. On April 21, 2020 her court case was held over Zoom. She was sentenced with intensive probation, which required her to do her schoolwork. With online learning in effect, Grace felt overwhelmed, and had her teachers regularly checking in on her and her progress. On the day of a probation check-in, Grace has fallen back asleep after the meeting, before completing her school work. A violation of probation was filed after this singular incident, with her probation officer, Rachel Giroux, wrote that “[Grace] clearly doesn’t want to abide by the rules in the community,” despite the fact Grace had been doing the required amount of schoolwork according to her teachers.

On May 14, 2020 Grace was ordered to be detained for her “violation of probation” to Children’s Village in Oakland County, Michigan. In Oakland county, 15% of the community is Black, but 42% of all cases involved Black Youths. Charisse had to spend Juneteenth alone, only able to contact her daughter by Zoom. A hearing will be held on September 8, 2020 to review her case. Grace in Children’s Village to revive services and treatment, yet, she sees a therapist less often than at home, and has not met with a teacher online in or person.

This case is one of racial bias, no person should be in a Detention Center for missing one day of school. Grace deserves to be with her mother, and and start the school year right.

Note: The names of Grace and Cherries are middle names to protect their identities.

Additional Information: https://www.propublica.org/article/a-teenager-didnt-do-her-online-schoolwork-so-a-judge-sent-her-to-juvenile-detention?utm_campaign=later-linkinbio-propublica&utm_content=later-8562648&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram​ https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fox2detroit.com/news/michigan-teen-incarcerated-for-not-doing-online-schoolwork-during-covid-19-pandemic-report-says.amp​ https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/507224-michigan-teenager-incarcerated-for-failing-to-do-her-online%3Famp