Group counseling, meetings between offenders and victims and training for parents are some of the tactics Maryland officials are using to keep juvenile delinquents from committing more crimes. The state Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention recently awarded more than $1.5 million in federal grant money to programs that hold youth criminals accountable and prevent them from reoffending.
Officials involved in programs in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties said they plan to stress collaboration — among agencies, between the youth and their families and between victims and offenders — to keep young people away from crime.
In Montgomery, the Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families, is getting $144,000 to set up an intervention program for at-risk youth. Denise Ridgely, the council’s communications director, said nothing like the program has ever been tried in the county before.
Young people accused of crimes or with poor behavior in school will be eligible for a “wraparound” program that provides services like behavior therapy, counseling and substance-abuse treatment to children and their families.
“The goal is for them not to have any further contact with the juvenile justice system and not to have any more contact with the police,” Ridgely said. “We want to shore up families to help their children make better choices.”
A similar approach is already under way in District Heights, where the city’s Children in Need of Supervision Program is getting $150,000.
That program targets youth involved in minor offenses, like truancy or underage drinking, and tries to stop them before they commit more serious crimes, said Priscilla Souto, executive director of the District Heights Family and Youth Services Center.
It provides crisis intervention and counseling to children and families. Souto said the center has therapists open until 9 p.m. to accommodate parents’ schedules.
She said the center works with the Department of Juvenile Services, judges, police and schools to identify kids who are at risk.
The Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County promotes collaboration between people who might seem to be adversaries: victims and offenders. The center received $64,950 for its community conferencing initiative, which holds meetings between youth perpetrators and their victims.
Donnie Meurer, an executive director, said the approach helps young people understand the consequences of their behavior.
“It’s working with people to find out why they acted the way they acted and what they want moving forward, what feels fair to them,” he said. “When people find their own solutions, they’re more likely to adhere to them.”
