OKTIBBEHA COUNTY — The 16th Circuit Court District Attorney’s Office and the Oktibbeha County Youth Court are seeking to prevent juvenile delinquency, and hopefully, break the cycle of crime long-term.
County Court Judge Lee Ann Self Turner and District Attorney Scott Colom requested to apply for a grant to establish the Youth Violence Prevention Partnership at the board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
County court handles all juvenile cases.
“The overarching goal is to establish a comprehensive support system that promotes early intervention, diversion, education, and steering vulnerable youth away from the criminal justice system,” Colom told the board. “… I think we have a much better chance of getting the grant if the DA’s office partners with the youth court, because that will be a strong signal to the Department of Justice that we take this very seriously.”
YVPP would be funded by a Justice Assistance Grant from the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention worth between $160,000 and $180,000, if awarded, Colom told The Dispatch.
In a press release on Monday, the District Attorney’s Office said the program will seek to address the “root causes” of juvenile delinquency, rather than punishments after the problem happens.
Colom and Turner presented the board with an abstract detailing specific programs to achieve this goal, including an early intervention program known as Stop Now and Plan, a mentorship program with partners from around the county and individual counseling.
Turner said the Stop Now and Plan program would provide cognitive behavioral therapy for minors between the ages of 4 and 11 years old who the youth court identify as at-risk.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy is extremely effective in helping with delinquency issues,” Turner told The Dispatch. “… There are a lot of kids in the system who are in the truancy part of the youth court where we know there is something that is not right in their household. … But this is the program that can catch them before it gets to the stage where they’re out there committing delinquent acts.”
But Colom said the grant application will not just include Stop Now and Plan. He said the application is intentionally “flexible” to include mentoring and counseling programs for other age ranges as well.
Turner said she hopes to establish a mentorship program in partnership with the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, if the grant is awarded. She said the program could be as simple as a mentor, who is assigned to an at-risk child by the court, visiting the child and having lunch with them at school.
“We have some kids that don’t have good role models,” Turner said. “… If they don’t see that in someone in an authority position who spends time and cares about them, some kids just don’t get it.”
Turner also said the grant application will include a request for funds for counseling, generally, outside of the cognitive behavioral therapy provided by Stop Now and Plan.
“Almost everyone who goes through the youth court needs some form of counseling, whether it’s for a trauma that they’ve experienced, or maybe a personality disorder or a mental health disability,” Turner said. “… I personally think we could use a two-layer counseling system, (with) parent counseling and child counseling. Children can’t change their own environments, for the most part.”
All of these programs could have a longer-term effect on Oktibbeha County, Colom said. He is hopeful these programs prevent youth delinquency charges and eventually lower crime.
“Often our juveniles who end up getting charged as adults have a youth court record,” Colom said. “The best prevention is intervention. Hopefully we can accomplish that with the partnership.”
Colom asked that any organizations or individuals who want to be involved in any of these programs with the youth court reach out to the District Attorney’s Office. The office’s phone number is (662) 329-5911.
The board of supervisors approved Colom and Turner’s request to apply for the grant unanimously.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 48 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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