YOUNGSTOWN — More money should soon be available to help keep nonviolent youthful offenders out of jail.

At a press conference at Youngstown City Hall regarding the enforcement of Youngstown’s 11 p.m. juvenile curfew this week, Magistrate Gina DeGenova said the Mahoning County Juvenile Court system has many programs and services to help children who get into trouble and families that struggle to keep them out of trouble.

At the end of July, the county will learn how much money it has received from the Ohio Department of Youth Services RECLAIM program. RECLAIM stands for Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternatives to the Incarceration of Minors.

DeGenova said the county has been applying for funding through the program under Judge Theresa Dellick’s direction since 2001. Juvenile Justice Center Finance Manager Pat Flanagan said the court usually receives between $1.5 million and $1.6 million in the five years he’s been there. This year, he said, the county has requested more than $2 million.

DeGenova said the funding has allowed the court to develop multiple programs to benefit children and families who come into the court’s jurisdiction.

“These monies are designed to serve youth locally,” she said. “It keeps families involved and allows them to participate in the child’s treatment and keeps the child out of detention, and the state wants to see them served locally, and they can become rehabilitated.”

DeGenova said the programming includes everything from drug and alcohol assessments and treatment to mental health assessments and support.

Flanagan said it’s also about creating stability and security for them.

“Some of these programs, we are trying to help the families to develop a good support system for the youth at home,” he said. “So a lot of them require the family to participate.”

DeGenova said Dellick and the JJC staff have developed a wide variety of uses for the funding.

Family engagement programs include assigning counselors to each student — the court’s preferred term for the juvenile offenders it works with — at arraignment to assist the student and family through the court process. The counselors answer questions from the family and make recommendations to the court throughout the process.

Another program is The Brotherhood Council, created in 2017, to help transform eligible young men into responsible members of their families, schools and communities through individualized services and programming. Participants receive direct care services, but must maintain good behavior and comply with the terms of a point system.

Similarly, the court offers the Boys Circle and Men of Honor programs to offer at-risk young men a pathway toward healthy living and development through group discussion and activities.

A Girls Circle provides a structured support group that integrates relational theory, resiliency practices and skills training to increase positive connections, personal strength and competence in females.

The EWS (Early Warning Systems) School Justice Partnership assists students who are at risk of being off track in ABC indicators (attendance, behavior and curriculum) in school. Counselors work with students and families to reduce the number of truancy referrals from schools to juvenile court.

Growing Healthy Growing Strong — Emotions Matter is an anger management program for low- to high-risk youth. It requires parents to attend and participate in the first session to gain awareness of what their children are learning.

“We’re finding what the breakdowns are and trying to plug holes, and that’s why these programs are so very important,” DeGenova said.

But for those who struggle with early intervention programs or commit more serious offenses, there are also several options.

The court also offers Electronically Monitored House Arrest as a Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative. This is intended to provide early intervention and diversion for eligible youth and families. Eligible youth are placed in court or community programming and monitored for 30 to 90 days to ensure compliance and positive behavior change.

Pathways to Success is a youthful sex offender diversion program providing intensive counseling to low to moderate youth sex offenders.

There also is the Community Service / Work Restitution program, which provides court-ordered supervised activities to help youth understand how their behavior impacts others. It is intended to show youth the consequences of their actions and encourage them to take pride in their communities.

Those working their way out of incarceration or house arrest also receive counseling through the Ohio Youth Assessment System. Case workers and counselors perform clinical assessments on youth to determine their risk of reoffending, the identities of important criminogenic needs, barriers to treatment and case plan capabilities.

The Choices program provides community-based services for eligible misdemeanor / felony adjudicated youth. The program focuses on teaching youth how to gain self-control, regulate emotions and begin to manage risky situations in a prosocial way.

“Any jail institution has limited space and a lot of studies show that putting lower offenders or moderate offenders in with violent offenders doesn’t help, it only hurts,” DeGenova said. “There’s a reason why they offended, and it can often be corrected with the resources our court offers.”

Offenders are not the only ones the court takes into consideration. The Victim Impact Program, for moderate- to high-risk youth, exposes them to the effects that their crimes have had upon their victims, families and community.

In addition to programming, the funds also support salaries for two employees who oversee the implementation and administration of RECLAIM dollars, an REI coordinator, Trauma Informed Assessment and Intervention training, mental health counseling and assessment services.