By Jheri Hardaway
Staff Writer
Are you familiar with the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council or JCPC? The Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention partners with Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils in each county to galvanize community leaders, locally and statewide, to reduce and prevent juvenile crime. JCPC board members are appointed by each county's board of commissioners and meet monthly or bimonthly in each county. The meetings are open to the public, and all business is considered public information. DJJDP allocates approximately $28 million to these councils annually. Funding is used to subsidize local programs and services. The JCPC is a state-mandated board in North Carolina that serves as the local "think tank" for addressing youth delinquency. The North Carolina General Assembly established JCPCs to ensure that the solutions for at-risk youth are decided by the people who actually live in those communities, rather than just bureaucrats in Raleigh.
The primary goal is to provide community-based alternatives to youth development centers (juvenile detention). The council's job is to make sure kids who are at risk or already in the system have access to resources that keep them on the right path and out of a cell. The council is designed to be a "multi-disciplinary" group. It typically includes: the Sheriff and Chief of Police, the District Attorney, and the School Superintendent, a Juvenile Court Counselor, and community members who represent from the business community, non-profits, and citizens-at-large who bring a fresh perspective.
Dr. Raymond E. Smith Jr. shared, “Our children are the future of the community, and in our country, they cannot under any circumstances be cast aside, overlooked, or undervalued. Their presence, their well-being, their future is critical to the ongoing continuity of our communities and this country. I advocate for children because that's one thing all of us adults have in been; children, each of us has been a child at some point. None of us has made all the right decisions. And under no circumstances, can we abandon our children. They have value and they need to know their value and they need to hear that from us so the juvenile crime prevention council, all of the programs that fall under the JCPC are critical and vital and I asked everyone in the community to join in and support these programs and support the youth in our community. No one can be thrown away.”
Check with your local county to see how the JCPC funds are being allocated. Which local non profits are they collaborating with? Who is making the decisions for programs that empower at risk youth? Knowledge is power, now that you know more what can you do to help our youth?
