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CT Law Tribune 'State Has Been Shortsighted'
Advocate says more programs needed to help at-risk
youth
By Gary Lewis
CT Law Tribune
Monday, February 18, 2008
Attorney Martha Stone is eager to have the
resources to address truancy and children's destructive behavior
before those children become part of the criminal system.
As co-chair of the legislature's Families With
Service Needs Advisory Board, she and her group are asking state
officials to invest more than $5 million from this summer through
2010 to help fund initiatives that will better serve at-risk youth.
Last week, the committee released the year-long
study with the funding requests, arguing that to address the problems
immediately would save the state millions of dollars in the long
run by helping children avoid the juvenile justice system.
Stone said the legislature has revamped the
status offender system from a punitive system to a "much more therapeutic
model" and said no cases can be filed against status offenders unless
those children had received support services. Status offenders are
juveniles under the jurisdiction of the court because of acts that
would not be criminal if committed by an adult but that indicate
the child is beyond parental control.
In its report, the advisory board made several
core recommendations. The first is to provide funding for six additional
Family Support Centers, which offer services such as 24-hour crisis
intervention, family mediation and mental health services. The second
is to involve the state Department of Education in important truant
initiatives, and also to enhance funding for Youth Service Bureaus
that work with Juvenile Review Boards, which offer an alternative
to the court system.
The board also recommended that the state create
flexible funding for after-school recreational activities, mentorship
or mental health services not met by an existing program in a child's
community.
Stone, who is also executive director of the
Center for Children's Advocacy, a non-profit organization based
at the University of Connecticut School of Law, recently spoke with
Managing Editor Douglas Malan about her work with the advisory board.
LAW TRIBUNE: Where does the value lie
in the Families With Services Needs Advisory Board recommendations?
MARTHA STONE: If you can provide services
to these kids, you can stem the pipeline into the juvenile justice
system. That's where I think the state has been short-sighted. I
challenge the legislature to look at the front end of the system.
If they're serious about prevention, then they need to put money
into initiatives focusing on truants and status offenders.
LAW TRIBUNE: Who are considered high-end
or high-risk kids?
STONE: These are kids who are very truant
and losing credit in school and who may be disrespectful to a parent
and the parents don't know how to handle them. The lower end kids
are missing class but not losing credit, and they may be talking
back to their parents but not staying out all night.
TRIBUNE: What are some factors that
lead to truancy?
STONE: A lot of kids who are truant are
undiagnosed special ed kids. They've been pushed through grade after
grade, but if you look at them they're either undiagnosed special
ed or they're not getting the special ed services that they need
in their school. They can't do the work, they get frustrated and
then they stop going to school. Other truants are bilingual students
who don't get the support they need through programs and then stop
going to school. There also are the students who feel lost in big
middle school settings.
TRIBUNE: Do you ever get frustrated in
trying to convince people of the value of your initiatives or when
the process doesn't move along quickly enough?
STONE: I never take the frustration point
of view because I would've stopped doing this years ago.
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