By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The goal of the 20th Judicial District's Juvenile Services is not to remove kids from their homes, but rather to rehabilitate youth and assist young people and their families in the community. The start of the school year is always a busy time for Juvenile Services staff, and Assistant Director Ryan Lichter said this year was no different as staff met with school officials last month.
"One of our big pushes is to get our agency out there into the community so they understand what we're about," he said. "That was a good platform for us to be able to explain the different programs we have, explain some of the differences that have occurred in the juvenile justice world over the last few years, and to kind of open their eyes a little bit as to what we do on a daily basis."
Juvenile Services was invited to a back-to-school in-service training in USD 431 Hoisington, and staff meets with USD 428 Great Bend counselors once a month for updates on students in both systems. Something as simple as missing school, or truancy, can lead to much bigger problems. Juvenile Services staff wants to prevent those problems from escalating.
"Some of the truancies can be kids as young as six, seven years old," Lichter said. "Those are the kids we truly believe are a child in need of care. If a kid that young isn't getting to school, there's probably something else happening elsewhere that's preventing them from getting there."
Students and families battling truancy may enter into a voluntary 90-day program that offers the student and family various services to correct the behavior. Juvenile Services' All-Star Program targets most sixth graders across Barton County with evidence-based programming to improve student decision-making. Parent Project classes are available to all parents. The 10-week course seeks to improve families as a whole. Those classes are from 6-9 p.m. each Tuesday beginning in September and January. Call Juvenile Services at (620) 793-1930 for more information.