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LIKE ANY OTHER KID follows the intimate relationships between incarcerated youth and staff who use love and structure to guide and teach youth offenders how to take responsibility for themselves
LIKE ANY OTHER KID provides a rare glimpse into the inner-workings of one of the most promising developments in juvenile justice reform: the use of non-punitive, therapeutic programs to change behavior and help youth re-enter their communities.
Following the intimate relationships between incarcerated youth and staff in three unique facilities across the country over the course of three years, the film shows how these programs work. Based on the Missouri approach, where love and structure — instead of punishment — are used, these programs guide and teach youth how to take responsibility for themselves.
Through scenes of conflict, vulnerability, reflection, commitment, and joy, the youth transform before our eyes. LIKE ANY OTHER KID shows us the great potential of these youth if we let them be just that: like any other kid.
89 minutes
SDH captions for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Directed by Victoria Mills
Produced by Carolina Correa, Kathy Leichter, Victoria Mills
Editor: Michelle Chang
Director of Photography: Daniel Carter
Original Music: Maxim Moston
Executive Producer: Judith Goldring
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"Like Any Other Kid reminds viewers that kids convicted of crimes are just that - they're kids. And they typically are kids desperately in need of adult mentoring, stability and love. We owe justice-involved youth a chance at rehabilitation, and this film shows exactly what that chance can and should look like."
Cara Drinan, Professor of Law, The Catholic University of America, Author, The War On Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way
"Like Any Other Kid sheds light on factors that lead to criminal-justice involvement, the realities of providing therapeutic interventions to justice-involved youth during and after their incarceration, and the contrast between correctional and mental health approaches to addressing juvenile delinquency. This film is a conversation starter for mental health, correctional, and legal professionals and students, as well as community members."
Tracy Fass, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, William James College
"Like Any Other Kid is simply artful. It is so difficult to articulate the complexity of these kids - and this film does so very, very well."
Laura Garnette, Chief Probation Officer, Santa Clara County
"An extraordinary glimpse into America's juvenile justice system...This film serves as an excellent training tool for correctional staff, as it brilliantly depicts and teaches how to engage youth so that better outcomes will be achieved...[A] beautiful body of work."
Sheila E. Mitchell, Deputy Chief Probation Officer, Los Angeles, Retired Chief Probation Officer, Santa Clara County
"As an educator and curator of a documentary film series for teens, Like Any Other Kid was naturally appealing. It was so gratifying to witness how immediately the students in the audience connected with the film - its story, its subjects, and the empathy of its message. Despite their youth and circumstances, the teens in this film radiate humanity and demand you to see yourself in them."
Jamie Auriemma, Manager of Teen Programs, The Jewish Museum, New York City
"The storylines pull you in, and make you extremely invested in the youth. The emotions are real and moving. This film advocates for these youth and systems. I truly believe that this film is a call to action. It makes you want to better understand as well as support the youth showcased in the film and youth in similar circumstances."
Charles H. Galbreath, Jr., Senior Consultant and Trainer, Missouri Youth Services Institute
"I've been in policing and criminal justice reform for over four decades and I've never learned of the Missouri approach and its successes with our youth. I believe that if this film can find its way into our classrooms and community meeting spaces, it will bring with it these children into our hearts. This education could ignite a shifting of much needed resources into the development of like programs from coast to coast and I would be its number one advocate."
Major Neill Franklin, Executive Director, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP)
"If we have a lot of young people imprisoned, there is obviously something wrong from the beginning. Like Any Other Kid is showing us a big lesson on the principles of what nations and society has to be. Now is time to listen."
Toni Navarro, Director, The Barcelona Film and Human Rights Festival