NORWICH – In what can be described as a proactive approach, the Chenango County Probation Department and Department of Social Services are chasing after state funds that will help them continue programs to keep youth out of the criminal justice system.
Department heads met with county leaders at a meeting of the Safety and Rules Committee last week, seeking support for an application of state funds that will allow the two departments to administer two different programs geared toward helping at-risk youth and their families.
Those two programs, called the “Parent Project” and “Why Try?,” aim to prevent PINS (Persons In Need of Supervision) or delinquency petitions from being filed against a youth while also giving parents useful resources to help keep their kids on the right track.
Chenango County Director of Probation Karen Osborn said the two programs provide a valuable service that could keep troubled kids from making harmful decisions leading to long-term consequences. What’s more, they may also be a cost savings to the county as it costs far more for reactive-type services for PINS than proactive programs.
“These programs are designed to be preventative in nature and address things before they manifest into bigger problems,” said Daniel Auwarter, Deputy Commissioner of Social Services. “Programs like these have ways on improving self-esteem, improving outlook on life, improving emotional standards, making better decisions – all those things at the forefront that help prevent measures at the backend, when CPS (Child Protective Services) or Foster Care gets involved.”
Under the provision that Chenango County uses money to steer such programs, the NY State Office of Family Services has allocated more than $55,700 to the county that runs through March 31, 2016. The county may tap into those funds as long as it also agrees to kick-in 38 percent of the cost to facilitate programming.
Probation and DSS are seeking a total $10,000 from county government in hopes of using funds to train two Parent Project facilitators (at a cost of approximately $4,000), purchase training and curriculum for 10 Why Try? facilitators and 50 youth books (at a cost of $3,500), and provide 50 Parent Project books for approximately three classes (at a cost of $1,000). Left over money would be used to front any unforseen expenses.
