YC Juvenile Dilenquency Diversion Program:

The goal of the Juvenile Delinquency Diversion Program (JDDP) is to help young people learn to use their strengths to increase their capacity to handle life challenges. In doing so, they will show improvement in the areas of home conflict, school, peer influences, aggressive behaviors, basic cognitive skills, and negative police contact. Youth who are eligible for this program are between the ages of 12 and 18 and have been arrested or ticketed within the last 3 to 6 months or who are currently on probation or parole. Following an assessment process to identify factors impacting current life circumstances, the youth, appropriate family members, probation officer as appropriate, and the YC counselor create goals to work toward in the counseling process. A commitment of 3 months of weekly, 1 hour sessions is required for successful completion of this program. Youth on probation or parole, or those referred by a judge to complete U.D.I.S. services must actively participate in 6 months of service. Active parent participation is necessary in all youth services to help ensure positive movement toward goal completion and to address family issues that may block progress.

U-Turn Program
The U-Turn Program is an intensive lifeskills training group that helps youth build the skills necessary to have a chance at a future outside the legal system. The group meets weekly at the YC office on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:00pm to 6:30 pm. The goal is to help prevent high-risk behavior in youth. We choose a different focus to address every week such as: Anger management, Conflict Resolution, Job Readiness, and Healthy Relationships. By May 27^th, 2010 we anticipate that eight youth will successfully complete the three month program and meet their court mandate. We have witnessed small steps of improvement in each of these young men since beginning the group. including an improved attitude towards school and their community, making healthier choices regarding their peers and avoiding negative police contact. As we’ve gotten to know the youth better, we sincerely believe they have the potential to have great success in the coming years.

All services at YC are free of charge for youth in our service area.

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