TOWN & COUNTRY
JUVENILE SERVICES INNOVATING AGAIN FOR
EMERGING ADULTS In January, Williamson County
was awarded a grant, via the Lone Star Justice Alliance (LSJA), to support a new program, Second Chance Community Improvement Program (SCCIP), which provides an alternative to incarceration for emerging adults. Defined as individuals age 1724 years, these offenders are too old for juvenile detention, but, because of their age and maturity, it is believed adult incarceration is less likely to fully rehabilitate them. Data show emerging adults represent 10 percent of our population, but make up nearly 30 percent of arrests and 21 percent of the adult prison population. This age group is distinguished in the justice system because, as is generally understood, our brains do not fully mature until we are about 25 years old. As such, more than 75 percent of offenders in this demographic will re-offend in the short term, and their probations are revoked at a rate three times higher than older adults. SCCIP will establish a formal process to divert young adults from "grown-up" prison after be-
ing charged with a felony offense. Individuals will be referred to and connected with myriad services that support positive health and safety outcomes most likely to reduce the need for incarceration, or recidivism. Juvenile Services Executive Director Scott Matthew explains, "Under the law, a district attorney may only process a person arrested for possession of cocaine or meth. With this program, we can look at this as a drug problem; a symptom of something bigger, perhaps triggered by childhood trauma, so we can start by getting to the root of the issue." Judge Stacey Mathews, 277th District Court, championed the program in Williamson County and will preside over the specialty court. Through her collaborative efforts, the program has a central site and received support from Commissioners Court and County Judge Bill Gravell. She also built new partnerships with Bluebonnet Trails, Juvenile Probation, District Attorney Shawn Dick and several private attorneys. "This is not a halfway house, nor is it a move to be soft on
crime. It is a plan to be proactive about the behavior of an individual," Judge Mathews says. "We now have the flexibility to partner with any agency or program that will provide what these young adults need. Many are disenfranchised from their parents, are parents themselves, or they may be homeless. We will find them educational resources, job skills training, mental health support; anything they might need to help them back on a path to being contributing members of our community." County Judge Gravell said, "The Program ensures individuals most at risk for ongoing involvement with the criminal justice system are given the support they need to remain positively engaged with their communities. Critical to my vote was the commitment by our health and human service providers to address the needs of these young people in the community. Their support and willingness to tackle these issues will be essential for this program to succeed." Participants will be assigned social workers or case managers to help them navigate their
judicial and social accountabilities. "The ultimate goal," Director Matthew says, "if requirements are met, is to have the relevant charges dismissed and these young people will not have a felony conviction attached to everything they do for the rest of their lives." Judge Mathews and Williamson County Juvenile Services Assistant Director Matthew are Director Matt Smith, 277th District Judge Stacey pleased to have been Mathews and Executive Director Scott Matthew chosen by LSJA, not saving our taxpayers the costs of only for the benefit to incarceration, which total about our county but also to be part of $400 daily per inmate." the study that includes Dallas, to Director Matthew agrees, examine variations in needs and "When we understand the demoservices in different demographgraphics and diversity between ics. Judge Mathews said, "The a large urban city and our more hypothesis is that if we identify suburban area, we can be better specific services that provide the advocates for social justice, using most benefit in a certain area and trauma informed care, with a fobeef them up, they will always cus on this particular age group." serve our citizen population better The program is still in the early than prison. Services here will stages but anyone can contribute look different than the ones in Dallas; someone might need more to its success by supporting local education in one place, but mental organizations of all types that provide resources and referrals for health services in another. Knowing how social determinants affect life skills and independent living. our population will help everyone. Visit LoneStarJusticeAlliance.org for more information. As well, we consider the cost of these services a big investment,
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