A mother-son duo from Racine is using their personal experience with foster care and the juvenile justice system to help troubled youth make a healthy transition into adulthood.
Through their organization,Frazier Support Services, Dr. Arletta Perri and her son Malik Frazier welcomed judges, social workers, educators, and law enforcement from across the state to a juvenile justice reform conference Friday.
"I've always enjoyed serving people as a social worker," Perri said, "But when I got my son I realized the work that needs to be done."
Perri said she was inspired to push for change after adopting her son, then 11-year-old, Frazier.
“Everything she’s doing, I was the guinea pig per se,” Frazier, now 29, said. “When she says it works, it works. So, providing structure for children, that works. Giving them identifiable expectations, that works. Rewarding them, that works.”
With encouragement from her son, in 2018 Perri opened a shelter that turned into a group home for teen boys in 2021.
Most of the teens in her home come from county jails or detention centers, and though she’s got a formula that works, she knows she can’t do it alone.
Watch: Mother-son duo working to create change in the juvenile justice system.
“When I get them, there’s a lot of work,” she explained. "There’s a lot of missing pieces in helping them to repair, or for them discover who they are.”
That’s why she’s hoping to help those working in human services be a bigger part of the solution.
Her conference held at UW-Parkside Friday covered topics like brain development in kids who go through trauma, substance abuse, community policing, navigating families in crisis, and the impact of mentorship.
"I think that any worker that has this experience and this knowledge,” Frazier said, “that it'll help them do their job much better."
The 29-year-old Frazier, now a deputy with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department, thinks his mom is just the right person to lead the way.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
