Mahoning juvy court one of only 4 in US to get grant to prevent gang activity

BOARDMAN

Mahoning County Juvenile Court secured a three-year, $600,000 federal grant to keep students in school by identifying those at risk for joining gangs and intervening before that happens.

The court is one of only four in the country to receive the School Justice Collaboration Program: Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs.

The award was announced Wednesday at the Mahoning County Educational Service Center.

Judge Theresa Dellick said the court tries to be proactive in dealing with youths in the community, but court officials thought prospects for receiving the grant were “a long shot” because so few are awarded.

“This shows two things — that we have high crime, high poverty and low education in our community, but also that the federal government has the confidence in our community to tackle the problem,” the judge said.

The other grant recipients were courts in Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

A goal of the program is to enhance cooperation among schools, law enforcement, juvenile justice officials and mental and behavioral health specialists to help students succeed in school and prevent negative youth activity in the community.

Through the grant, the court will address gang activity, attempting to stop it before it starts at four schools.

Read more about the plan in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.