AG 1994 03 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 3 PROGRAM SUMMARY STA'£~MENT OF THE PROBLRM: Cabarrus County had no emergency shelter for juveniles except foster homes. In 1980 through a joint effort of DSS, Juvenile Court, Lutheran Family Services and the Lutheran churches of our county the Temporary Shelter Program began. Because of the success rate of children not becoming further involved with the court and some children not being sent to training school because they are placed in this program, it is an alternative for the Juvenile Court. Single parent families, lack of parenting skills, lack of child supervision because of work shifts, increased drug abuse by child, increased school difficulties by child, lack of community resources, rapid population growth, number of juvenile petitions and training school commitments create a need for an out of home placement for children in this county. UPDATE: Cabarrus County has only four foster homes who will accept adjudicated undisciplined/delinquent children. These homes will not work with severe violence or substance abuse problems as all of the homes have other children, and foster parents are concerned regarding safety of their own children. Like most urban communities in the state, emergency care homes are necessary for this population. There are no additional emergency care placements available throughout the state since last year's proposal. Given the limited number of spaces, we have found that waiting lists are being kept by emergency homes and application procedures take from two to six weeks to process for emergency admissions if a vacancy exists. Seventeen children have been placed in the Lutheran Group Home between 7/1/93 and 2/11/94. PROGRAM GOAL: (PURPOSE OF-THE PROGRAM) Main goal of this program is to reduce juvenile crime, reduce substance abuse, and provide a non secure placement alternative to children before the court for undisciplined/delinquent behavior or prevent the children coming to court for these reasons. This program will provide a structured out-of-home placement with behavior modification, counseling, coordination of services and case planning for each child. The goal is to decrease any referrals back to the court system for children in residence at this shelter by stabilizing acting out behavior, decreasing substance abuse, improving self esteem, providing intervention services to the parents including family counseling, to result in the delinquency/undisciplined juvenile rate being decreased. TARGET POPULATION: Cabarrus County residents ages 10 through 17 who are presently before the Juvenile Court or experiencing behaviors or problems during the past 12 months that make it likely the child will be before the court as high risk for petition being filed. The Cabarrus County Department of Social Services and Juvenile Court Family Counselors have the understanding that priority is given to any juvenile before the court on a petition for delinquency/ undisciplined behavior. The intake counselor for Juvenile Court also may make referrals to the program if the petition is not to be filed. Community Based Alternatives minimum standards regarding population are adhered to.