For the first time, the Cass County Family Court has the resources necessary to try and break the cycle of abuse and neglect that leads to many juvenile offenses.

The county was one of four in the state of Michigan to receive grant money to help address delinquency problems in the state. Cass received more than $200,000 from the state, more than any of the other recipients.

With the funds, the court will receive new tools to help them tackle the stem of juvenile crime in county by mending broken homes or treating childhood trauma, rather than simply punishing or
incarcerating offenders.

“Many of the juveniles we deal with have situations in their past dealing with abuse or neglect in their homes,” said Judge Sue Dobrich.

The funds, which are expected to kick in on April 15, will allow the court to hire a social worker who will work with the families of past juvenile offenders, helping to rebuild relationships and create a better household dynamic, said Juvenile Referee Leigh Feldman. Feldman and others have helped identify 20
possible candidates for the new program, who have had issues with truancy, theft, marijuana abuse and other such delinquent behavior.

“They’re fairly minor offenses, but they could build into something more if we don’t step in now,” Feldman said.

The social worker will work with a few families at a time over the next 14 months, working with them on crisis intervention and skill building to help parents and children regulate their emotions when problems emerge. The court will also provide one-on-one therapy for family members, including parents.

“A lot of [parents] don’t know how to parent or how to learn to emotionally attach themselves to their children,” said Margaret Richardson, who wrote the grant for the county.

The funds will also give the county resources to send juveniles in the program to the Children’s Trauma Assessment Center (CTAC), located at Western Michigan University. There, therapists will work with them to address early trauma that may be manifesting itself in delinquent behavior later in life.

In addition, members of CTAC will also hold training sessions for Woodlands Behavioral Healthcare staff and other select therapists, which will allow workers in Cass County to help address future cases of child trauma.

Feldman hopes that the new initiatives sparked by the grant will decrease the number of juveniles sent to detention centers, which will benefit taxpayers, families and the offenders themselves, she said.

“It’s tough on the kids,” Feldman said. “When you’re placed in one of these centers, sometimes for a year, it’s hard for you to just come back into your home.”