Working to keep our youth on the right path

I am proud that last week the Richland County Sheriff's Department kicked off A&E's second season of "Beyond Scared Straight" with an inside look at our R.E.A.D.Y program.

The R.E.A.D.Y. Program (Richland County, Educating, And Deterring, Youth) is an extension of the Crossroads Program, which was introduced in 2008 for students displaying behavior problems. The students are dropped off by their parents to the Sheriff's Department and taken on a tour of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center followed by a presentation from the Richland County Coroners office for a "reality check". Since the program started, more than three hundred young adults have gone through the program and the vast majority of those students have stayed out of trouble. The common response from parents evaluating the program is a request for an overnight stay at a correctional facility to further get the message across. Students (ages twelve to sixteen) can stay overnight inside a jail cell... they are all monitored closely the entire evening by Richland County Deputies.

If you are interested in finding out more about the program or for enrollment information Investigator Gerald Walls at 518-4127 and pay an administrative fee of $10.00 (which covers cost of jail jumper, snack and breakfast).

If you missed the debut last Thursday, you can go to this link below (A&E's website) at http://www.aetv.com/beyond-scared-straight/video/?bcpid=754809944001&bclid=1115932243001&bctid=1315056183001

Also working hard to make a significant difference in the lives of young people is Richland County Sheriff’s Investigator Cassie Radford. Radford is a six-year Sheriff’s Department veteran.

In an interview by Noelle Phillips with The State newspaper, Kendall Corley, the juvenile prosecutor in the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, said Radford’s one-on-one insight into children’s lives is invaluable when it comes to deciding an appropriate punishment.

“What Cassie is good at is getting to the kids on the front end,” Corley said. “She knows the services they need more than I would by looking at a file.”

The State article goes on to say that as a juvenile crime investigator, Radford doesn’t allow teens to use a troubled home as an excuse for bad behavior.

“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon, and what I have is what I’ve made of myself,” Radford said. “I was told as a teen that I was white trash and I would be on the streets. Well, I am white. But I’m not trash. I’m on the streets, but I’m making a difference.”

I appreciate those working to rehabilitate troubled young people. Whether it's going through the R.E.A.D.Y. program or being mentored by someone like Inv. Radford-- as long as the result is keeping these young people on a positive path, the work is worth it.