NEW JUVENILE CENTER UNVEILED IN NEW MADRID

NEW MADRID -- Even before the ribbon was cut to open the New Madrid Bend Youth Center, officials were able to present a success story.

Rodrickus, one of the first young men to reside at the new Missouri Division of Youth Services residential treatment facility in New Madrid, was back for a visit. He told the crowd gathered for Thursday's open house what his life was like before his stay at the 20-bed residential care center.

"I was real bad," recalled Rodrickus, adding he broke into houses, used drugs, got into fights and almost shot a person. But his stay at the center as well as at Sears Youth Center in Poplar Bluff, changed him, Rodrickus continued. "I learned a lot of stuff here," he said. "I'm trying my best now. I'm trying to finish school. I want to get a job and put a little change in my pocket."

During his time in the residential facility, the young man said he learned to redirect his anger and learned about himself. The teen-ager went on to single out individuals, both at the Sears Youth Center in Poplar Bluff and the New Madrid Bend Facility, who made a difference in his life.

This, said Devon Barnes, facility manager at the New Madrid Bend Youth Center, is the goal of such residential centers -- to teach youth to fulfill their needs in a responsible manner and to learn to work within the context of their family and community.

The new one-story building, located near the south New Madrid intersection of Interstate 55 and Highway 61, is also a success story for New Madrid and New Madrid County, agreed local officials. With the placement of the facility in New Madrid, young men, ages 12 to 17, who are placed by the juvenile courts with the Division of Youth Services, can now get treatment closer to their families. Also the new facility has brought 32 new jobs to the area.

"I think this is a good deal for the area. I'm glad the city and the county could provide the start up money and the incentives to get them here," said New Madrid Mayor Mark Baker.

The mayor was one of a large crowd touring the facility and meeting with the young men who are currently residing at the facility.

A medium-security facility, the center provides care and treatment for juvenile offenders who have committed crimes such as assault, unlawful use or possession of a weapon, property damage, robbery, etc. According to Mat Bauman, youth specialist with the center, the young men are placed in the center after their arrest and the juvenile court places them with the Division of Youth Services.

"We get the kids who have the potential to go either way," Bauman said.

The facility is designed to provide a structured environment where the teen-agers are encouraged to develop and learn to be accountable for their actions.

The $1.3 million center includes two classrooms, dormitories, laundry facilities, dining area, group meeting areas as well as offices for the staff.

Most of the young men will spend from six to eight months at the center. But, Bauman added, none will be released until the staff determines they are ready and the court which placed them in their custody agrees.

Completed in early July, the New Madrid Bend Youth Center is typical of Missouri's approach to the care of individuals placed by the courts under the supervision of the Missouri Division of Youth Services, said Mark Steward, director of the Missouri Division of Youth Services.

Describing the approach as innovative, Steward explained it is a community-based residential program, encouraging involvement by the community and by the young men's families. The success rate, he noted, is three times higher than those states which use an institutional system.

New Madrid County Presiding Commissioner Clyde Hawes listened closely as a young man told him of his daily schedule during a tour of the building. Stating he was impressed by what he saw and heard, Hawes added: "I was surprised by the atmosphere -- it is homelike but there is an environment for learning and discipline. This is a real improvement in the judicial system. It encourages youth to be productive and become good citizens where ever they live."

Sometimes, added Clint, another of the center's residents, it is just a matter of learning to do things a little different. "We're not bad people. We are just people who made bad decisions."