Turning first-time juvenile offenders into Eagle Scouts may not be a realistic goal, but a year-old effort known as the Boy Scouts Juvenile Diversion Program is making headway in redirecting teens from law-breaking to law-abiding. The Three Fires Council, Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in St. Charles, designed the program based on a model developed by scout leaders in Omaha. They have joined with volunteers from the DuPage County Bar Association to give kids a second chance.
It began in the summer of 1996 when a committee of representatives from the County Board, the judiciary, state’s attorney’s office, Boy Scouts, county probation department and the bar association met to investigate the program. Glen Ellyn’s Brian McKillip, a board member of the DuPage County Bar Association, was part of that steering committee, and he liked what he heard.
“It’s for boys and girls, ages 13 through 17, who are first-time offenders, arrested for a misdemeanor or a non-violent felony,” said McKillip. “This is a valuable alternative to prosecution.”
Selection of candidates for the program begins in the DuPage County Probation Office. Supervisor Elvin Gonzalez said his department screens police reports on first-time juvenile offenders. If indicated, a preliminary conference is held before the case is sent to court. With the approval of the state’s attorney’s office, candidates are referred to the program.
“We look at the child’s adjustment at home, in the community and at school,” said Gonzalez. “If he or she is doing well in school but has a peer-relationship problem or a conflict at home, that would be one indicator that he or she would be a candidate for the program.”
At this juncture, the Boy Scouts step in. Ron Wentzell, diversion executive for the scouts, said, “This program is a perfect fit for us because our mission is to develop citizenship, character, physical and mental fitness in young people.” Once the probation department has made its recommendations, Wentzell and his team set up a review of the program with the youths and their parents. “Together they decide if they want to participate,” he said.
Each offender must attend two-hour meetings twice a month for six months. Classes are small, between 16 and 20 teens, with three adult leaders who are volunteers from the bar association. The meetings have volunteer speakers from the community sharing first-hand experiences with issues that range from substance abuse to self-esteem. During the six-month class there’s a tour of the county jail and the coroner’s office.
Visiting the jail is a sobering experience for teens, according to Josette Allen, an attorney with the DuPage County Public Defender’s Office. Allen was a volunteer with the pilot program in January 1997. “We’ve had some very effective guest speakers too,” she said. “In particular, one who had been involved in a DUI and another who spoke about substance abuse.” As for the role of group leaders, Allen said, “We are not there as friends or as big brothers and sisters. We are there to monitor the youths.”
The intervention program is more than a passive classroom situation. Participants are required to complete 40 hours of volunteer service before they graduate from the program. Additionally they must earn 1,000 points, awarded by the leaders for regular attendance, active involvement, leadership and an occasional written assignment. One teen wrote a letter to a guest speaker who had encouraged the class to be goal-oriented. The letter read in part: “I realize that I should think more of myself and try to be someone that people will remember positively.”
According to Susan Howard of the county probation office, since the diversion program kicked off in January 1997, after preliminary conferences with 316 first-time offenders, 96 were sent to the program. Eighteen were removed or dropped out; 62 have graduated, and 16 were attending class as of mid-March 1998. None of the graduates has been rearrested.
Successful completion of the program means the charge is dismissed if they have not reoffended in six months, and that’s the motivation that keeps kids in the program, McKillip said. Admittedly, they are not excited about attending the required meetings. “Initially they assume a bored-to-death posture, but some develop friendships along the way and most are generally appreciative of what we are doing,” he said.
About 30 bar association members are part of the volunteer leaders’ group. “We shepherd the youths, interact with the kids, serve as role models,” McKillip said.
Though leaders and the youths are not scouts in the traditional sense, each class is registered as an Explorer Post. The scouts organization provides training for volunteers, and they monitor the day-to-day operations. Wentzell said a diversion program started this year in Kane County as well. “We are growing so quickly that we expect to have one class beginning each month eventually,” he said.
Funding for administrative costs, training and materials comes from the Boy Scout general operating fund, grants from United Way, fundraisers and a donation from the DuPage County Bar Association.
Joanne Webber of Wheaton is a bar association volunteer with the program. “Prevention and diversion programs are the wave of the future,” she said. And as one who worked in the juvenile probation program during the 1980s, she understands the issues and needs. “It’s always helpful for people of different generations to connect,” she said. “My own kids are grown. This is an opportunity to bring together my professional skills with volunteer service and to stay in touch with young people.”
Webber said she is proud of the good-heartedness on the part of her fellow attorneys in the bar association: “As a group we are oriented toward community-based volunteer services.”
Allen is optimistic about the success of the program and sees it as a service to the kids, their families and the community. “They are at a point where they can choose to go the right way or the wrong way,” she said. “This program will help them make the right decisions for their future.”
Gonzalez attends the first meeting of each group and is there to hand out diplomas at the graduation. “I congratulate them on having achieved a positive goal.”
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To volunteer as a speaker or to offer a service site where youths can earn their credit hours, call Ron Wentzell at 630-584-9250.
