The Stow Youth Services provides alternative rehabilitation for juveniles who have been arrested by local police. This program diverts teens from the Juvenile Court System and provides accountability and assistance to the teens and their parents. This is a cooperative effort between the youth, parents and Stow Youth Services staff. Any juvenile who lives in the City of Stow who becomes involved with the police is eligible for referral. Walk-ins are also considered when parents need help providing the proper information to their child. All juveniles are placed on a six month contract that is closely monitored and given effective logical consequences to abide. Other programs that are provided are: 6 hour Mandatory Parent/Student Educational Groups, Tobacco Education Class, Restorative Justice Program, Safety Town and the Illusions Teen Program.
Out of the 698 cases, 267 were handled by Stow Youth Services and did not have a referral to Summit County Juvenile Court. 346 cases were sent to Summit County Juvenile Court due to their court involvement or jurisdiction reasons. 69 cases were forwarded to other area youth divisions. 16 cases were pending into the 2009-year.
Out of the 267 cases handled at Stow Youth Services, 166 teens were placed on Community Supervision with a weekly follow up contact with a caseworker. 58 were Counseled and Released and given appropriate consequences for their particular illegal involvement. 33 of the cases were referred to another outside Agency for therapeutic assistance. 6 cases were handled by Mediation with the victims by youth services staff. 4 cases were dismissed. There were 108 cases reported to Children Services Board, 28 were placed into Protective Services and substantiated. 7 cases are still pending dispositions.
INTERNS
Stow Youth Services offered an internship to three interns this year. These interns completed a total of 450 hours with Stow Youth Services. The interns received training on this diversion program and all the programming involved.
PRESENTATIONS GIVEN
Stow Youth Services gave 39 presentations to a total of 2806 participants in courses including Tobacco Education, Parenting, Safety Town, Restorative Justice, Neighborhood Watch, Family Workshop, National Crime Safety Night Out, Stow Health Expo and more.
SAFETY TOWN
Safety Town was a great success this year with 200 pre-kindergarten aged children graduating from this program. They were taught topics such as: fire safety, safety belts, pedestrian safety, bike safety, bus safety, personal safety, and playground safety. Stow Youth Services coordinated this program along with the implementation of two teachers and 80 teen volunteers. The permanent Safety Village was used. This allowed students to learn bike safety and pedestrian safety in a real life setting. The Village was a huge success with a great positive response from the community.
We continued to utilize crossing guards to assist with community service programs. The community service jobs included: washing cruisers and fire trucks, cleaning up the grounds, mulching at Adell Durbin Park and Project Linus (making quilts for terminally ill children). We have added some tedious cleaning jobs with Stow Munroe Falls Schools, Summit County Fairgrounds and the National Guard Armory. We also cleaned up some of the city streets along with the “Clean Up Stow” project run by Tom McKinney.
PARENTING PROGRAM
The Parenting Program continues to grow and expand to our community's needs. We have a Kimpton Coed Age Group and a High School Coed Age Group that meets simultaneously with the parents groups. This six hour mandated program has continued to assist parents with effective parenting techniques and strategies. The evaluations received have continued to be very positive. We used facilitators: Jessica Dolezal, Mishelle Lynch, Bridget Factor and Meghan Tilton to assist with our student groups. Summit County Juvenile Court continues to give a grant. This year it was $19,000.00 for our Youth Services Program for fiscal year, July 1, 2007 – to June 30, 2008.
ILLUSIONS TEEN PROGRAM
Illusions has continued to be a successful program for the year 2008. Seven dances were held for all seventh through ninth grade Stow/Munroe Falls students with an average of 273 students at each dance. Two Rocky‟s Rollerskate Parties were held for 5th & 6th grade students with an average of 41 students at each party. This resulted in a total loss of $90. We have discontinued rollerskating parties due to lack of interest and attendance. Community volunteers have continued to donate their time for the success of the program. During the Holiday Season, Illusions staff took pictures in front of the City Hall Christmas Tree and made buttons, ornaments, and frames for the community during the annual tree lighting.
TOBACCO INTERVENTION
Juveniles that have been charged with a tobacco violation are required to attend our Tobacco Intervention Program. This curriculum is a four hour class that is usually broken down into two evenings. The program is designed to make the student aware of how deep their involvement is with tobacco and future consequences of continued use. We also discuss helpful tips on beating the addiction. 33 students completed the Tobacco Intervention Program in the year 2008.
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM
The Restorative Justice Program primary purpose is to repair harm and rebuild relationships in the community between the victim and the offender. The concept of accountability is given a more holistic approach in this program. It is designed to serve juvenile offenders who victimize others where an amends is in order and appropriate for both parties. This six hour intensive program consists of the following components:
1. Face to Face Victim/Offender Mediation
2. Group Processing with offenders on the particular incident and what brought them to offend and an education on victimization
3. Meaningful Community Service Project.
Seventeen juveniles participated in this program in 2008. 94% of those who completed the program did not re-offend and have been successful.
