By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – Deferring juvenile first-time offenders from the court system and mentoring guide fragile lives back on track at a savings to taxpayers, the Cass County Board of Commissioners heard Thursday from three women.
"Many studies tell you that if a young person has a strong (role model) in their lives, it can really make a difference," Family Court Judge Susan Dobrich of Dowagiac said. "A lot of our children don't have that and they need a little extra.
"We're always looking for mentors. I just filled out my application for a young lady because my girls are grown up and I'd like to take someone shopping once in a while. Mentoring is a way we can divert our youth from being involved in the adult criminal system."
Building Restorative Communities (BRC) Community Services Coordinator Dee Duszynski of Dowagiac receives referrals of first-time juvenile offenders from the court system, then coordinates with community service sites.
"From the beginning to the end of the process it usually takes 30 days. We want quick turnover for these youths. We don't want them to sit and wait the six months it would probably take in the court system.
"I'm really excited about this," Duszynski continued, "because the feedback has been phenomenal. Community service sites call me up and ask me if they can have youths. The youths like the program because then it's not going in their permanent file. And parents appreciate it, too."
Duszynski said BRC has diverted 25 juveniles to date from the court system to community service at 11 sites, with applications out for others.
Twenty of the 25 have completed the program.
Two opted out, apparently at parents' direction.
Three could not be contacted and had to be returned to the court system.
A survey conducted of youths, parents and the community service sites furnished feedback.
Duszynski said scheduling community service can usually accommodate jobs as well as school.
Sites include a camp at Bair Lake near Jones, Dowagiac District Library, Cass District Library and the county Council on Aging.
She has been referred youngsters as young as 10, up to 16.
"The average age is 14 to 15," Duszynski said. "I have a couple of sites that are open until 7 o'clock a couple of nights a week. Camps have weekend hours. I do want to say that three our youths have continued on" and perform community service after fulfilling their commitment. "That speaks for itself."
BRC Coordinator Erica Boulanger said Cass is one of five Michigan counties "trying to change the way that our first-time juvenile offenders are prosecuted" if they commit any one of eight kinds of crimes.
BRC operates with five work groups overseen by a steering committee, she said, including community service, mentoring, options for youth and graduated sanctions.
Much of that structure was established before she joined the organization in January.
"Restorative" justice strives for a combination of repairing the harm caused to victims by also involving community members.
The grant goes until November 2007. "We just got our third-year renewal," Boulanger said, adding that an upcoming priority is establishing a restorative panel.
"What that means," she told county commissioners Aug. 17, "is that we would gather volunteers with the offender and the victim if they would come, parents and these community members would help find appropriate means of punishment for whatever this particular crime was."
First-time juvenile offenders might be assigned 10 to 15 hours of community service and sometimes as high as 50.
Dobrich thanked Prosecutor Victor Fitz for his support of the program.
Mentoring Coordinator Dee Dee Bachmann was out of town at the time of the presentation.