Court Programs

TRUANCY MEDIATION PROGRAM
This program is a joint effort between the Juvenile Court, all of Ottawa County's schools, the Educational Service Center’s Truant Officer, and the Prosecuting Attorney's Office to thoroughly investigate school truancy problems.

A student missing several days of school each month may be developing a pattern of truancy. This is a cause for concern, since chronically truant children often drop out of school and become juvenile delinquents.

Truancy Mediation is an informal process that helps parents, caregivers, and schools find a fair and workable solution to children’s truancy problems. It is based on the belief that mediation can be an effective means of improving school attendance, reducing the dropout rate, and reducing juvenile delinquency.

Parents or caregivers and teachers meet privately with a mediator. The mediator, who is a neutral person who does not take sides, will set some basic rules and then make sure that everyone has an opportunity to speak. Parties will be asked to listen closely to what is being said. It is important that everyone understand the issues involved and each other’s points of view so that both the families and the schools can work together to resolve issues.

The mediator will identify and summarize the issues that are being addressed. Both sides will be allowed to conclude, and then each person will be asked to come up with possible solutions.

Both sides will share their ideas to create an agreement, then all involved must commit to being responsible for making the agreement work.

Truancy Mediation is not about winning or losing. Truancy Mediation is about giving parents or caregivers the opportunity to get more involved in their children’s education and to help them learn.

Mediation is confidential and is provided at no cost to the families or the schools, for more information please call the court.

CRISIS INTERVENTION

The Crisis Intervention Program was put in place to respond to families who experience conflict in the evenings and on weekends when the supports that assist them regularly are unavailable. Crisis intervention is designed to provide an opportunity to facilitate and communicate feelings among family members in an appropriate manner. The Specialist will do whatever is necessary to stabilize the situation for the night. The goal of the crisis intervention is to resolve the crisis situation, NOT to solve the problem. This program serves as an entry point to assist families with locating community resources for long-term solutions.
If you feel you have a situation that could benefit from an intervention please call your local law enforcement agency and request a Crisis Intervention specialist or call the court.

TUTORING
This program has been set up by the court to enhance student academics and is designed to helpful to the student, not punitive. Students will be referred to the program with the understanding that they will be cooperative with the tutor.
Tutors are certified teachers who offer academic support and are role models to the students. A tutor provides expertise, experience, and encouragement. They do not provide "answers," but rather assist in problem solving to get answers.

The tutor will meet with the youth two to five time a week at a location convenient to both, including the juvenile detention facility. The schools will provide the tutors with the subjects that need to be targeted and assignments that need to be completed.

The program is supported through a grant and a youth can be assigned a tutor through the probation department or through mediation.

DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENTS
The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties and the Juvenile Court have collaborated to address the mental health needs of families in Ottawa County. The MHRB provides a licensed professional counselor at the court three days a week to perform comprehensive mental health and substance abuse diagnostic assessments (DA) as ordered by the court.

The goals of this project are to increase earlier and appropriate interventions by the local behavioral health system, to improve access to the behavioral health system for youth and their families, and to provide the court with information to aid in appropriate disposition for youth experiencing substance and/or mental health issues.

RESTITUTION
When the court orders restitution, the amount of damages is verified with the victim and assigned to the case. The youth and family are responsible for making payments to the court for the assigned amount. The court then reimburses the victim for the amount assigned.

DRUG TESTING
This program is used to assure the youth is not using drugs during the course of their probation. The probation officer will perform the test as a result of information that the youth may be using an illegal substance, or the screen can be done randomly. If the test is positive, a probation violation is filed, if the test is negative, that information is placed in the youth’s file as proof of compliance.

OUT OF HOME PLACEMENT PROGRAM
This program serves youth who have been adjudicated unruly or delinquent through the Juvenile Court. When it becomes necessary in the best interest of the child to be placed outside of their own home, this program helps with a portion of the funding. Placements are made in either residential group homes, therapeutic foster homes, relative placement homes, or non-relative placement homes. The placements vary in length of time, but are monitored closely to assess progress being made with the youth and his or her family in resolving the situation that warranted the placement. Reunification of the family is the ultimate goal whenever possible.

The Case Coordination Team consisting of the Juvenile Court, Children's Services, Job & Family Services, Ottawa County Wraparound Program, the Mental Health & Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties, and the licensed professional counselor at the court meet monthly to discuss strategies for diverting out-of-home placements, monitoring youth who are in placement, and transitioning youth from placement back into the community.

YES! (Youth Experiencing Success)
The YES! Program with the court is focused on providing juvenile offenders with job readiness or career development services in order to help these youth obtain a high or enter a formal training or education program that will further their career goals. Appropriate services may include competency development, job skills training, job shadowing, job coaching, youth internships with, local businesses, mentoring, career counseling, occupational/career testing, job retention skills training, and hands-on work experience. Youth will also be paired with an adult mentor who will work directly with the youth.

Community Service Program
Youth working community service hours are realizing an immediate consequence to certain negative behaviors.

This program is designed to serve the youth who have been ordered to perform a designated number of community service hours. These hours must be completed at a public service work site, and the youth receives no monetary compensation.

The court partners with Ottawa County Recycling and Litter Prevention to clean up the county’s roadways.

FACT – FAMILIES AND COURT TOGETHER

The Ottawa County Juvenile Court FACT Program provides an alternative to a formal hearing process by the Court and offers safe diversion and treatment of non-violent youth with mental health and/or substance abuse problems. The special needs of juveniles and their families are addressed through referrals to outside agencies in the county as well as referrals to court-sponsored classes and programs. Youth and parents participating in this program sign an agreement to participate in the FACT Program along with an agreement to comply with the requirements of FACT. Failure to comply with the provisions of the FACT program may result in the youth continuing in the juvenile justice process and an official arraignment may be set for the specific offense.

All intervention court models clearly indicate that regular court appearances and regular court reviews are key demonstrations of the Court’s continuing support of the recovery/rehabilitation. Further, the regular appearance of the juvenile in the courtroom should foster accountability for the juvenile, the case manager, counselors/therapists, and family members of the juvenile. In addition, regular monitoring by the Court will provide a forum to resolve problems/adjustments in the plan without unnecessary delays in treatment and to note regression and praise progress in the benefits of the treatment plan.

Ottawa County Student Achievement Program

The Juvenile Court, in partnership with the Erie-Huron-Ottawa Educational Service Center, the Ottawa County Department of Job and Family Services, the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Erie and Ottawa Counties, and the Ottawa County school districts runs the Ottawa County Student Achievement Program (SAP).  SAP is an educational alternative designed to meet the academic requirements of students who need or desire a learning environment different from the traditional classroom but with similar supports.  Students who may be credit deficient or would benefit from the programs and services are given the opportunity to enter the Student Achievement Program in order to make graduating from high school a more attainable goal. The goals of SAP are to:

1. Increase student achievement.
2. Develop appropriate social skills.
3. Develop appropriate academic study skills.
4. Develop self-control and self-discipline.
5. Maintain class assignments.

Through academic experiences that stress early and frequent success, SAP creates a positive atmosphere for learning.  Personal growth, self-awareness, interpersonal skills and responsibility for behavior will continually be emphasized in every component of our program.Students’ academic needs are addressed through the Virtual Learning Academy and they complete all their courses online with the assistance of tutors in the classroom. Educational speakers and field trips are scheduled weekly to provide them real-life experiences and present them opportunities they would not typically be exposed to.  Additionally, students participate in counseling, physical education, and team building activities.  Students are encouraged to be involved in their home school activities such as athletics and clubs.The Student Achievement Program is a quality program that offers students the opportunity to excel both academically and personally in preparation for future career endeavors.

FAMILY DEPENDENCY TREATMENT COURT

The Family Dependency Treatment Court is an alternative judicial track with the Juvenile Court System.  This specialized court will deal with parents whose children have been removed from their care or are at risk of removal due to the parent’s substance abuse or mental health issues.

Parents participating in the FDTC program will work closely with the judge, treatment providers and child welfare in a nonadversarial setting.  Plans will be devised to give parents a chance to achieve sobriety and mental health, provide a safe and nurturing home, become responsible for themselves and their children, and hold their families together.