JCPCs earning their keep, juvenile justice officials say

Youths who run afoul of the law are better off receiving treatment within their community rather than in a state facility, representatives of the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) told members of the NCACC Board of Directors during their April 7 meeting in Raleigh.

DJJDP Deputy Secretary Michael Rieder and Eastern Area Administrator Claude Odom lauded the work of county Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPCs) in helping youths who get into trouble from becoming repeat offenders.

Rieder said that JCPC programs, which provide various mentoring, education and therapeutic treatment in the community through locally developed programs, have helped to significantly reduce the number of youths being treated in one of the state's nine Youth Development Centers (YDCs). In 1998, he said, roughly 1,300 youths were treated in YDCs. Today, that number is 365.

"That's a real testimony to our programs … and keeping our children home instead of sending them to a YDC," Odom said. "The better investment is in community programs. We're truly convinced that's the way to go."

According to Rieder, 57 percent of the youths who enter the juvenile justice system are there because of problems that occurred at school. He said simply removing the youth from school isn't the answer, however.

"When we suspend a child from school, we get temporary relief," he said. "We haven't solved anything."

By suspending a student, teachers and school administrators will lose their chance at Rieder's No. 1 key to being successful with youths – engagement.

NCACC President Mary Accor talks with DJJDP Deputy Secretary Michael Rieder (left) and Eastern Area Administrator Claude Odom, a former Hertford County commissioner, following a presentation during the NCACC Board of Directors meeting April 7. (Photo by Jason King)

JCPCs provide that engagement in a home or community setting. Odom said the local programs also can provide badly needed structure in a youth's life.

Both Rieder and Odom expressed concern over the loss of programs due to budget cuts. One such program, Support Our Students (SOS), provides supervision and structure for youths in the afternoon hours – when the majority of juvenile crimes occur.

Rieder said that JCPC appropriations are well spent and provide quantifiable value. DJJDP can spend $98,000 annually on a youth enrolled at a state facility.

"If the JCPC programs keep 1 percent of the children that they serve out of a YDC, we save the State of North Carolina an amount of money greater than the entire JCPC budget."

In other news, the Board adopted the membership service fee structure for the 2010-11 fiscal year. For the second consecutive year, every county will see a decrease in membership fees. The Board authorized a reduction in rates of 5 percent in fees in light of the financial difficulties that counties are facing. This comes on the heels of a 10 percent reduction for 2009-10.

Board members also heard a report from NCACC Outreach Coordinator Lisa Nolen, leader for the staff team charged with implementing strategies to achieve the strategic goal of "facilitating regional and intergovernmental collaboration," about the team's "County Government in a Box" project.

The team developed the box to assist K-12 public school teachers in their lessons on county government. It is being made available to social studies coordinators in each of the 115 school districts.