JUVENILE PROGRAMS SEE HIGH SUCCESS RATE

GOLD BEACH -- Curry County's programs to guide youths away from crime
and use of drugs and alcohol are working, County Juvenile Department
Director Kenneth W. Dukek says as he notes the low numbers of young
offenders who come back in the system and the success rate of the
Juvenile Drug Court.

With the support of the Curry County Circuit Court judges, our
department has been administrating a juvenile drug court program
funded with a federal ... grant for the past two years," Dukek said.
"We are pleased to announce that the recidivism rate is 2 percent
based on 55 total youth in the program, and only one youth has
re-offended in the past year."

He said of the current 49 enrolled youth, only three have tested
positive for drug use. In reality, it's not always the case that they
are continuing to use marijuana," Dukek said. "There will be some
residual marijuana in their system. It takes some time to get it out.
We'll see that decline until it hits zero."

He said it generally takes 30 days after someone has used marijuana to
get it out of their system.

Some don't stop right away, but once in the program, they usually take
it seriously and stop, but they still will have it in their system,"
he said.

He said that with authorities stepping in early when teenagers are
using alcohol and drugs, it helps prevent more serious drug use.

It helps prevent a lifestyle that comes with those drugs," Dukek said.
"With the harder drugs, they get in criminal behavior to support those
drugs."

Dukek says on the criminal side, the Juvenile Justice Information
System provides reports on recidivism for youth offenders. He said
there is a lag of two years on the information, with the most recent
report available based on data from 2007.

During 2007, the statewide recidivism rate was 29.9 percent and the
Curry County rate was 16.7 percent," Dukek said.

The chronic -- three or more subsequent referrals -- recidivism rate
for the same year statewide is 5.4 percent and the Curry County rate
was 2.0 percent," he said.

In comparison to similar sized counties, Curry County has the lowest
recidivism rates," Dukek said.

He said there are currently 40 youth offenders receiving direct
probation services through his department.

There are currently 37 youth involved in informal supervision services
through our department and 17 youth offenders receiving direct
services from Oregon Youth Authority," he said.

Dukek said there are formal probations for misdemeanors or
felonies.

We have various programs that we use," he said. "We try to increase
their social skills. We get involved with more positive things in
their lives. We work with youths in a multitude of ways. There is no
'one shoe fits all.'"

Dukek said his department has only two probation officers, but they
are effective.

Only two, and we're at a 2-percent recidivism rate," he said. "It's
the skills of our probation officers who are working with the schools."

Dukek said that his department in the recent past has added several
new programs, including the Healthy Start Program and the CASA
Program, which will lead to a change in name for the department.

Currently we are discussing changing our departmental name from the
Curry County Juvenile Department to the Curry County Department of
Youth Services," he said.

We feel that this change better reflects our operations and services
offered to the residents of Curry County," he said.

We're not just the Juvenile Department any more," Dukek said. "In the
last two years, we've added a multitude of programs -- drug court,
CASA, Health Start Program, ATOD -- Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs. We
also have a real expansive community service program.

When I look at our future, when we apply for grants, it's sometimes a
stigma to being the Juvenile Department," he said.

He said the name change would be more reflective of the department's
actual programs and would probably aid in getting approval for grants
in the future.

Dukek said the Curry County Board of Commissioners will hold a work
session in January to discuss the name change.

New programs taken on by the department include:

On July 20, the Juvenile Department was awarded the Curry County
Healthy Start Program by the local Commission on Children and
Families. On Aug. 17, the program was operational with staffing,
office space, and administrative support systems.

The Curry CASA Program, which the department recently acquired,
currently has 18 CASA Volunteers to advocate for dependent, abused and
neglected children. "The Gordon Elwood Foundation, Ford Family
Foundation, Oregon Commission on Children and Families, Curry County
Commission on Children and Families, and Curry County Board of
Commissioners have supported the CASA Program through grants and
funding enabling us to increase capacity and add several new CASA
Volunteers," Dukek said.

The department was approved for a third year of Drug Free Communities
funding that provides drug and substance use and abuse education in
local schools from the sixth through 12th grades. "This is a federal
grant that we apply for through Curry County Commission on Children
and Families," he said. "We are pleased to report that Azalea Middle
School has received recognition from the Addictions and Mental Health
Division of the Department of Human Services for reducing underage
drinking and drug use in 2008."

Earlier this year, the department received grant funding from Oregon
Youth Conservation Corps to employ four youth during the summer
months. "We completed numerous Forest Service projects including trail
maintenance, clearing brush, river bar clean up, and vegetation
control while the youth learned many new skills," Dukek said. "We will
continue to apply for this annual summer grant."