Nicole Young, Nashville
Nevada juvenile judge, a Nevada Boys Town alumnus and the executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute. Proceedings lasted for about half a day, he said.
Bellamy received an invitation to speak on the panel about a week before the briefing, he said.
“They were looking for someone involved with juvenile justice from a different perspective because they were trying to cover pretty much every base, and they didn’t have a prosecutor’s perspective,” he said.
Bellamy said he was likely the most conservative of those who spoke.
“Here’s the thing, the fact of the matter is, and people don’t want to believe this part of it, but there is a very small minority of our young people that are predestined to have a life of crime, they’re predestined to be a part of our justice system and we have to acknowledge that,” Bellamy said.
But, while acknowledging that fact, Bellamy said people have to realize that those offenders represent a very small minority, and right now, the juvenile justice system is being geared towards that very small minority.
“Instead of serving the 98 percent of the rest of our juveniles, we focus on that two percent, and we try to fit that 98 percent in the two-percent mold,” he explained. “The goal (of the act) is to focus on rehabilitation within the juvenile system. The adult system is a punitive system, and I’m more than OK with that. In fact, I think that’s how it should be, but we have to treat juveniles totally different.”
Since taking office in February, Bellamy has worked alongside Robertson County Juvenile Court Magistrate Melanie Stark and Youth Services Director Rebekah Slayton to prosecute juvenile offenders. Robertson County, he said, is ahead of the curve when it comes to dealing with juvenile offenders, thanks to several programs that stress education for offenders.
Programs available
Currently, Robertson County’s Juvenile Court offers three different programs geared toward youth offenders, Online Awareness, Breaking Free and Truancy 101, according to Slayton, who has been working with the county since 2006 and currently oversees probation services for all female juvenile offenders.
Online Awareness is the newest of the three programs. It began in August with a registration of 10 children and their parents. A one-time-only class, online awareness deals with social media and displaying improper content online.
Truancy 101 deals with truancy law, educating parents and students on the importance of regular school attendance. The program lasts for about half a day and, for parents, focuses on the importance of effective time management, scheduling and investing more in a child’s education. It has been in place for about a year.
“The parents come to this program, rather than being prosecuted. If they re-offend, then we will formally prosecute them,” Slayton said. “Out of 145 truancy cases last year, we had three that were formally prosecuted because they failed to do what they were supposed to do after the program ended.”
Lastly, Breaking Free is an eight-week juvenile-only program, led by a correctional counselor, and geared towards first offenders or those with a series of minor offenses. It focuses on topics like positive choices, peer building, rapport building and friend choices, meets once a week and has been around for about two years.
“A lot of kids go into this program and most are on probation or supervision,” Slayton said. Since she began overseeing probation services for female juvenile offenders in July, Slayton said she hasn’t seen any of her offenders re-offend and end up back on probation, and about 50 of her offenders have been through the Breaking Free program.
“When they finish, I make them write me an essay on what they learned from it,” she said. “I want to know what they absorbed. Honestly, this isn't just a job for me. It's a career. It's a lifestyle. You’re in their life and they’re in yours. You can’t just walk out of here at 4:30 every day and forget your caseload. You just can’t. If you can shut your eyes at night and not have one of their faces flash before your eyes, I don’t know how you do it.”
In addition to the three programs, Robertson County also focuses on counselling as a means to rehabilitate. Detention is seen as a last resort, Slayton said.
“We want to do business the way it’s going to help these children the most,” she said. “The federal authorities say ‘this is what we want you to do because this is best practice. This is what’s best for these children and families.’
“Other counties look to us because we try to follow the lead the federal authorities give us. We want to better ourselves, our staff and our services.”
In terms of funding, the county receives about $9,000 per year from the JJDPA, Slayton and Stark said.
The funds are earmarked for a number of things, including staff salaries, Slayton said.
“The money is sent to us if we meet certain guidelines and standards, which we’ve never not met,” she said.
There is bipartisan support for JJDPA in Washington D.C., but as of press time, the bill was still awaiting reauthorization.
Nevada juvenile judge, a Nevada Boys Town alumnus and the executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute. Proceedings lasted for about half a day, he said.
Bellamy received an invitation to speak on the panel about a week before the briefing, he said.
“They were looking for someone involved with juvenile justice from a different perspective because they were trying to cover pretty much every base, and they didn’t have a prosecutor’s perspective,” he said.
Bellamy said he was likely the most conservative of those who spoke.
“Here’s the thing, the fact of the matter is, and people don’t want to believe this part of it, but there is a very small minority of our young people that are predestined to have a life of crime, they’re predestined to be a part of our justice system and we have to acknowledge that,” Bellamy said.
But, while acknowledging that fact, Bellamy said people have to realize that those offenders represent a very small minority, and right now, the juvenile justice system is being geared towards that very small minority.
“Instead of serving the 98 percent of the rest of our juveniles, we focus on that two percent, and we try to fit that 98 percent in the two-percent mold,” he explained. “The goal (of the act) is to focus on rehabilitation within the juvenile system. The adult system is a punitive system, and I’m more than OK with that. In fact, I think that’s how it should be, but we have to treat juveniles totally different.”
Since taking office in February, Bellamy has worked alongside Robertson County Juvenile Court Magistrate Melanie Stark and Youth Services Director Rebekah Slayton to prosecute juvenile offenders. Robertson County, he said, is ahead of the curve when it comes to dealing with juvenile offenders, thanks to several programs that stress education for offenders.
Programs available
Currently, Robertson County’s Juvenile Court offers three different programs geared toward youth offenders, Online Awareness, Breaking Free and Truancy 101, according to Slayton, who has been working with the county since 2006 and currently oversees probation services for all female juvenile offenders.
Online Awareness is the newest of the three programs. It began in August with a registration of 10 children and their parents. A one-time-only class, online awareness deals with social media and displaying improper content online.
Truancy 101 deals with truancy law, educating parents and students on the importance of regular school attendance. The program lasts for about half a day and, for parents, focuses on the importance of effective time management, scheduling and investing more in a child’s education. It has been in place for about a year.
“The parents come to this program, rather than being prosecuted. If they re-offend, then we will formally prosecute them,” Slayton said. “Out of 145 truancy cases last year, we had three that were formally prosecuted because they failed to do what they were supposed to do after the program ended.”
Lastly, Breaking Free is an eight-week juvenile-only program, led by a correctional counselor, and geared towards first offenders or those with a series of minor offenses. It focuses on topics like positive choices, peer building, rapport building and friend choices, meets once a week and has been around for about two years.
“A lot of kids go into this program and most are on probation or supervision,” Slayton said. Since she began overseeing probation services for female juvenile offenders in July, Slayton said she hasn’t seen any of her offenders re-offend and end up back on probation, and about 50 of her offenders have been through the Breaking Free program.
“When they finish, I make them write me an essay on what they learned from it,” she said. “I want to know what they absorbed. Honestly, this isn't just a job for me. It's a career. It's a lifestyle. You’re in their life and they’re in yours. You can’t just walk out of here at 4:30 every day and forget your caseload. You just can’t. If you can shut your eyes at night and not have one of their faces flash before your eyes, I don’t know how you do it.”
In addition to the three programs, Robertson County also focuses on counselling as a means to rehabilitate. Detention is seen as a last resort, Slayton said.
“We want to do business the way it’s going to help these children the most,” she said. “The federal authorities say ‘this is what we want you to do because this is best practice. This is what’s best for these children and families.’
“Other counties look to us because we try to follow the lead the federal authorities give us. We want to better ourselves, our staff and our services.”
In terms of funding, the county receives about $9,000 per year from the JJDPA, Slayton and Stark said.
The funds are earmarked for a number of things, including staff salaries, Slayton said.
“The money is sent to us if we meet certain guidelines and standards, which we’ve never not met,” she said.
There is bipartisan support for JJDPA in Washington D.C., but as of press time, the bill was still awaiting reauthorization.