Probation Department looks forward to $705,000 for youth
counseling programs
Morgan Hill – Santa Clara County is getting an extra $705,000 for its juvenile justice program to be used to keep youths out of Juvenile Hall.
The money comes in addition to $4.8 million already received from the state this year through the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act.
Santa Clara County Chief Probation Officer Sheila Mitchell’s expenditure plans for the extra cash were approved by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
The bonus cash comes from an additional $19-million allocation in October from the state for juvenile justice programs.
To acquire the funds the county is submitting a supplemental application to the state in February.
Mitchell wants the extra money to be used to help youths on probation, living at home, to avoid committing more crimes that could land them in jail.
There are about 2,500 youths on probation in the county and about 60 percent of them, or 1,500, are feared to become repeat offenders.
Mitchell hopes more family-based counseling programs and better monitoring of a small number of youths with electronic ankle bracelets will help.
“These state funds are significant to support the strategies employed by the probation department and the Board of Supervisors,” Mitchell said. “They will help us close the gap in electronic monitoring and oversight and will allow us to contract with a community-based organization to provide these needed services.”
The probation department’s plans follow a 2005 report by Huskey and Associates that finds treatment for youth offenders reduces recidivism.
None of the dollars will go toward Juvenile Hall facilities such as Boys Ranch in unicorporated Morgan Hill, which is undergoing improvements separately.
Officials hope providing mental health, substance abuse and family counseling services to high-risk youth on probation leads to better outcomes.
“This is really significant,” said County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado, chair of the Public Safety and Justice Committee and a delegate on the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council and the Juvenile Detention Reform Oversight Planning Commission. “Our youth population tends to be overlooked and yet they will soon be adults. If we don’t try to place them on the right path we are all going to pay a high price.”
The probation department intends to use $388,000 to hire a community-based organization to provide counseling services.
About $108,000 will be used to hire two employees to help manage the new program. The positions would expire in June 2008.
Additionally, some of the money will provide a 3 percent raise for community-based organizations already providing programs for juvenile offenders.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times and county issues for the Dispatch. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@mo*************.com.
