I've worked with seriously at-risk kids for years (some were back from juvie while others on-track to be sent there). You have probably seen what I have - kids who give themselves tattoos, kids who are rapists, kids who are junkies (and they have lots of ways they claim to clear stuff from their systems b/4 the next drug test), and of course, the murderers who write lists of things they need to do before taking off out of town (get money, pack jeans, kill grandma...).

It makes you happy when one makes it, and sad when you spend so much effort on a child and think they've made progress only to have him/her screw up and get picked up again.

One thing I always saw, however, was each child's problems could be tracked back to issue(s) at home. It didn't matter if they were wealthy or poor as church mice.