Program continues to make difference in people's lives

I don't know the real circumstances behind the incident that led to police handcuffing that 5-year-old girl, sparking a media firestorm. What that incident brings to mind, though, is that so many situations that should be handled on a personal level-by family, friends and community-have somehow become institutionalized.
Obviously, police or judicial intervention is necessary plenty of times. But it seems to me that law enforcement and the courts often end up dealing with juvenile mischief and mistakes that could better be handled outside these institutions. That's just what Lee County's Neighborhood Accountability Board program strives to do.
Granted, kids don't get to the program until they're already in "the system," but this program diverts eligible juveniles from an already-overburdened court system.
Perhaps the real value is that it doesn't just penalize kids for their infractions; it emphasizes accountability and restitution. A court might result in some jail time or probation, requiring only that the offender stay clean for the length of the sentence, yet often does little to repair the harm done or address the behavior. The Neighborhood Accountability Board process involves the child, family, community and victim, so the child gets a clear picture of the crime's real impacts.

More than mischief

Here's an example: A young girl, doing what so many youngsters do, was experimenting with cigarettes in the woods and inadvertently sparked a major fire. She was facing serious felony arson charges. The Department of Juvenile Justice, with approval from the State Attorney's office, referred the case to the Neighborhood Accountability Board.
The girl, an animal lover, didn't really grasp the impact of what she had done until the fire chief described how the fire spread as animals caught fire and fled to other areas. In addition to writing letters of apology, she spent time working in an animal shelter, and helped plant new trees in the burned area. Through the program, she gained a clearer picture of the consequences of her actions, she took responsibility for them, and she paid for them through restitution, remorse and repairing some of the harm she had done.
Shoplifting and trespassing are more common offenses, but because of the success of the program, it has been expanded to take on not just nonviolent misdemeanors, but more serious charges, such as marijuana possession and counterfeiting.
An offender has to have accepted responsibility before being accepted into the program, so the task of the board — made up of volunteers who live or work in that particular neighborhood — is not to determine guilt, but to help the child see the big picture and develop a new respect.

It gives these kids life skills and direction. Neighborhood Accountability Boards have sent a couple of those who completed the program with their caregivers to visit legislators in Tallahassee, and one girl became interested in criminology, so the program helped her meet with an academic advisor in that field at Florida State University.
I'm extremely pleased by the success of this program. Funded by a federal grant and administered through Lee Counts Department of Human Services, it is now in its fourth year — and the Department of Juvenile Justice recently extended funding for another year. So far, 98 youngsters have successfully completed it, with only 11 who have gotten into trouble again. That says to me that this program is working, especially for kids who made one-time, serious mistakes.
The volunteers who serve on the boards deserve the credit for helping these children and making the program a success. Lee County has 10 boards, most in neighborhoods and communities, including Harlem Heights, Page Park, Lehigh Acres and sections of Cape Coral, but Edison Mall also has its own board, helping to address rampant shoplifting.
About 170 volunteers make these programs work, but more are always needed. They go through background checks, of course, but the amount of time they want to contribute is up to them. Some can give only an hour a month; others dedicate more. These are people who live or work in the neighborhoods, and for them, this is an opportunity to be involved in helping not just the children, families and victims, but their community as a whole. I encourage anyone interested in volunteering to call Roger Mercado at the Lee County Department of Human Services, at 533-7911.

Volunteering doesn't take much time or special qualifications — just a genuine sense of caring.

Bob Janes
7 May 2005

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