County News
Neighborhood Reporting Center Opens
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
HARRISBURG – Feb. 17, 2009 – The Dauphin County Commissioners joined Judges Richard A. Lewis and John Cherry, juvenile probation leaders, Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, Inc. staff and church officials in unveiling a new treatment center for at-risk youth that is expected to serve as a model for the state.The first-of-its-kind center, known as the Neighborhood Reporting Center (NRC), opened today at Bethel AME Church at 1721 North 5th Street in Harrisburg.
When fully operational, the center will serve 20 youth from Harrisburg between the ages of 15 and 18 who will be released from Dauphin County’s Schaffner Youth Center in order to participate. The program is expected to provide 90 to 120 days of treatment weekdays between the hours of 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
Students will attend their regular school during the day and then be transported to the center. Once there, they will receive counseling, tutoring, recreation, dinner, community service and field trips. The youth will also be encouraged to participate in Family Group Conferencing, a growing practice that brings together all family members and significant others to aid in their treatment and support network.
All admissions will be court-ordered. The NRC will be staffed by a program director, recreation counselor, group counselors, a cook and a secretary.
Daniel P. Elby, CEO and President of the ARC, said, “Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, Inc. is very honored to partner with Dauphin County and Bethel Village A.M.E. Church, under the direction of Pastor Martin D. Odom, to provide service to at-risk youth in the Harrisburg area. Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, Inc. has been providing rehabilitative services to at-risk youth and juvenile offenders in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for over 30 years.”
“Alternative Rehabilitation Communities, Inc. is a natural choice to provide these services,” Elby continued. “The vast majority of our employees are from the Harrisburg area. As CEO and President, I am a graduate of the Harrisburg public schools, and the director selected for the Neighborhood Reporting Center is a graduate of the Harrisburg public schools, as are the counseling staff assigned to the program. We feel that this is a major advantage for our ability to establish relationships with the students and their parents.”
“This program gives kids a chance to prove themselves,” Commissioner George Hartwick III said. “Instead of sending juvenile offenders directly to out-of-home placement, we can work with them in this setting and bring about real change with the least amount of disruption to their lives, their families and their communities.”
“In essence, this program gives kids a second chance,” Judge Lewis said. “It also gives families a much-needed chance to become more involved in holding kids accountable and helping them build their own set of coping skills, while protecting the community.”
“This center actually provides a more intensive level of treatment than Schaffner, without having to interrupt the kids’ regular schooling and home life,” Commissioner Nick DiFrancesco said. “The juveniles can sleep in their own beds at night and go to school during the day, while receiving intensive support and care after school. It is a strategy that promises to be very effective in turning around young lives before they go too far down the wrong path.”
The cost to treat a juvenile in the NRC is about $84 a day per juvenile. The cost of full-time housing in Schaffner is between $300 to $400 a day per juvenile.
“This center not only saves taxpayer dollars –it also makes sense and will yield long-term benefits to all parties involved,” said Commissioner Jeff Haste said.
“We still believe in these kids and we ask the community to do the same,” said Steve Suknaic, the county’s Director of Juvenile Probation.
“I have seen far too many young teens passing through our courtrooms. We can make a big impact on these kids by taking the time to focus on their coping skills and competencies,” said Judge Cherry.
Sex offenders, arsonists and those involved with crimes involving a gun would not be eligible for this program.
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