Wednesday, January 18, 2023
www.thepapersonline.com
Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties
Know Your Neighbor . . . 2➤ ➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . 4
Vol. 52, No. 30
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
JDAI prepares for fifth year of serving juveniles in Kosciusko County
By CALEIGH BYRER Staff Writer The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative is entering its fifth year serving juveniles in Kosciusko County with numerous programs planned for implementation, pending grant approval for 2023-2024. JDAI receives roughly $70,000 each fiscal year to use toward the safety and well-being of local juveniles through programs and detention alternatives. The ultimate goal is to maintain the balance of public safety and the best interest of juveniles in participating counties. Some of the programs planned for continuation or implementation this year are a trauma response program for educators and youth, incentivized probation and policing the teen brain program: The trauma program will supply youth and teachers with tools to manage the mental and behavioral effects of trauma in the classroom. Funding will be used to supply 1,000 pamphlets and 30 posters containing de-escalation strategies, calming/regulation techniques and a box breathing technique. The probation incentives program is intended to reinforce positive behavior by giving juveniles items such as a gift card, candy, snack pack, cell phone charger, water bottle or a fidget toy when they are progressing and meeting goals. The policing the teen brain program is intended to educate police officers and community members in adolescent brain development and
INTERSITE CONFERENCE — One notable event JDAI coordinators attended in the past year was a three-day intersite conference that highlighted the importance of creating a healthy relationship with juveniles. JDAI coordinators, officers and other volunteers attend conferences and training sessions throughout the year. From left are Lana Hororo, teen court co-director; Kara Shively, JDAI co-coordinator and juvenile probation officer; Dana Bailey, JDAI co-coordinator and juvenile probation officer; Dee Monroy, juvenile probation officer; Judge Karin McGrath, judge of Kosciusko Superior Court One; Heather Reichenbach, Warsaw Community Schools board of trustees member; Doug Light, Wawasee Middle School resource officer; and Antony Garza, defense attorney. Photo provided by JDAI. improve approaches with the youth. Funding will be used for contractual services of a psychologist or another qualified Ph.D. to teach two training sessions, books and meals or snacks for training sessions. As JDAI was formed to help mitigate the impact of detention on youth, its programs are intended to give a juvenile the chance to learn rather than be subjected to a potentially harmful environment. The initiative takes a reformed approach to detaining juveniles through a screening tool, considering the juvenile’s most serious alleged instant offense, age at first adjudication, history of escape, failure to appear and delinquency, current legal status and aggravating and mitigating factors. Through this evaluation decision makers are able to choose the best course of action for each juvenile. Based on their score, it may be recommended that a juvenile be released, released with conditions or detained. “Detention and commitment to (the Indiana Department of Correction) can have long-term negative effects, so when we don’t send them and
are able to deal with them in the community, there are all those kids who don’t feel those negative effects that disrupt education, family and mental health,” said JDAI Co-Coordinator Kara Shively. Detention is seen as the last resort and is only taken if absolutely necessary; JDAI’s mission is to ensure that issues with juveniles are handled carefully and with regard for their longterm future and success. “If we detain someone, we have to have them back in front of the judge in 48 hours. More times than not, they just go home. So what did we really accomplish in removing a child from the home, putting them in a situation that is going to be very harmful to them? Nothing changed in 48 hours,” JDAI Co-Coordinator Dana Bailey said. Over the past year, JDAI has been able to significantly decrease felony petitions filed, detention costs and IDOC commitments, and to secure detention admissions through more than 20 programs. JDAI plans to continue working diligently to keep those numbers down and act in the best interest of the juveniles and general public through its programs and strategies this year.