By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The 20th Judicial District's Juvenile Services continues to make a positive impact on the lives of youth who enter its programs. Several of Juvenile Service's programs are geared toward changing the way kids think or teaching them basic life skills. Assistant Director Ryan Lichter said the Life Skills classes have become a true community effort.
"Obviously, we work with a lot of at-risk kids," he said. "The goal is to try to teach them other skills for when they're not on with us anymore. In the past, we've utilized Barton Community College for writing resumes and stuff like that. We use other resources in the community to try and help these kids out as much as possible."
Program Advocate Jack Bowman heads the Life Skills classes, which include a recent CPR class taught by Dean Nuss. The students also took a trip to Marmies where they learned basic automotive repair like changing tires and oil. Lichter said financial literacy is the topic for February's class.
"At least we can get the verbiage maybe in their heads so they do understand what is what," he said. "In the end, we can talk about loans, savings accounts. A lot of these kids don't understand what any of that is."
Life Skills classes are typically reserved for students referred to the program. Bowman host a Cognitive Treatment Program designed to change the way kids think. Any parent who thinks that program may benefit their child is encouraged to contact Juvenile Services at (620) 793-1930.