What are the implications of this for the Juvenile Justice System and Child welfare?
BDP: The implications are quite broad. Some of the most important implications have to do with the urgent need to reorganize and restructure these systems in a way that provides early identification and intervention with children at greatest risk. The second most important implication of our work for these systems is that children have the capability of changing in positive ways but that this capability diminishes the older a child gets. The earlier a child receives services the more likely they are to have positive change. The older someone is, the more costly and time intensive the intervention. CD: What areas of research do you plan to pursue within the next five years? BDP: We will continue looking at the neurobiological impact of trauma. By using new methodologies, including functional MRI, we will be able look at the actual functioning of different brain regions in real time. The key area of my interest over the next few years, however, will be trying to use our traditional, indi
