By Bill Novak
August 22, 2006
Teen boys in trouble and sentenced to
juvenile correction in Dane County could take a different path, just
by staying in Focus.
The Focus juvenile justice program,
developed in Milwaukee by St. Charles Youth and Family Services,
Inc., could be up and running in Dane County early in 2007.
Local officials announced the Focus
plans at a news conference today.
"Right now, Dane County does not have
a local residential care facility for boys, which means all of our
young males must leave their communities and families if residential
treatment and detention are warranted," said County Executive
Kathleen Falk.
Area teen boys who run afoul of the
law are currently sent to either Ethan Allen School in Wales or
Lincoln Hills School near Merrill for treatment. Dane County's two
juvenile facilities - the detention center and the shelter - are
short-term holding facilities used as lockups until treatment plans
are developed.
Focus would be a residential
treatment facility housing up to 10 teen boys between 13 and 16
years old, staying for 90-120 days.
By going into Focus, teen boys would
have their sentences stayed if they completed the program, followed
by electronic monitoring while living at home or in a foster/group
home, then an extra two months of supervision after the electronic
monitoring ends.
Teens who violate terms of the
program would be put into the traditional detention facility.
St. Charles and Dane County are
looking for a location for the residential treatment center.
"The goal in the Focus program is not
to teach youth how to live in residential treatment, but instead
teaching kids how to learn to live successfully outside of those
four walls," said Cathy Connolly, president of St. Charles Youth and
Family Services.
The Dane County Focus program would
mirror Milwaukee's program, in place for three years and coordinated
by St. Charles, an 85-year-old non-profit human services agency that
provides social, mental health and educational services in
residential and community settings.
The full Focus program is a continuum
of care that enables a safe transition for teen boys, going from
residential treatment back into the troubled teens' home community,
under strict supervision.
Sending teen boys out of the
community to a detention facility makes for a tougher time coming
back into the community, Falk said.
"The distance can make for a rough
and all-too-often unsuccessful re-entry for the teen boy to return
to his family and neighborhood, and that also can mean more tough
behavior to contend with by the community," Falk said.
The diversion program would be
cheaper than incarcerating teens, mainly because a youth assigned to
Focus would spend much shorter time in a residential facility than
the time normally spent in a traditional juvenile lockup.
"We are very excited about the
opportunity to bring this program to Dane County and work with staff
here," Connolly said.
E-mail:
bnovak@madison.com |
