By Pete Smith
“Can we save kids? And can it be cost-effective?”
Those are the questions Westfield Mayor Andy Cook recalls asking when he was first approached with the idea of implementing a program to help kids turn their lives around before they entered the legal system.
Even in an affluent community like Westfield, Cook said he realized there were lots of at-risk kids who would benefit.
That was four years ago. Today Cook would describe the program as a resounding success that he credits with pointing more than 400 kids’ lives in the right direction.
“If a kid is in trouble, the community wraps their arms around them and puts them back on track,” he said.
According to Cook, Zionsville and Carmel school districts are also considering implementing this program.
How is ‘at-risk’ defined?
“This is not just a mentoring program,” said Tricia Akers, the program director for Hamilton County.
And some of its most visible representatives are the “early intervention advocates” that scour the community for resources to help the children the schools identify as at-risk.
The term “at-risk” could be defined differently by each community, but typical at risk behaviors could include:
● Tardiness
● Absenteeism
● Not turning in assignments
● Displaying passive-aggressive or hostile behavior
Cook also noted that family factors such as coming from a single-parent household, being raised by a grandparent or experiencing a trauma are also factors that need to be considered.
But whatever the criteria, the goal is always the same: reach the kids before they get to the judicial center.
How effective is the program?
Cook is quick to point out that he has seen a noticeable improvement in Westfield schools since the program was implemented.
He notes that 98.4 percent of Westfield’s students now graduate from high school – a rate he claims is the highest graduation rate in Hendricks, Boone and Hamilton counties – all while seeing a decrease in the number of kids entering the juvenile justice system.
“I think our school system has discovered we can show them a return,” Cook said. “And not only can we save kids’ lives, we can show an increase in the areas that they are already being measured by. It’s a win-win.”
Cook said that no state or federal funds are used to pay for the program or its early intervention advocates.
“It’s a social program, but it’s done without a lot of tax dollars,” he said.
Instead, a nonprofit board of directors manages the program and multiple fundraisers are staged throughout the year to raise money.
Zionsville School officials did not respond to inquiries about how this program, if adopted, will affect Zionsville students and residents.
Westfield’s Youth Assistance Program statistics for 2013:
79 – new children referred to the program by schools and prosecutor
52 – cases were still active
31 – cases were deemed successful, meaning all original goals were met
1 – case was unsuccessful and was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office
23 – families declined the program’s services
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