Each year, hundreds of children in Johnson County are charged with crimes and go through the juvenile probation system.
The most common offenses involve marijuana use, truancy, battery and shoplifting. The child and their parents meet with the juvenile probation department, after which they will submit a recommendation to a judge of programs that child must complete, such as community service, therapy or substance abuse treatment.
Johnson County has used the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative since about 2010, with the goal of not only keeping those children out of juvenile detention once they’ve committed an offense, but also keeping them from committing crimes in the first place, said Michael Bohn, Johnson County’s juvenile magistrate.
“In Johnson County we’ve implemented the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, evidenced-based programs as far as keeping children out of detention. Empirical data shows children don’t do well when they’re detained. As a result of the study, if you can somehow use other means to keep the child out of detention, you should look to that first,” Bohn said.
The initiative has proven effective. In 2009, before Johnson County adopted the initiative, children committed 673 juvenile delinquency offenses, which is any crime committed by a person under the age of 18. In 2018, children committed 272 crimes, according to KIDS COUNT, a project that collects data on children and families across the United States.
Schools, however, are the first line of defense, and can alert the corrections department if they believe a child is at risk of becoming a juvenile delinquent. The alternatives initiative, which includes programs for prevention, diversion, intervention, and re-entry, labels these preventative programs, Bohn said. One such program, Why Try, is a $60, five-week class that uses a multi-sensory approach to help children understand the importance of learning, according to the program description. In cases of domestic abuse or conflict, the schools might recommend family therapy.
When a child commits a crime, the probation department submits a recommendation to a judge such as Bohn. First-time offenders are recommended for a diversion program, meant to divert them away from continuing to break the law. Bohn might recommend community service time, or another diversion program the alternatives initiative offers.
Facing Adolescent Challenges Together is an $85 referral-based diversion program for children who have experimented in drug use and display signs of risk-taking behavior. The children and their parents attend together, so each person can learn about the consequences of substance abuse, even if the parents have not taken drugs themselves, according to the program description.
The majority of children who he recommends take these programs complete them without issue, and he never sees them again, he said.
Including families when addressing the behavior and actions of their children is key to making the alternatives initiative more effective, said Angela Morris, director of Johnson County Probation.
“I think by using evidence-based tools, and the predictors of risk and needs, we are able to address those earlier on and looking at the family as a whole instead of just the juvenile,” Morris said. “If we can put in services and programs the whole family can benefit from we’ll see more change than just addressing the child.”
Intervention, for habitual offenders, involves more serious measures such as house arrest and Prime for Life, a 10-session program that explores the risks and consequences of substance abuse, the pros and cons of different choices, and how to create a plan for the future that revolves around better decision-making, according to the program description.
The last category, re-entry, is for children who have already gone through juvenile detention. A strength-based assessment following release from the juvenile justice center asks the former inmate 25 questions about ways their family supports them and what type of job they’re interested in pursuing after school, among other questions.
