powerpoint presentation due tues june 11 6pm PST

Centervale has recently had several cases involving the theft of valuable recreation equipment from private homes. Some residents believe there is a correlation between these thefts and the residents of the halfway house that was recently opened in their middle-class neighborhood.

The halfway house caters to delinquent males under the age of eighteen. The halfway house is part of a federal project to handle boys leaving juvenile corrections who have prior substance abuse or other high-risk behaviors. The halfway house provides residence for and treatment to juveniles for up to one year or until they turn eighteen.

You are the sergeant of the newly formed neighborhood policing team. You are tasked with developing a plan to deal with this rash of thefts. You have to present your plan at a meeting in the Centervale community where the thefts have been occurring

The purpose of this report is to provide the city manager and the city council with an update on the operations of the New Start halfway house located in the southern district of Centervale. The city council approved a zoning variance to allow the opening of this nonprofit organization approximately six months ago, and the council has requested an update.

Issue

The city of Centervale had a notable absence of human services related to male youth offenders prior to last year. The city council received a mandate from the state to offer or facilitate youth offender services in order to comply with state laws. The council determined that a partnership with a nonprofit organization was the most efficient means of complying with this mandate. Effective from September last year, the council approved a zoning variance to allow New Start to begin operations in the southern district of Centervale.

New Start provides a residential halfway house and commensurate services to youth offenders released from juvenile detention. This is a transitional program, where the youth may be court-ordered to spend up to one year prior to returning to their families or, if they are wards of the state, prior to the age of 18. This report provides an update for the first six months of operations of this youth offender reintegration project.

Update on New Start: First Six Months of Operations

The human services department was the liaison with the New Start program and has maintained regular monthly meetings with New Start staff since the program’s inception. The home that was remodeled for this project has an eighteen-bed capacity and has housed an average of fifteen youths during the first six months. Of the fifteen youths, twelve have been there since the beginning of the project and are expected to spend an average of nine months to the full year of their mandated stay prior to turning eighteen or returning to their families. One youth violated probation in the first month and was returned to juvenile corrections, and the other two originally assigned youth turned eighteen within the first five months of operations of the halfway house.

Demographics currently include fifteen youths at New Start. Of these fifteen, eight are Hispanics, two are African Americans, and five are Caucasians. They range from fourteen to seventeen years of age.

The staff at New Start consists of two case workers, one executive director, and four house parents. The house parents are responsible for 24–7 monitoring of the youth.

The facility also has approximately six regular volunteers, who provide services ranging from employment counseling, homework assistance, and a Big Brothers or Big Sisters program.

The police department was contacted and provided the following information on calls at or around the New Start facility for the first six months of operations.

Human services staff has attended two community meetings in the past six months held by Councilman Allisen in the southern district. These meetings were well attended, with over seventy-five residents at each meeting. Councilman Allisen advertised the meetings as an opportunity to discuss the halfway house.

At both meetings, residents made a number of complaints regarding New Start, including loud noise, excessive foot traffic, unwanted visitors in their neighborhood, and complaints of thefts. The police were present at these meetings and noted that they had seen an increase in thefts in the area, but to date, they have no suspect information. The police also confirmed there was an increase in gang-type activity with new graffiti in the area from a known Hispanic street gang.

It should be noted that the executive director of New Start, Harris, was in attendance at both meetings and advised that he would be sure to work with the police on any issues that were directly associated with the halfway house.

Harris also reiterated that there were no direct ties of his facility to any of the complaints other than noise and foot traffic, which he advised would be addressed with the staff. Harris expressed a desire to work closely with the community to make this program a success.

Overall, the operations at New Start seem to be in line with expectations for services for male youth offenders. It is to be expected that it will take time to integrate a program of this type into a neighborhood setting. The program is in compliance with state mandates, and there have been no complaints from the department of juvenile corrections.

Recommendation

This report is for informational purposes only. However, the zoning variance for the halfway house must be renewed in three months. It is recommended at this time that the variance be granted for a full three-year extension to allow this program to fully develop. It is vital to provide services to these youths in order to reintegrate them into our community. No action is required at this time.