The Washington County Quorum Court, at least 14 of 15 members, made the right call recently to double the number of social workers available to assess troubled juveniles within the juvenile justice system for mental health and substance abuse issues.
And by double, we mean adding one to the overworked social worker the county has had since 2004.
Does it surprise anyone that a county with a population the size of Washington County’s has only one social worker for the young people who get themselves incarcerated at the juvenile detention center?
Jean E. Mack, director, explained the workload has overwhelmed her only social worker. That worker supervises college interns who screen incoming juvenile inmates for mental health and substance abuse problems.
Perhaps it’s hard to imagine, but give it a try: If a young person you cared about became defi ant or struggled to cope with life and ended up in juvenile court, would you feel good that there was only one social worker to help identify the problems that need to be addressed for the long term?
To the credit of Arkansas and communities across the state, our juvenile justice system has never been about punishment. It’s about trying to get young people in trouble back on track to a positive life. Does anyone doubt that’s a challenge for one social worker?
Mack estimated the county really needs four full-time social workers to meet the demand for service for all young people in the detention center.
The Quorum Court apparently realized the fallacy of a rehabilitation system that is understaffed and moved to make a difference.
Only one justice of the peace, Ron Aman of Prairie Grove, voted against creating the new position.
“I don’t think it’s the counties’ responsibilities to raise the kids,” he told a reporter.
Yeah, us either. But unless Aman is ready to eliminate laws that land juveniles in the detention center, the county is pretty much forced to deal with them in some fashion. Juvenile detention has never been about punishment, so why not give rehabilitation a chance by investing some of our precious taxpayer dollars in the kids?
Making a difference when they’re young is a critical move to improve the odds these kids won’t become jail or prison inmates as adults.
Perhaps it helps to realize that just one kid kept out of “the system” for the long term will pay for the salary of this new social worker. That seems to be money well spent.
CASUALTIES OF WAR
To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Curtis S.
Reagan, 43, of Summerville, S.C., died March 29 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from a noncombat-related illness. He was assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
Air Force Capt. James Michael Steel, 29, of Tampa, Fla., died April 3 in the crash of an F-16 near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron,Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 04/29/2013