2008 Woodie Awards
Family Court looking for students to mentor kids
By: Ryan Martin
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: News
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"We need mentors as soon as possible," said Barbara Ann Hughes, deputy juvenile officer at the family court. "It's an ongoing program. Kids are referred to us weekly and even daily."
The youths are sent to the mentor program through the family court. A juvenile officer or judge requests the youth be placed in the program.
Anne Geraghty-Rathert, professor of the Department of behavioral and social sciences, said she is happy to see the legal community doing this type of outreach. The U.S. legal system is reactive by nature, Geraghty-Rathert said. She said courts must wait for cases to be prosecuted before they become involved in an issue.
"Programs such as this show the ongoing commitment of the judges and lawyers in the family court to attempt to be proactive," Geraghty-Rathert said. "By working on issues of self-esteem and leadership in youth exposed to the justice system, the court hopes to break the cycles that contribute to recidivism. I think this is a very positive step."
Tahmineh Entessar, professor in the department of history, politics and international relations, viewed the need for youth mentors as very important to society's health.
"I certainly recognize the importance of developing social skills and personal responsibility at a young age in order for all to become active and politically informed citizens," Entessar said.
Mentors teach the youths, ages 12 to 16, the concepts of team-building, personal responsibility and social skills, Hughes said. She said mentors volunteer eight hours of their time per week. The time is very flexible, and Hughes said students don't even have to spend a lot of money to be mentors.
"People need to know that your time is more valuable to these kids," Hughes said.
Interested candidates must be 21 years old and complete a volunteer screening process.
"We do background checks after we interview candidates," Hughes said. "We look up county records and check with the children's division. We also do reference checks and check fingerprints with the state and the feds."