Programs for
troubled youths earn state funding
July 25, 2006
A Wayne County organization will receive more than $500,000 from
state and local allocations during the next year to continue its
work with programs that help local children and teenagers get a new
start.
The North
Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
will provide most of the funding to the Wayne County Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council. The Wayne County Board of Commissioners in turn
has approved the required local matching funds.
One of the duties
of the council, which oversees the Structured Day, Connect Four,
Life Changes, Psychological Services and Teen Court programs, is to
make sure those organizations are providing the services local
children need.
To accomplish
this, the council must annually review the needs of at-risk
juveniles throughout the county, whether they have been adjudicated,
undisciplined or delinquent, Council Chairperson Sudie Davis said.
One of the
council's major hurdles is to prevent juvenile delinquents from
becoming repeat offenders. Most of the county's juvenile delinquent
statistics are above the state average.
For example, 24
percent of the 173 children assessed by the county last year had
prior felony or misdemeanor charges on their records, which is
almost twice as much as the 11 percent state average. Also, 38
percent of those children function below their grade level compared
to the state average of 20 percent.
To create a
better future for the youths and the community, Mrs. Davis said the
council must target juveniles who assault others, use drugs or
alcohol, have school behavior problems or have guardians with
marginal parental supervision skills.
The Structured
Day program, which is a branch of A lot of Direction, Love and
Affection, targets children between the ages of 7 and 17 who are
delinquent or at risk due to inappropriate behavior in the home,
school or community, ADLA Director Danny King said.
The program
provides an environment where children can continue to learn and
grow academically even after being suspended or expelled from school
for anything other than a gun charge.
"Students can go
to do this and stay on task and get the classwork they need," Mrs.
Davis said.
The program puts
suspended children back in a classroom setting and engages them in
employment readiness training, counseling and curriculum programs
dealing with life skills.
The goal of the
program over the next year is for nearly a third of the children in
the program to show a reduction in any future disciplinary
referrals, attend class more, enter into subsidized employment and
discontinue disruptive behavior. Also, the council's goal is for 80
percent of the participants referred by the public school system to
be allowed to re-enroll in school and continue their education.
To reach these
goals, the program has been allocated more than $293,000.
The traditional
family structure has changed over the past few decades to more
single-parent families. With one parent working to support the
entire family, some youths have behaved in inappropriate or unlawful
ways when they do not have adult supervision.
The Connect Four
program aims to take some of those children between the ages of 10
and 17 and decrease their delinquent behavior by working with the
entire family, director Kimberly Armstrong said. This includes
implementing a better communication system to strengthen the roles
of the children and their parents. Some of the program's daily
activities include anger management, reflective listening sessions
and financial management and planning.
"We try to tailor
the program to meet the needs of the family. If there is a child
that has been referred because of anger management problems, it
wouldn't benefit them to sit through discussions on gang prevention
or something else," Mrs. Armstrong said.
Parents play an
active part in the program because without them, there is no
connection, Mrs. Armstrong said. Parents are required to join in the
12-week program and assist by having mandatory family dinners with
their children four nights of the week and discussing those dinners
during the sessions.
Connect Four has
been allocated more than $120,000. The program's goal is to have
half of the participants show an improvement in behavior, improve
the family's communication and provide substance abuse education and
life skills training to those who need it.
According to the
Governor's Crime Commission findings, Wayne County ranks in the top
20 percent in the state with the most at-risk youths. For example,
53 percent of the youths assessed by the county admitted that they
regularly associate with others involved in delinquent activities.
To help stem this
rise in illegal activity, the county provides Life Changes for
adjudicated juvenile offenders and others between the ages of 7 and
18 who have been referred by their parents, school or law
enforcement agency.
The program,
which has been allocated about $57,000, provides a way for juvenile
offenders to be held accountable for their actions through
uncompensated community service to earn restitution for their
victims, Mrs. Davis said.
Through their
community service, the youths are expected to learn the importance
of work and taking responsibility for their actions. The program's
goal in the next year is to make sure that 90 percent of the
offenders complete their community service within two months and 75
percent will not commit another delinquent act in the year following
their punishment.
Teen Court is a
way for delinquent teens and their families to diffuse volatile
situations in their life and get back on the right track, while
learning how the court system works and experience the punishment
that comes with breaking the law.
The program has
been allocated $25,000, not including local matches.
In Teen Court, a
person's peers act as the attorneys and jury that determine the
proper sentencing for the offender. The expected result is that more
than 80 percent will increase their sense of responsibility, Mrs.
Davis said.
Some of the
offenders need additional counseling, which is provided by
Psychological Services. That program has been allocated $22,500, not
including the local matches.
Both programs
together will receive about $80,000.
The council will
also receive an additional $3,441 that will be allocated sometime
throughout the year. Mrs. Davis said the best advantage to the state
allocations is that the state allows the local governments to decide
how to spend the money based on the needs in the community.
"I think it's
great because we know the community and its needs," Mrs. Davis said.
By
Andrew Bell
Published in News on July 25, 2006 01:51 PM
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