Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick said, “At this time we are embarking on a new future for Mahoning county.” She explained:
We need to tackle truancy by keeping our kids in school so they never come here, and if they never come here it’s so less likely they go on to the juvenile justice system and on to the adult system.
Early warning teams will intervene as soon as a student begins to fall below a designated threshold level.
Boardman School Superintendent Frank Lazzeri said:
You can’t just concentrate on the A and B students. We have to look at every student and help every student meet their full potential so as to keep kids in school.
The superintendents say a key part of the program is the resources the court will bring to the schools. Team members from the court will be able to go into the homes to meet with the parents and help them pull together to make education a priority.
Lazzeri added:
Those resources are going to help us be more effective in meeting the needs of those students who potentially could fall through the cracks.
The program is supported by a $600,000 federal grant from the U.S. Justice Department, one of only four such grants awarded nationwide. Taking part in the pilot program will be Austintown, Boardman, Struthers, Youngstown and the Mahoning County High School. The program requires no cost for the participating local schools.
Judge Dellick has high expectations for the program:
Our statistics of high crime, low education and high poverty should end with this grant, and I am confident that it will.
