Belmont County Juvenile Court Sees Cost Savings, New Programs | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo by Robert A. DeFrank – Belmont County Juvenile and Probate Judge Al Davies’ court has made strides in 2021 and is moving into 2022 with new and ongoing programs to meet the challenges to youths in jeopardy.

Belmont County Juvenile Court completed its annual report for 2021, and Judge Al Davies said there are several ongoing and new programs in store for 2022.

The court achieved considerable savings last year, with more projects and programs in the works.

“A substantial amount of funds were saved. So much so that we were able to put a budget in to the county that was 3 percent less than the year before,” Davies said, adding he did not have the exact number on hand. “There was a couple hundred thousand dollars that was saved.”

Davies commended his staff.

“They’ve all worked very hard under those challenging circumstances. We make certain we maintain contact with our kids, with our families. We provide all the programming, and we efficiently operate the court within the budget,” Davies said.

“We did have several individuals that resigned or retired in the 2021 year, so that enabled us to focus on some ways that we could more efficiently operate the court, combine some functions. We were able to do that, saving money but not sacrificing our programs that we offer,” Davies said, pointing out all the clerical staff operate in a central location and cross-train for probate and juvenile duties.

Also, the county had been renting a building that housed probation officers off-site. They are now working out of the courthouse.

Davies’ court also secured a grant from the Ohio Supreme Court for $200,000 for a case management program that will benefit all of the county’s courts.

“Both members of the public, attorneys and agencies will be able to access information from one web-based system that’s now in place,” Davies said.

He noted the virtual learning program and alternative school continue to see success, with an increase of new referrals from 239 in 2020 to 376 in 2021 for students who are facing challenges in a traditional learning environment or who must continue schooling while under suspension. Davies said the programs now include tutors from Wheeling University.

Davies said the increase is primarily a result of more students being suspended for vaping.

“Of all the reasons kids were suspended in the past school year, half of them were related to vaping,” he said.

The number of children in truancy and diversion programs is also high, at 141 new admissions in 2021, but lower than the 220 new cases in 2020.

“Kids aren’t going to school because they’ve had so much difficulty,” Davies said.

In addition, since the wane of the pandemic there has been an increase in cases being reported.

“Now that the pandemic is coming to a close, cases are starting to tick up for us now. Kids are back in school,” he said. “There’s more activities and things going on. Unfortunately that provides an opportunity for there to be trouble. … We’re prepared to handle it if there are more cases.”

He said while criminal behavior will be dealt with, there are instances where couseling and assistance is the proper course. The court is maintaining its partnerships with agencies such as the Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Board of Mental Health and Recovery.

“We are seeing a lot of kids who are really having emotional and mental health issues,” Davies said.

Davies said the parenting classes and diversion program have also continued to assist parents in dealing with challenges posed by some children.

“We’ve been able to operate that virtually through the pandemic. It’ll be virtual again this spring and hopefully will go live in the fall,” he said.

“We are seeing an uptick in our family dependency treatment court participants. Those are parents facing a prospect of termination of their parental rights … primarily because of parents’ drug addiction,” Davies said. “Unfortunately we are seeing a lot more fentanyl use with the adults.”

He said methamphetamine use also seems to be increasing among parents. Among juveniles, the common drug is marijuana, and some parents do not comprehend the unhealthy impact of its use. Davies said the programs will be incorporating the book “Tell Your Children the Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence” by Alex Berenson and providing it for parents.

Davies added that the National Academy of Medicine issued reports in 2017 finding marijuana use can cause or exacerbate mental disorders.

Programs will also be directed toward countering vaping among juveniles.

“Vaping is so dangerous in many ways. Now we’re seeing fentayl being vaped,” he said. “We see marijuana being vaped, and we see nicotine being vaped.”

“Through the generous donation to Belmont Schools Staying Clean we’re able to do a lot. One program that we’re able to do is bring in nationally recognized speakers to speak to all of the kids, not just the kids in the schools’ Staying Clean club,” he said.

On March 21, all high school students in Belmont County will be invited to attend a talk by Kyle Quilausing at the Capitol Theatre. Quilausing is a state golf champion who overcame an addiction to methamphetamines.

Juvenile court is also completing mock trials for Belmont County’s seventh- and eighth-graders, where Davies presides over an actual case that has come before his court.

“We got from the begining to the end of an actual plea hearing,” Davies said, adding the charges in such cases heard in school settings are usually related to drugs and alcohol.

“We got interrupted with that because of the pandemic, but between fall of the school year and this winter/spring, we got them all in,” Davies said, adding the final school event is set for 1 p.m. March 17 at Martins Ferry Middle School. “That’ll be our last one of the year. By then we’ll have gotten them all in. … (Students are) always very attentive and seem to enjoy it, and the schools are appreciative.”

A representative from Sargus Juvenile Detention Center and the prosecutor’s office are also present for such activities to answer questions and to speak about social media precautions.

“The mock trials have been going on for several years. I think we have been seeing results. Our drug cases continue to be at a lower level than they have in the past,” Davies said, adding other programs are also active in discouraging drug use among the youth.

“Whatever the circumstances, we’re going to keep working to try and promote healthy families.”