Wakulla County Coalition for Youth April Meeting Focused on Juvenile Justice

The Wakulla County Coalition for Youth hosted their regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of April 14, 2009 at the TCC Wakulla Center in Crawfordville. The meeting was well attended by Coalition members, community members, and several juveniles who are currently receiving services being offered in Wakulla County. Guests enjoyed light refreshments while listening to an interesting and informative presentation by The Honorable Judge Jill Walker, one of only two county court judges in the district who serves voluntarily in juvenile delinquency matters. Judge Stewart Parsons of Gadsden County is the other county judge in the circuit overseeing juvenile court.

{sidebar id=1}Judge Walker spoke to those assembled stating that while she has some discretion, a points matrix defines the necessary steps that must be taken, and the sanctions that must be administered, based on the case at hand. In order to deviate, she must state good cause. No matter how a youth ends up in her court -- through a notice to appear or immediate order to detention -- the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) presents the case, with the States Attorney and Public Defender present. Disposition is sometimes determined that same day. DJJ may recommend a mental health examination or a behavior modification program or other diversion. Youth are appointed an attorney, with family income determining what the family's cost will be.

A critical and critically acclaimed diversion program is the County Juvenile Drug Court. Once a young person has successfully completed Drug Court, their case is dropped. Judge Walker reminded those present that families often believe that once their child becomes an adult, any transgressions (or crimes) committed as a youth are gone. The sad fact is that a juvenile charged with a crime carries that mark for the rest of his or her life, and it can afffect education and career choices in the same way as an adult with a criminal record. Because of this criminal history, potential loans, certain careers in health care, education or other professions, many jobs where driving a company vehicle is part of the job, and some schools of higher learning are simply closed to those individuals.

Coalition member Antonio Johnson, a Juvenile Administrator with DJJ, noted that there are great resources available to juveniles here in Wakulla County. "Since I became part of the Court system in 2005, 50 to 75 youth have been spared a record, meaning they have avoided the DJJ system through diversion," stated Johnson. "Again, a juvenile record is no different than an adult record."

Johnson added that there are therapeutic diversion programs, such as the Drug Court program mentioned above (there are currently fifteen Wakulla youth participating) and the Civil Citation program which allows the completion of community service as an alternative to going through the DJJ system.

Elizabeth Phillips, the Wakulla County Juvenile Probation Officer, spoke highly of Judge Walker’s dedication, and the resources available in Wakulla County. When asked where she felt resources might be improved, she stated that there is a need for programs to guide the 15-year-old parent to be, a need for gang prevention focus, a need for longer term evaluations, and a need for more focus on sex offenders.

Other guests included parents and youth involved in the DJJ system. One young man stood proudly to announce that he was “no longer drinking”, later excusing himself to attend an AA meeting. Probation Officer Phillips noted that his has not been an easy childhood, and that he is really trying to overcome his problems. Another young man told the group that he is walking through the redirected steps. He is working on his anger with a professional and has written a genuine letter of apology, but still has much more to do.

{sidebar id=1}Shelley Swenson, UF/IFAS Wakulla County Family and Consumer Sciences/EFNEP Agent, gave a Food Bank Task Force update. There are ten people on the core steering committee in Wakulla County who are actively seeking to make existing food bank resources more visible to those in need. Swenson noted that families who need food often have other needs at the same time. This comment prompted Kevin Kirby of the Apalachee Center to report that his organizaiton is writing a Homelessness Prevention grant in hopes of helping more Wakulla families in crisis.

Swenson also reported that the Wakulla Baptist Church is planting a garden and needs volunteers to help with distribution of produce when it is ready. She also reported on the Summer Feeding program that will provide lunches for the month of June to youth under age 18 at two sites in Wakulla County. "There is a need for funding to support transportation for the feeding program," noted Swenson. "The amount of $35, matched with $35 by a grant partner, will cover costs to transport a child for the month." She added that donations to the program are being accepted. Beth O’Donnell, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction with the Wakulla County School System, spoke about two other sites at Wakulla High School and WEC where breakfast and lunch will be provided for youth in the summer.

Kim Platt of the New Horizons program in the middle schools spoke about her work with middle school students. The New Horizons program is supported by the Big Bend Regional Prevention Center. In this program students are referred by school social workers, teachers, or other students for various challenges such as poor school performance, truancy, anger management, depression, alcohol or other drug problems.

Guilio Percia of Disc Village gave a brief report on the Prevention Partnership Grant. The grant is currently under review and will represent a true collaboration between the Wakulla County Coalition for Youth, the Wakulla County School District, and the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office for the Civil Citation program. The Coalition is pleased to have Guilio Percia on board, and are hopeful that the Prevention Partnership grant will be funded.

At the conclusion of the evening's presentation, the Coalition applauded Judge Walker and the DJJ team for all they do for juvenile justice in Wakulla County.

The Wakulla County Coalition for Youth is an organization committed to working collaboratively across agencies and provider networks to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth and families by addressing individual and environmental factors that increase risk and promoting those evidence-based programs and strategies that minimize the risk of substance abuse. Their regular meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the TCC Wakulla Center in Crawfordville.

This information originally published on April 29, 2009.

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