Juvenile Crime Prevention Council provides 2nd chance to underage delinquents

CATAWBA COUNTY - In an effort to combat the rate of delinquent juveniles who wind up in the justice system, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) was formed approximately 20 years ago.

The JCPC, an element of the Juvenile Community Program Section of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, is a state and local partnership in all 100 counties and serves children ages 6-17.

These partnerships produce approximately 600 programs to facilitate local needed services addressing the issues of delinquent juveniles, young people most likely to become delinquent, and their families, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.

The chief court counselor for Catawba, Burke and Caldwell counties, Ronn Abernathy, has been in his role for approximately 17 years and provides data and executes risk and needs assessments to help young people.

"The Juvenile Justice Reform Act (of 1998) guided us from punitive to a more therapeutic approach when working with kids to have a better outcome," Massey Whiteside, the N.C. Department of Public Safety area consultant, said.

Allocation of funds

Since the JCPC's inception, each county has received state funding for community programs for juvenile offenders.

"We hear that they will be looking into the allocation of funds process because the process we have now is not fair; it's not equal," Abernathy said. "When this started 20 years ago, the funds were based off the number of youth in the community and a few other factors.

"In 20 years, those numbers have decreased and increased, but the money flow has stayed the same."

Whiteside said there has been talk of state departments reworking the aged formula, something Abernathy and others look forward to.

"It's tough to allocate those funds. We could use twice as much money as we get," Abernathy said. "A lot of programs don't even come to our bidders conference because they know we do not have the money to fund them."

The county JCPC recently presented the Catawba County Board of Commissioners with its annual risk and needs assessment, along with their funding decisions.

Along with the presentation, the JCPC laid out 17 priorities for the coming fiscal year, where the top three priorities were psychological services and comprehensive assessments, substance abuse assessment, and treatment and counseling.

Additional funding and programming is made possible through organizations such as Catawba County United Way and Partners Behavioral Health.

"I think that I serve a dual purpose on this council, which is my input when it comes to risks and needs of the community as well as looking at what the gaps are," Jennie Conner, executive director of Catawba County United Way, said.

This way, Conner is able to take the data and reports from the JCPC and find funding opportunities with United Way, similar to what Tara Conrad does, who is the regional director of community operations for Partners Behavioral Health.

"I bring the mental health perspective to the board, and like Jennie Conner, I use this information we discuss here to look at the larger system, what gaps we have and how we can complement what the council is doing with services," Conrad said.

This, along with funding from county commissioners, allows the JCPC to fund the programs they pursue.

Catawba County JCPC programs

Catawba County JCPC allocates funds for seven programs for juvenile offenders, which include an array of therapeutic interactions.

A newer program, Kids at Work, focuses on interpersonal behaviors with a culinary approach.

"We work on those interpersonal communication skills that the kids take with them to school, home and even in employment," Program Manager Kimberly Castano said. "We help kids find ways to be less aggressive and manage their emotions better."

Although new to Catawba County, the Kids at Work program is offered in 13 counties across western North Carolina.

"(Kids at Work) is a hands-on, exciting and unique way for kids to learn and apply academic and social concepts," Castano said. "Additionally, the kids learn about nutrition and how a healthy diet contributes to greater wellbeing."

The program is for youth 12-17 and generally lasts 16 weeks.

"We get most of our funding from the JCPC, but we also work very closely with the Hickory Soup Kitchen," Castano said.

The Hickory Soup Kitchen provides their facility to the program, along with resources, Castano added.

"They have been great to work with, and we tend to make baked goods for the people they serve, so it's a win-win situation," Castano said.

So far the program has served 12 kids in the county, and Castano said she has a waiting list to get through as well.

"None of those 12 kids had any adjudications, 92 percent have not had any new charges, 83 percent improved targeted areas during the program and 83 percent completed the program fully," Castano reported.

Castano said most participants enjoy the program from the first day, but others warm up to it.

"By the end of the program, all of the kids are participating and having fun," Castano said. "We've had a great reaction from our kids so far.

"I think that is a great start for our first year, but we are excited to put more roots down in Catawba County and hopefully incorporate internships with businesses as we grow. The JCPC and Hickory Soup Kitchen have been excellent to work with, and I'm glad we can continue that."

Outcomes

Brandi Tolbert, designee of the Chief District Court Judge, said the JCPC cannot prevent crime from happening but rather intervene and correct the behaviors of the juveniles.

"We don't want to leave kids in programs for longer than what it takes, because it ends up having the opposite effect on them," Tolbert said. "The idea is to keep them for however long they need it, and to have ample interactions with the child to determine that."

Each year, the JCPC monitors funded programs in order to keep tabs on successful programs.

"If a program serves eight kids and four have committed other crimes, then maybe that isn't the right programming for those kids," Tolbert said.

Hickory Police Department Lt. Scott Hildebran said it is important to reach the delinquent juveniles before they transform into adult offenders.

"A 12-year-old is a lot different from a 22-year-old, so we want to be part of this so we can try to reach these kids before they turn into adult offenders," Hildebrand said. "The ultimate goal is to correct their behaviors before they are adults."

With Hickory being the largest municipality in Catawba County, Hildebrand serves as a voice for law enforcement agencies.

"It is likely that (Hickory) represents the greatest number of young people going into the system," Hildebrand said. "We in policing are not trying to turn everyone into a criminal rather we are trying to solve problems."

As the N.C. Department of Public Safety area consultant, Whiteside monitors and guides the Catawba County JCPC in order to reach their outcomes.

"The council itself is a subcommittee of the county commissioners. The responsibility of the council is to come up with a continuum of services to help primarily court involved kids," Whiteside said.

Tolbert said that without the JCPC, the delinquent youth they serve would keep falling through the cracks, adding to the already high recidivism rates in adult offenders.

"We want to help provide the best programming for these children in order to correct their behaviors early on," Tolbert said. "Although we can't prevent the crimes from happening, we can still impact the lives of these children."