Your Life After Court Activity Chart
Once you’re in the System, there’s no denying it, life as you knew it, is over! Our Life After Court Activity Chart was gleaned from talking with over 1,000 court-involved parents, mostly in courthouse hallways and exhaustive visitor lines at various County lock-ups.
Mon-Fri Time Activity
4:30-5 a.m. Wake up, write things-to-do list, clean up, get breakfast, wake up kid(s).
6:45 a.m. Drive kid to [distant] continuation school [since he got kicked out of his regular school].
8:58 a.m. Arrive at work. [ Dog-gone-it, 8-minutes late again.]
9 a.m. Talk to boss about time off for visits to kid's probation officer and next court date. [Boss talks to you about frequent tardies, personal business on company time, too many personal phone calls at work and your apparent sullenness around co-workers.]
11:15 a.m. Early lunch to make calls to various community programs.
4 p.m. Leave work early to pick up kid for appointment with probation officer for drug test.
5 p.m. Drive other kids to practice, [now they have to either walk back home or hitch a ride], grab fast foods snack.
6 p.m. Counseling session for you and troubled teen or 2-hour parenting class for 20-weeks.
8:30 p.m. Return home with fast foods for family and pray that other kid(s) completed homework ‘cause you're too tired to deal with it.
10 p.m. Don't clean up, figure out how you are going to cover court costs and counseling fees. [Extra job maybe? Get real!!!] Fall fitfully asleep.
Sat. 6 a.m. Wake up, get kid up & ready for community service job.
6:45 a.m. Arrive at [10-week] community service job.
8 a.m. Return home and do two-hours work to make up for time missed from regular job.
10 a.m. Wake up other kids and get them ready for game or recreational activity, prepare breakfast.
11 am Drive to activity for other kids.
2:30 p.m. Pick up kid from community service job.
3:30 p.m. Work with kid(s) on homework or school project.
5 p.m. Research programs for troubled teens.
6:30 p.m. Prepare dinner, clean up.
8:30 p.m. Watch TV, go to bed. [Even if you're not exhausted, you need to stay home to monitor your kid's 6 p.m. curfew.]
Sun 6 a.m. Wake up, get kid up & ready for community service job.
6:45 a.m. Grab fast-food breakfast, arrive at community service job.
8 a.m. Return home and deal with rest of family or return to bed.
12 noon Shuttle other kids to various locations.
2 p.m. Pick up kid at community service job.
3 p.m. Meet with family minister, priest, rabbi [or other respected mentor] regarding resentment building in other kids in family.
4 p.m. AA, CA, MA or NA meeting for kid and Al-Anon for you.
6 p.m. Pick up other kids, stop at market, return home, prepare dinner [Only the second decent meal you've eaten all week], relax with family.
9 p.m. Read, watch TV, play/talk with kid(s) until bedtime.
The System, As A Family Affair
Your Life Before Court Activity Chart