Making good choices to lead better lives
With the new school year now in full swing, the Guernsey County Juvenile Court is working with local districts to educate students, staff and parents on a variety of topics that are geared to keep children and families safe.
The Guernsey County Juvenile Court Probation Department is using this avenue to reach out to students to teach them the dangers and consequences of drugs, alcohol, smoking, vaping, sexting, and bullying, among others.
The programs being offered include the Drug Education Awareness and Responsibility (D.E.A.R.) Program. The purpose of this activity is for the Multi-System Youth Coordinator Kim Charlton and the Guernsey County Prosecutors Office to provide education and awareness to school-age youth, mainly fifth and sixth graders, on the effects of drugs and alcohol use.
By completing this program, students will gain a thorough understanding of the short-term and long-term health impacts of the most commonly abused drugs. In addition, students will have a better understanding of the potential legal ramifications for someone that uses/abuses drugs. Some of these sessions include guest speakers, such as successful recovering addicts, and some sessions may also be offered after school.
Another session offered to the local students is the Sexting Education Awareness Diversion (S.E.A.D.) Program. It is a three to five-day program that is presented to middle and high school classrooms within the county. The program is designed to approach the complex issues around sexting from an educational standpoint. In addition to sexting, the local program also discusses the topics of bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment.
Schools also refer students that have violated smoking and vaping policies to the juvenile probation department for educational classes. The purpose is to provide education and awareness of the dangers of smoking and vaping and to educate families on how Ohio tobacco law can apply to their children. The program is designed to divert these cases from being filed with the court and is made available to youth that are on probation and have been cited for a tobacco/vaping incident.
According to Juvenile Chief Probation Officer Travis Stevens and Charlton, “The focus of these programs is on education, and we do not use any scare tactics. They are presented at the kids’ level, and it is to make them aware of the dangers. They are not meant to be scary or upsetting. They seem to be very well received.”
Additional programs are also offered through the juvenile probation department, some of which are court ordered, referred by the schools/counselors, and referred by children services.
Another program being offered is Thinking for a Change. It is an integrated cognitive behavioral change program, which focuses on social skills, cognitive self-change, and problem solving. The main goal is to teach individuals how to stop, think, and make better choices, which will lead to avoiding conflict and poor decision making. It is currently being used with local high school and middle school students, however, several area counseling agencies also use it with adults.
The Parent Project consists of two different curriculums: Changing Destructive Teen Behavior, and Loving Solutions. Changing Destructive Teen Behavior is a curriculum for parents of youth ages 12 to 21 who are out of control behaviorally, sexually active, violent, involved in gangs, or involved with drugs and/or alcohol. It provides parents with tools, support, and information on how to connect with community services, such as mental health providers, law enforcement, and the court system.
The Loving Solutions curriculum is for parents of youth ages 5 to 11. It is a more traditional parenting course, which teaches parents consistency, structure, and basic milestones for young children, such as how children of this age think, grow and learn. It specifically covers appropriate discipline for this age group, and how it should be set up, incorporated, and utilized in the home.
“I believe it is important to provide education and intervention for young people so we can decrease the likelihood that they will become part of the juvenile justice system,” said Guernsey County Probate/Juvenile Court Judge David Bennett. “The court has an excellent group of people who provide education and mentoring to our local youth.”
For more information about the variety of programs offered through the Guernsey County Juvenile Court, contact Stevens or Charlton at 740-432-9229.
Submitted by the Guernsey County Juvenile Court.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Making good choices to lead better lives
