Andrew Medina. Andrew was fifteen years old when he was convicted based on the testimony of his co-defendants. His first attorney also "sealed his fate" (according to the documentary.) She had him write an apology letter that was given to the pastor of the church that the victim attended, who in turn gave it to the victim's family. The family then gave it to the DA, and it was used as an admission of guilt. He was thereby convicted of felony murder, which carries a life without parole sentence. The justice system failed Andrew, as did everyone in his life. He not only has a learning disability but also no support system. His father was an alcoholic, who showed up to his trial inebriated multiple times and his mother was young and overwhelmed with life and the entire situation. Andrew also falls higher on the At-Risk Continuum due to his ethnicity as a Latino. Even after considering all these factors, I would place him in the "Remote Risk" category, which can be described as "The demographic characteristics of low socioeconomic status, poor economic opportunity, poor access to good education, and membership in an ethnic minority group are associated with greater dropout rates, teen pregnancy, vulnerability, participation in violence, and/or other problems" (McWhirter et al., 2017, p.10). Andrew is currently preparing an appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel.

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adolescent brain that suggest that young people are still developing their capacities to "think like an adult." Two areas that are especially notable are the ability to understand another person's perspective and an increase in risk-taking behavior. Both of these place young people in at least "minimal risk." Remote Risk The point on the continuum at which risk, although still remote, seems increasingly possible is reached when markers of future problems appear. The demographic characteristics of low socioeconomic status, poor economic opportunity, poor access to good education, and membership in an ethnic minority group are associated with greater dropout rates, teen pregnancy, vulnerability, participation in violence, and/or other problems. Clearly risk factors do not emerge due to a person being a person of color, but membership in an ethnic minority group often suggests experiences of oppression, FIGURE 1.1 The At-Risk Continuum Minimal risk Remote risk High risk Imminent risk At-risk category activity Favorable demographics Negative demographics Positive family, school, and social interaction Less positive family, school, and social interaction Negative family, school, and social interaction Limited psychosocial and environmental stressors Some stressors Numerous stressors Development of personal at-risk markers: Negative attitudes, emotions, and skill deficiencies Development of gateway behaviors and activities At risk for more intense maladaptive behavior Young person's activity places him or her solidly in the at-risk category At risk for other categories Young person's children will be at risk 10 PART 1 At-Risk Children and Youth: The Ecology of Problems Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights,

economic marginalization, and racism that negatively influence children and adolescents. That is, children of color who are poor are overrepresented in the at-risk behavioral categories. Of course, most poor African American, Latino, and Native American young people survive such difficulties and function well. Thus, even though these background factors are important, they do not determine risk for an individual child. It is important to note that risk factors are also multiplicative. A young person who is from an impoverished, dysfunctional family and who attends a poor school in an economically marginalized neighborhood is potentially farther along the at-risk continuum than children who do not experience these conditions, especially if there are additional major psychosocial stressors. This is particularly the case when the individual child demonstrates personal characteristics that place him or her at even greater risk. High Risk Although dysfunctional families, poor schools, negative social interactions, and numerous psychosocial stressors nudge a young person toward higher levels of risk, the final push is supplied by the person's own negative attitudes, emotions, and behaviors. Characteristics that suggest a child is at "high risk" include aggression and conduct problems, impulsivity, anxiety, affective problems such as depression or bipolar disorder, and hopelessness, as well as deficits in social skills and coping behaviors. Of course, these characteristics both emerge from and enhance the negativity of the environment around the child; the causal pathway is dynamic. These personal markers signal the internalization of problems and set the stage for participation in gateway behaviors.

Imminent Risk

Individual high-risk characteristics often find expression in participation in gateway behaviors. Gateway behaviors are mildly or moderately distressing activities, frequently self-destructive, which often progress to increasingly deviant behaviors. A child's aggression toward other children and adults, for example, is a gateway to juvenile delinquency. Cigarette use is a gateway to alcohol and marijuana use, which can be a gateway to use of harder drugs. Although progression through each gate is neither certain nor predictable (for example, some evidence suggests that early use of marijuana among girls is actually a precursor or gateway to chronic cigarette smoking in adulthood and not the other way around), evidence linking gateway behaviors with more serious activities is so strong that such behaviors must be recognized as placing young people at imminent risk. At-Risk Category Activity The final step in the continuum is reached when the young person participates in those activities that define the at-risk categories. Here we confront the conceptual problem with the term at risk. Although the literature in this area continues to refer to young people at this level as "at risk," they have passed beyond risk because they are already engaged in the problems that define the category. Of course, activity in any at-risk category can both escalate as well as generalize to other categories. The young person who uses drugs can begin to abuse them and become addicted. The youthful delinquent can go on to commit violent crimes as a later teen and adult. Category activity by the adolescent can lead to lifelong involvement in self- and otherdestructive behavior. Generalization means that individuals who participate in one category activity are at risk for engaging in others. The teen who drops out of school, for example, is at great risk for drug dependence and delinquency. Consequently, we continue to apply the term at risk to behaviors and characteristics along the entire continuum, using the appropriate points along the way to anchor our discussion.

McWhirter, J. Jeffries; McWhirter, Benedict T.; McWhirter, Ellen Hawley; McWhirter, Anna C.. At Risk Youth (p. 12). Cengage Learning. Kindle Edition.