BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRFIELD -- A program to keep first-time juvenile offenders out of the court system will begin as soon as a case worker - counselor can be hired. The program, called On Tasc, is a cooperative effort among the city, the Fairfield City Schools and the Butler County Juvenile Court. Each appointed representatives to a committee that has been planning the project for two years.
"The big thing is, this does not give the youth an official record," said committee member Robert Polson, principal at Fairfield Freshman School. "The program requires parental involvement." Administrators are always looking for an alternative to out-of-school suspension or expulsion, and "this gives us one."
During 1996 there were 521 juvenile cases involving Fairfield youths, committee members said. Fairfield police handled 87 within the department and referred 434 to juvenile court.
Designed to serve up to 15 juveniles at a time, the program will help children ages 7 to 17, with the most likely candidates in the seventh through ninth grades, said Fairfield Councilman Erick Cook, a retired Fairfield school administrator.
Children will be referred through Fairfield police, schools, juvenile court, social service agencies or parents. Once referred and accepted into the program, a case worker with a counseling background will work with the child and parents to set up a program tailored to the child and family. It could involve counseling, community service, treatment for drug or alcohol abuse, parenting classes or whatever services the child needs.
Any violation of the program would lead to house arrest or an appearance in juvenile court. Participants would be required to meet weekly with the case worker. Children will be assigned to the program for a minimum of three months. That could be extended on a month-to-month basis if needed, Mr. Polson said.
"The big key is to hold them accountable for their actions in their homes, in school and in the community," Mr. Polson said. Based on a similar program in Austintown near Youngstown, about 75 to 80 children could benefit annually, Mr. Cook said. Fairfield council has approved hiring a case worker and will provide space at its Dixie Highway Justice Center, he said.
"What's unique about this is the collaborative approach," Mr. Cook said. "There was a significant decrease in the rate of recidivism for the kids in Austintown."
