MAKING A PACT FOR A CHILD'S FUTURE

An 11-year-old has a lot of absences at school, he's continually getting into fights and has been seen roaming the streets at night.

His single mother does what she can, but she works long hours, often at night, to support her family.

This situation isn't critical, yet. But it does have many of the signs that point to a risk that this child's problems could get more serious, perhaps even serious enough that he could end up in trouble with the law.

Such situations will be the target of a new program in Cape Girardeau that will focus on keeping children age 13 and younger out of the juvenile justice system.

The PACT (Parent and Child Together) Program is a collaborative effort of the Inter-Agency Staffing Team of the Community Caring Council and the Cape Girardeau Police Department. The program recently received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group. A coordinator for the program, Peggy Pruett, started her job this month.

"The idea behind the program is to identify kids with problems early on, then find all the resources available to help these children and their families find solutions and get help," said Shirley Ramsey, executive director of the Community Caring Council.

Aiming at children ages 13 and younger, the program will focus on children not who are in serious trouble but who are at risk of getting into serious trouble, Pruett said.

"We are trying to catch them at an earlier age when they are more responsive," she said.

The earlier you can intervene in an at-risk situation, the better it is, said John Buchheit, chief deputy juvenile officer for the 32nd Judicial Circuit that includes Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties.

He said most of the children who end up in the juvenile justice system have a history of problems that begin when they are young and escalate.

But looking at the child's problems is just half a solution. It's also important to look at the child's family life to see if there are problems there that may be contributing to a child's actions, Buchheit said.

The PACT program addresses that by bringing the parents into the process of looking for resources and solutions, Ramsey said.

This will be done using the Inter-Agency Staffing Team, composed of representatives of organizations that work with youth and can provide resources for cases. The staffing team has been in place for more than seven years, working with families to keep children from out-of-home placement. Now those resources also will be directed at keeping children out of the juvenile justice system, Ramsey said.

The staffing team makes it easier for families to learn what resources are available because representatives that provide those resources are brought together in one place. That way, the family doesn't have to go from agency to agency to learn what is available, Ramsey said.

The team works with the family to identify problems, determine what services and programs are available to help with those problems then devise a treatment plan, Ramsey said.

"The parents are part of the planning process," Ramsey emphasized. "We're not doing something to them, but working with them."

In the situation described at the beginning of this story, the plan might include after-school care for the child, mentoring to provide the child with positive role models and an employment program to help the mother get a better-paying job with fewer night hours.

Pruett's role as coordinator is working with the families as they seek to following the treatment plan and follow up on progress being made or other services that may be needed.

Ramsey expects some families to welcome the help PACT will provide. With others, it may take more work to get the parents involved.

"When you see young people with difficulties, it's often because there's not adequate parenting," said Chief Rick Hetzel of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

"There are children out there being raised by parents who have drug problems, lack parenting skills or are apathetic," Hetzel said. "It's important to get the families involved to address those issues."

For children who have few positive role models in their lives, PACT also includes a mentoring component, including the Chief's Club. That club, in place for seventh-graders at Schultz Middle School, is designed to provide a positive role model for students to foster a relationship of mutual trust and respect between police and students.

The grant for the PACT program is $45,650 per year in funds, plus the same amount of in-kind contributions like office space and volunteer time, Ramsey said. She estimates the program, which was funded for three years but which must be renewed each year, will handle about 50 cases per year.

She said the program will be well worth the money if it keeps children out of the juvenile justice system because prevention is generally less costly than incarceration.

According to figures from the Division of Youth Services and supplied by Buchheit, cost for children committed to the state through the courts is: $91.44 per day for commitment to a group home, $96.37 per day for commitment to an intermediate facility and $131.56 per day for a secure, lock-down facility.