Re-Entry program helps juveniles — one ex-offender credits it for turning his life around

Eighteen-year-old David Holt never believed that
 he would amount to much.

His first brush with the law came when he ran away from home. Then he started using drugs. The Fort Wayne teen was in and out of juvenile detention and repeatedly placed on juvenile probation. His most serious offense — theft — landed him in Indiana Boys’ School for two years.

Holt said he began getting into trouble because he was “trying to be cool at school” and trying to impress his friends.

Now, six months after his release from Allen County’s Juvenile Re-Entry Program, Holt is training to be a shift manager at Arby’s. He’s earned his GED and has been accepted at what he describes as a prestigious music school in Arizona.
He owns a car and lives on his own — all the things he never thought he’d have.
His success, he says, is largely because of the encouraging Re-Entry staff. “I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Holt said. “The difference is they had faith in me. They are really great people. They sat down and got to know me as a person. They actually took their own time.”

Holt is one of 23 people who have successfully completed the Juvenile Re-Entry Program since its inception July 1, 2003.
The program, which is modeled after an adult program developed in Allen Superior Court, aims to help juvenile offenders readjust to the community after being released from prison. The program also aims to help the juvenile offenders’ parents.
The adult version of the program has received considerable attention throughout the country. Now, the juvenile program is being recognized. During a juvenile justice conference this week, the program will be highlighted as one of four county programs in Indiana that has been effective, according to a study completed by the Indiana Youth Institute.
The study shows that Allen County’s program has been successful not only in treating juveniles but in saving the county money. The re-arrest rate and the number of juveniles returned to prison are lower with the Re-Entry program than average rates in other states and Indiana, according to the study.
The Institute’s study credits Allen County Juvenile Re-Entry with reducing the number of juveniles incarcerated by 54.5 percent between 2002 and 2004, saving the county more than $1.4 million.

The raw numbers
In 2002, nearly 90 Allen County juveniles were sent to prison; fewer than 40 children were sent in 2003 and 2004. As of June 30, about 25 juveniles have been sent to prison this year.
The reduction isn’t only because of the Re-Entry program, however.
The new Allen County Juvenile Center, which replaced the dilapidated Wood Youth Center, has aided in the reduction because it is better equipped to help the offenders, said Jamie Mann, assistant chief juvenile probation officer.
In the first year prison sentences were reduced, the county saved about $1 million and in the second year it saved another $1 million, Mann said.
The grant-financed program is mandatory for all juveniles who serve time in the Department of Correction, Mann said.

So far, 53 juveniles have participated. Of those, 23 have successfully completed the program; eight have unsuccessfully completed it; three have returned to prison; and five are missing from supervision.
The eight juveniles who unsuccessfully completed the program likely did not meet one or more of the requirements but did not commit a new crime, Mann said.
According to tracking statistics, 13 participants have gone on to pursue higher education; one has enrolled in the military; 32 were drug-free at the time of their release; and 35 did not commit new crimes after enrolling in the program.
Juvenile justice officials in Allen County believe the Re-Entry program has been a success and that it’s making a difference, Mann said.
“It’s a worthwhile endeavor,” Mann said. “I think we do have a lot to offer these kids.”

Two probation officers, whose salaries are paid through the grant, are assigned to the Re-Entry program, Mann said. The officers make and maintain contact with the offenders while they are in prison and with their families, Mann said.
Sometimes parents are required to complete classes or counseling while their child is serving a prison sentence, Mann said. The idea is to better prepare and equip parents for when their child returns home, she said.
Upon release, Re-Entry officers help the juveniles obtain a driver’s license, find a job, enroll in school or earn a GED. The focus is slightly different in the juvenile program because the entire family is usually involved, Mann said. The officers are also responsible for ensuring the child doesn’t commit another crime and follows the rules of probation.
Juveniles might be required to complete counseling or alcohol or drug rehabilitation programs and are visited by officers on average twice a week early on in the program, Mann said.

Occasionally, housing is an issue as well. At least one offender has been placed in a group home and two others were wards of the state upon release from prison, Mann said.
Housing traditionally isn’t as much of a focus in the juvenile program as it might be in adult re-entry because juveniles are usually returning to their parents’ homes, Mann said.

The effect
Holt said the encouragement he received from his Re-Entry officer couldn’t have helped him more.
“Without that, I’d probably be locked up again,” Holt said. “Like school, I never believed in myself. I believe in myself now. I am more confident.”
He said his family relationships have also improved as he completed and was released from the program. He first started using drugs to escape family problems, he said.
“In the end, I realize I was wrong,” Holt said.
He doesn’t attribute all of his success to the program, however.

While he was in Boys’ School in Plainfield, Holt realized he didn’t want to return to the prison after being released. He wanted to change — something any juvenile must want to fully take advantage of the program, he said.
“The main reason I wanted to change is because I spent two to three years of my life in Boys’ School,” Holt said. “That’s time I could have been out.”
The program also helped Holt learn his own limits, he said. He knows the things and environments he shouldn’t be around and he’s learned it “isn’t all about doing something to be cool. Real friends shouldn’t put you in that situation.”
Although he has been officially released from the program, Holt said he’s chosen to keep in touch with his Re-Entry officer. The relationship has evolved into a friendship, Holt said.
“I never thought I’d be anything before. I never expected to be friends with a probation officer,” he said, laughing.
The two are planning to meet for lunch next week, Holt said.

Holt is planning to continue working, saving money and eventually attend the music school in Arizona. He does some studio recording in his spare time and is eager to continue a crime-free life, he said.

Sara Eaton
17 July 2005

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/12155203.htm

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