Once each year, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the National District Attorneys Association co-sponsor a national conference designed to provide juvenile-justice professionals with a new perspective on the issues faced in day-to-day efforts to make a difference in the lives of children and families. Highly regarded, this conference highlights innovative programs, effective practices and groundbreaking efforts on behalf of youth.
When the 35th National Conference on Juvenile Justice was held recently in St. Louis, Mo., Stark County Family Court was selected to make presentations to the judges, attorneys, police, juvenile-justice workers, school administrators, teachers, child-welfare personnel and service providers gathered for the conference. Family-court representatives presented sessions on a national parenting program used by the court to enhance parenting skills; and on a trauma and loss program developed through family court, in collaboration with community providers.
Family court Judge Michael Howard, Specialized Services Supervisor Chuck Schuster and Dr. Robin Tener, clinical psychologist and director of Northeast Ohio Behavioral Health in Stark County served as presenters for the court's trauma and loss program. Spearheaded by Family Court Judge Michael Howard, the court's trauma and loss program has been developed to help court staff identify juveniles who have experienced traumatic events, which, in turn, affect the way they react and interact with others.
Trauma is an emotional shock that creates significant, often lasting, damage to the brain. It impacts mental, physical and emotional growth. Trauma can be caused by events such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse, violence, gang involvement, parental issues and multiple placements as a result of the juvenile being removed from his home.
In their presentation, the speakers discussed the identification of trauma victims through assessment; the mental-health treatment of identified victims and the impact of trauma and loss on juvenile court cases.
Family court's Chief Probation Officer Joyce Salapack; Special Projects Director Bob Fernandez and Intake Officer Ed Lenzy, Jr. shared information on Parent Project, which has been used successfully by family court for several years. Purchase of the Parent Project program by family court was made possible through an implementation grant from the state attorney general's office.
Parent Project is a 10-week parenting guidance and support program developed nationally by a team of teachers, psychologists, law-enforcement officers and parents. It is designed to help parents who are raising strong-willed or out-of-control adolescents by providing support-group sessions and classes. The activity-based curriculum teaches prevention, identification and intervention strategies for the most destructive adolescent behaviors, such as poor school attendance and performance, alcohol and other drug use problems, and criminal/gang involvement.
More than 100,000 families have attended Parent Project classes nationwide and the program has been shown to reduce juvenile crime by one third, while significantly improving school attendance and performance.
Family Court Senior Judge David Stucki, one of two Ohio judges elected to the 30-member board of trustees of the National Council of Juvenile Family Court Judges, was in attendance at the national conference and served as a presiding officer for both family court presentations. Judge Stucki reported that both presentations "scored home runs" and were among the best attended of the entire conference. He noted that presentation evaluations were "unlike anything I have ever seen" with the majority of evaluations being excellent. Judge Stucki added that among the benefits of presenting at a national conference of this stature is that the exposure often leads to grant opportunities to start new programs and to additional training opportunities for court staff.