Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Butler plan calls for unity in youth-crime prevention
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — The Rev. Gene Leiter took a gob of Play Doh out of a container and rolled it in his hands.
He urged other Butler County community leaders to do the same thing with the Play Doh they had been given Tuesday at a press conference at the Janet Clemmons Center in Hamilton.
“You can shape it any way you want and use it for many different purposes,” said the Rev. Mr. Leiter, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Middletown. “As adults, we can also shape children in many ways.”
He used the Play Doh to illustrate the theme of a Butler County plan unveiled Tuesday, designed to reduce juvenile delinquency and problem behavior in children — “Shape Lives for a Lifetime.”
The emphasis of the five-year plan is on measures that aim to prevent juvenile crime. The plan stresses the importance of social service agencies, courts, government, law enforcement, churches, schools and families working together.
“The problem is bigger than one system to deal with,” said Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus, task force chairman. “When you have everybody working together, you can make an impact.”
Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox said those who would help children “can't wait until they're in their late teens and early 20s. Let's focus the scarce resources we have on the front end.”
A task force of 80 community leaders spent the past 15 months developing the plan under the leadership of Butler County Juvenile Court and the Butler County Family & Children First Council.
A $50,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Youth Services funded the effort. Butler County was one of six counties to receive this grant.
“We've been frustrated when we're chasing after a situation that has already failed,” said Fred Valerius, chairman of the Butler County Family & Children First Council. “That's why we need to prevent the occurrence of youth crime and assure early intervention.”
The guiding principle behind the plan is simple, Judge Niehaus said.
“One adult can make a difference in the life of a child,” he said.
RISK FACTORS
According to the “Shape Lives for a Lifetime” plan, Butler County's efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and problem behavior should focus on the following risk factors:
• Extreme poverty.
• Family management problems.
• Family conflict.
• Early and persistent
anti-social behavior.
• Academic failure beginning in late elementary school.
• Early delinquent behavior.
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