2008 Napa County Grand Jury Report on D.a.r.e.*

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"The public school districts of St. Helena and Calistoga re-institute the D.A.R.E. or similar program within the elementary school curriculum, beginning in the 2008-2009 academic school year." Response to Recommendation 3: The District agrees with this recommendation and D.A.R.E. has been replaced with a Juvenile Diversion Program. A Calistoga Police Department Memorandum, prepared by Calistoga Police Chief Jonathan Mills, is attached and provides history and an overview of the program focus. The most recent addition to the duties of the juvenile diversion officer has been the implementation of the Second Step Program at the 5th and 6th grade levels. This program has been recognized and recommended by the US Department of Education and numerous other agencies as an effective curriculum in preventing drug and alcohol use by youth. The school district and city have a long history of cooperative efforts and joint projects focused on drug and alcohol education and prevention and the diversion program has Received been a most successful replacement for D.A.R.E. Napa Superior Court JUN 3 0 2008 Court Executive Office 1520 Lake Sreet ◆ Calistoga, CA 94515 (707) 942-4703 . Calistoga Joint Unified SchoolResponse to Grand JuryD.A.R.E. Program CALISTOGA POLICE DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE: April 22, 2008 TO: Jim McCann – City Manager FROM: Jonathan Mills – Chief of Police RE: 2008 Napa County Grand Jury Report on D.A.R.E. In response to the 2008 Napa County Grand Jury report on D.A.R.E., I have prepared this memorandum with information on the Calistoga Police Department's activity in regards to youth services. The Grand Jury report has stated that although there is no evidence to support that D.A.R.E. reduces drug, alcohol, or tobacco use, or that it prevents violence, the benefit of the program is that it increases familiarity and comfort between students and members of the police. Therefore the Grand Jury recommends that the public schools of Calistoga re-institute the D.A.R.E. program for the 2008-2009 school year. The City of Calistoga ran the D.A.R.E. program in the elementary school from approximately 1996 to 2003. During this time the traditional D.A.R.E. curriculum was presented to 6th grade children for 16 weeks during the school year by a uniformed police officer. Beginning in 2000 the City of Calistoga moved from following the D.A.R.E. program to implementing a Juvenile Diversion Program as a measure to improve outreach to youth. The Juvenile Diversion Program exists as an opportunity for the Police Department to intervene when a youth has been identified as being at risk of getting into trouble. A child so identified who has committed a minor offense can be put on diversion instead of formal probation. Diversion consists of a voluntary contract between the child, parents and the Police Department. The contract includes behavioral, academic and counseling components. The Juvenile Diversion Officer meets with the youth weekly throughout the 6 month term of the contract. When successful, the offense for which the youth was diverted is expunged. The Juvenile Diversion Officer spends on average 16 to 24 hours a week on Calistoga School campuses. The goal of the Juvenile Diversion Program is to help guide youth from making bad or wrong choices in future life and to develop within them the strength and life skills necessary to make good choices. The Juvenile Diversion Officer is a youth case manager from the Boys and Girls Club of Saint Helena and Calistoga. The Juvenile Diversion Officer is contracted from the Boys and Girls Club to work as a representative of the Calistoga Police Department at both the Calistoga Elementary School and the Calistoga Junior/Senior High School. The cost of this program is $25,000 annually. In the Elementary School the Juvenile Diversion Officer teaches the Second Step Program to 5th and 6th graders. This program is recognized by the Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. The program focuses on teaching empathy, anger management, personal safety, and bullying. The Second Step program is consistent with the stated goals of the Juvenile Diversion Program. The Juvenile Diversion Officer visits the Junior/Senior High School to monitor youth on diversion contracts and to conduct intervention when referred by school officials, parents or other youth. Intervention issues range from classroom disruption, fighting/bullying, sexual inappropriateness and poor respect for parents and authority. So far this school year the Juvenile Diversion Officer has so served 41 children in Calistoga High School. In my opinion, the Juvenile Diversion Program successfully integrates the Police Department with educational and preventative programs in our Calistoga schools. The on-campus presence of a the Juvenile Diversion Officer, a representative of the Calistoga Police Department, for 16 to 24 hours a week is well beyond what a D.A.R.E. officer would spend at a school.