Documentary: Teen Mom In The Juvenile System - A Look Back & Epilogue 23 Years Later

In this video from our archive, we look back at teenage mom Melissa and her determination to overcome a chaotic home life. As Melissa maneuvers a new life as a mom at age 15, she talks in depth about what she feels led her to her struggles at such a young age. We watch as Melissa goes through juvenile court hearings regarding her and her baby, and what her life is like in a foster home with her baby. At the end of this documentary, we then look back at the extended interviews with Melissa as she articulated what she hoped for herself and her baby in the years ahead. An update on how Melissa was doing as of 2023 is included at the end of this video.
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www.calamariproductions.com

[@DawnMarieisme]

If you are reading this Melissa, well done on everything you've achieved in your life and all the tough decisions you've made along the way. You should be very proud of yourself.

[@CalamariProductions]

@DawnMarieisme - we agree 100%!

[@pearlkelly6337]

oh wow is this video from about 2001 or 2002@@CalamariProductions

[@louderthanwordsInclusivity]

The way the judge spoke in the beginning could have focussed a lot less on telling her that no one cares about her. Obviously it’s ok to firmly address her to let her know the baby is the priority, And then even letting the people know that he is biased and presumes failure. At such a young age, NO ONE expected her to succeed. No one. And you can claim to care about that baby all you want, but if you don’t want the 15 year old abused mother who is STILL in your care to succeed, you don’t want that baby to either. Period.

[@Tilly732]

Watching the way the judge and social worker both spoke to this girl is painful. The social worker saying her own daughter is struggling and then thinking that the way she’s speaking to this young girl is appropriate/helpful is *chefs kiss*…. The pressure, manipulation, projection, guilt-tripping, co-dependance, etc. is overwhelming even for me just witnessing it as a viewer. I cannot even begin to fathom how this young girl felt

[@Rnimgb115]

THEN TO PUT THE PRESSURE OF HER BROTHER’S ISSUES IN HER SHOULDERS 😡😡😡‼️‼️‼️‼️ It is just WRONG

[@willawonky535]

Exactly. She was 15, she was a child herself. With two parents on drugs and without a support system.

[@unmellowyellow]

This foster mom is an absolute angel 🙌

[@saintsinner7565]

“I don’t care bout you” To say this to a 15y old child who has been failed by so many,what a great example of a “smart” ADULT This 15y old girl PROVED everyone wrong,I hope that judge chocked on his mean words

[@ilb735]

They can be so heartless and cruel, least he let her see that up front, no false sense of security with him that's for sure 👍

[@libranpoet]

Amen! He made me sick when he said that and continued to be unnecessarily nasty to her! A judge, no less!

[@shahwilloughby4603]

There is "tough love" and then there is just plain nasty.

[@blb2020]

My thoughts exactly. It’s despicable how this court is handling this literal CHILD. ETA- omg. This judge is absolutely disgusting. I hope he is long gone from the bench, wtf. The constant blaming of a child for their circumstances in life is just…wow.

[@ilb735]

@@blb2020 plenty more lining up to fill their boots / their own

[@1GGBEE]

I’m 47 and ran from some abusive foster homes. Nobody listened. Well, I won’t lie at my age about it. Some are truly horrible, it’s why they run. Not all are bad.

[@ProtectFamiliesRights]

This judge seemed to be extremely ignorant that this young woman was CLEARLY failed by the system!

[@Naturefan354]

But its too late to change that or coddle her now. It's a wake up call to her

[@wednesday9623]

Very ignorant he had no hope for her at all

[@tiffanywilburn3739]

I thought he was unusually harsh on her. She was 15 herself.

[@louderthanwordsInclusivity]

@@Naturefan354 the judge speaking like that is not a wake up call, it’s confirming what she already knew; that no one cared. Which for a child is the biggest sole factor in whether or not they themselves care. As someone who was also removed by CPS from addicted parents, and LUCKILY, because it’s luck, ended up turning out well and accessing ample services to help myself when I got older, I promise you it’s NOT “too late to change that”, and that was no a wake up call. Even just one single person showing unconditional love and true support can make all the difference. Even today, as a 28 almost 29 year old mother of 2 disabled children (we have a genetic variant I was unaware of), with an amazing fiancé, if my mother woke up and started caring it would STILL make a difference in my life. Save what difference could have been made had someone cared when I was 15. There is a way to inform someone the priority is now the child, while also letting them know that they are still loved, supported, and hoped for. When everyone is making bets on you to fail, don’t be shocked when they do.

[@Conway1848]

@@tiffanywilburn3739deadass, horrible judge

[@Lava_Girl-]

What a great outcome overall, Melissa was a smart & loving little girl at one time with parents who failed her. Great to see her succeed and do right by her own child ❤

[@samanthacassidy6377]

Baby Raven will now be much older than the age of her mum in this vid

[@JayCWhiteCloud]

This is a wonderful story and update. I would love to see a follow-up in more detail of outcome, and what Melissa could share with other teens for their own success surviving what she did...

[@CalamariProductions]

@JayCWhiteCloud - Very happy you watched her story, and thank you for asking about a more detailed update. We are working on that now and can't wait for people to see what an inspiration Melissa is for others! Thank you again for watching and commenting!

[@JayCWhiteCloud]

​ @CalamariProductions I'm excited and happy to read that!!! Can't wait for the video. As a former Clinician who worked with this population of challenged young people, I love the success stories...

[@teamcougars]

Kids like Melissa who grow up in constant chaos don’t feel comfortable with calm stability unfortunately 😢💔

[@morganevans6185]

Jesus, the judge could have used way better words.

[@Bennyleocuteface]

100% he was an ass hole

[@shahwilloughby4603]

What a nasty prick he was.

[@Cinzia138]

I am glad this judge was not fooling around with her. I am glad she had the baby and decided to continue school. Have her child adopted. This foster mother was a good mother. She was patient with Milissa. Milissa was lucky to have her despite all she did. She had a heart for Melissa. I am that she is doing well and have her own family. I’m sure she still thinks if Reven. I wonder if she still sees her foster mother

[@tammyhavlik1015]

An open adoption would have been best.

[@louderthanwordsInclusivity]

@@tammyhavlik1015 unfortunately not, 90% of open adoptions are terminated before the child’s third birthday by the adoptive parents due to no real legal upholding of it. Open adoption is usually just a term used to coerce parents who aren’t otherwise ok with it into adopting through privatized adoption under the guise of still having a part of their child’s life.

[@tammyhavlik1015]

@@louderthanwordsInclusivity Omgosh! That's horrible. So in the US there is no legal standing for open adoption and the adoption agencies and adoptive families lie? That's still fraud.

[@tammyhavlik1015]

@@louderthanwordsInclusivity Trying to post this reply again... some seem to disappear... So there's no real legal rights in the US for open adoptions? And they all mislead the moms? That has to be fraud.

[@terrywhaley8324]

While I'm sure it was very hard to give her daughter up I think she did the right thing. Melissa if you see any of these comments just know that you're a strong and caring woman and mother.

[@ClearwaterKB]

I kept asking why this seemed so familiar in the beginning, then once I saw the news I was like, "yea, this happened where I grew up."

[@stayc2033]

Melissa your amazing you overcame so much abandonment and fought to be there for Ravon ❤ incase no one ever told you this .. none of this was your fault!!! Your parents gave up and you never did Ravon is gorgeous and was thriving Karen is also amazing I hope they are all doing well in their lives now especially be great to hear how Ravon is she looked just like a normal happy baby I would never have known she had a brain injury

[@Kevinthesnail]

“Convinced” to let her child be adopted… when you lose a baby, doesn’t matter how it leaves such a big hole in your heart. You will try to fill that hole with either good or bad things. Unfortunately those fillings are fragile and when they crack it brings all of the hurt back. I never knew emotional pain could physically hurt so bad. When the fillings are negative things like drugs or bad relationships and something happens to form a crack pieces just fall off and you run the risk of becoming numb and essentially without a heart. When the fillings are good things like healthy relationships, solid hobbies and jobs, those cracks hurt so bad but it fills in quickly. I don’t know if that even made sense, it’s so hard to put into words.

[@CalamariProductions]

@Kevinthesnail - we greatly appreciate you sharing your story. It made perfect sense. It's why sharing stories like Melissa's is so important. It allows others like you to also articulate the emotions. We were thankful to learn Melissa found a way to persevere after so much heartache when she was young. We hope to bring everyone her continuing story as we keep in touch with her. Thank you again for watching and commenting.

[@nativeskin7819]

Melissa, I hope you get a chance to read all these comments. So many people seem to love you when they didn't even know you, they just saw your story. Giving raven up for adoption had to be tremendously hard. But you most likely felt in your heart and soul that it was the most selfless and best decision. You played the cards the best you were dealt with. Your story is amazing, and inspiring.

[@normabarros3124]

I thought Mellissa was going to be on camera for her update, this was misleading.

[@CalamariProductions]

@normabarros3124 - Sorry you felt this way. It's way we stated it as "epilogue" in the title. Viewers often ask us for updates on the stories from our archive and often times a video interview isn't possible right away (or at all). Therefore, we provide a written update until we can do an actual video interview. Thank you for understanding.

[@normabarros3124]

@@CalamariProductions , thank you for your fantastic response; your video touched me, and I needed to see more. 🙏❤️😇

[@teresacorley7874]

Im glad to see shes in services for her needs to and the babys to she is very lucky that this lady is willing to let her move in with her and this familly

[@lightsrage1985]

as a blind viewer, I miss out on these updates unless someone clues me in on what happened in like the text because its not verbably read on screen. so when these updates are given, I never know what they are. I have mentioned descriptive video but I don't know how to impliment in something like this. I found blogs from places like audio sight but I don't have direct links.

[@CalamariProductions]

@lightsrage1985 - we are so sorry about this. Let us look into how we might be able to incorporate these ending updates for our blind viewers. In case you haven't already found out, here is the update on Melissa: She eventually finished school and was later convinced to place Raven for adoption. Later in life she went on to have her own family and as of 2023 was doing very well. She still thinks about Raven every day. Thank you again for watching and pointing out the update issue. We hope you'll be patient with us as we work to make this better!

[@candi2840]

​@dingomom95 I am also blind. There are different software that we can use that will read what's on the screen, including text messages, emails and etc.

[@dingomom95]

@@candi2840 Interesting. I did not know. Thank you for letting me know. I knew that there were devices for shows. But I obviously didn't take it a step further to the comment section. For my comment I apologize for my not knowing.

[@iLitAfuseiCantStop]

@@dingomom95She wouldn’t need “a device for a show”she’s blind, not deaf

[@laikanbarth]

Just think that 15 year old girl is 39 years old today and that baby is 24. I wonder how they are doing today?

[@CalamariProductions]

@laikanbarth - Melissa is doing great! She worked very hard to turn her life around, has a good job and loves being a mother to her children. Thank you for watching and asking!

[@kaykay2031]

That’s amazing and all she needed was proper guidance

[@sofiabravo1994]

I'm not justifying melissas choices, but she didn't become like this out of spite her parents didn't care about her, or her siblings so why would the judge say he also doesn't care about her? What motivation is that?

[@CalamariProductions]

@sofiabravo1994 - thank you for watching Melissa's story and commenting. Yes, she had a very sad childhood. We are extremely grateful she was able to overcome those early struggles and become the success story she is today. We know it wasn't easy, and we hope she can be an inspiration to other girls who might be going through the same thing. Thank you again for being here with us on our channel!

[@susannahedwards8230]

Why treat the foster kids like criminals? I live in a different county but holly crape juvenile detention for just running away.

[@misstabithasnails2314]

Yeah but she pretty much kidnapped her own kid legally. She’s lucky they didn’t charge her with that.

[@susannahedwards8230]

@@misstabithasnails2314 key point ...her own child! That she seemed to care for deeply and to me looked like a good mum. Younger than most but still a good mother.

[@misstabithasnails2314]

@@susannahedwards8230 she took off with that baby with no plan and nowhere to go.. You can care about a kid and still not be mature enough to know how to be a good mom. Agree to disagree.

[@susannahedwards8230]

@misstabithasnails2314 I agree it was not smart but a teen mother who had supportive parents would of handled it very differently. That foster mother claimed she wanted her to see her as a mother then asks for tuff love in court over $400. The kid had had tuff all her bloody life and the show even said begore that she was a model foster kid doing everything right. She makes one mistake and bang the kid needs tuff love. No she needed true love and better support.

[@Ladygrogu]

​@@susannahedwards8230 exactly 💯

[@Justagal767]

This young mother was failed by her parents 😢

[@Khealey84]

I think Melissa was always trying to run to love …. A true love & comfort - something she thinks she would find in her bio mom until hard lesson learned … it’s very emotionally hard to live that way , feel loved by none - I’m glad she re-focused that love into and from her child …very hard thing to accomplish coming from those elements - hands 🙌 up to you Melissa , u defeated the odds an rose above - no one did this but YOU!! I’m sure the foster mom was great an immediate need, but u never heard any love for Melissa, just more like a job or responsibility - that’s hard…really hard - but Melissa still rose above all the odds - that should be idolized- YOUR AMAZING MELISSA!! Takes a real one to put another 1 before their own needs when u were never taught or shown that way 🎉 Melissa the real MVP - not one person hugged on her said I’m always here for u, I love u but guess what she hugged on her baby throughout - tear jerker 🎉 life isn’t just about goals and achievements it about love too, essential part is love ❤️

[@hankschade3909]

Where's the 23 year update

[@CalamariProductions]

@hankschade3909 - there is a written update at the very end of the video.

[@lovesallanimals9948]

You need to watch

[@palmerpalmer7067]

I wondered the same... it's at the very end.

[@sheaarnold8970]

I wonder how she’s doing today?

[@lynnsharp4839]

Where’s the update 23 years later??

[@CalamariProductions]

@lynnsharp4839 - it's at the very end of the video.

[@meganmccampbepl1321]

Melissa is very good at saying what she thinks the lady interviewing her wants to hear. She didn't sound sincere.

[@fosholyfe6115]

Unfortunately that's something one learns pretty quickly when dealing with CPS as a teen mother... As well as foster kids... Well the ones I know are really manipulative and use the big words... This as adults. I understand it as survival tactics learned

[@misstabithasnails2314]

I think she was taking the Tylenol three herself, and maybe even the phenobarbital.

[@celticwarrior777]

Luving hell being a single parent

[@kaitlinandersen553]

How is she doing now?

[@CalamariProductions]

@kaitlinandersen553 - The last we talked to her over a year ago she was doing great! She has worked so hard to live a better life. She has a great job and loves being a mom to her kids. We hope to do an updated interview with her soon. Thanks for watching and asking!

[@kaitlinandersen553]

@@CalamariProductions how is Justin doing? When there be another long video of him

[@teresacorley7874]

I think this judge should of actually had her in parenting classes and counseling and strict supervision she might have had a better outcome she also needs some self esteam classes andbto still be held acountable for taking care of her baby why at the foster home with her doing school she should of had dailly requirements with parenting classes and meeting with a counselour to learn self reaspect and to be acountable for her actions and being held acountable every minute i think this judge is good for her but he also needs to encourage her and let her know shes cared about also wright off the batt on the frist hearing he said to her we dont care about you only the baby i thought wow how harsh she has no one and shes reaching out for help i could just see the tears rolling down her face she didnot know how to deal with the rejection from the judge this judge is on track but rhis judge could show a little compasion towards teaching the momthat she matters to i never heard the judge or the guardian atlightem speak for the mother and what services might help the mother also to learn how to teach her how to handle her emotions she needs individual counseling that is intense counseling to deal with her feelings so she can control her behaviour and want to be a better mom i wish her thebest

[@kaykay2031]

Parents always being selfish and messing up and the only people that suffer the consequences are their children.

[@janevold1288]

Did anyone else notice they lip say differently, than what they are saying?

[@GrannysWatching13]

It's likely just a lag from being older footage

[@latoyamayo2929]

Wow this judge is a no

[@GAMMY_08]

I can’t stand this judge. I can’t even watch the rest of this video.

[@jaykid6595]

No-non-sense Judge Good that's what these kids need

[@meganmccampbepl1321]

I really like this judge! He's tough but also shows that he cares, and stands by his word!

[@kel2700]

Hey who can help me. I’m in OHIO. I want to help you’ll first.❤️😍😍❤️❤️on here❤️❤️

[@missylielou]

so what happened to Melissa and Raven ? Where did she run to ? And what were the consequences?

[@JoryBarrett]

Gee what a shocker the baby is mixed, didn't see that coming a mile away.💩

[@my3pups]

What the fk has that got to do with anything??? You're a monster!!!

[@unapologeticallyamy9031]

Are you saying that the baby somehow did something wrong and it’s because it’s not 100% white? Are you blaming cerebral palsy on the race of the baby? I have so many questions for you. I’ve never interacted with a white supremest before.

[@JoryBarrett]

@@unapologeticallyamy9031 and you still haven't interacted with one but keep crying🤣🤣. Heres a picture of that baby 💩💩💩

[@samanthacassidy6377]

What's that got to do with anything? A baby is a baby. A human is a human.

[@sharonmorphett8809]

That baby is beautiful.