Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Funds to keep kids out of trouble
County expanding effort to fight youth crime, truancy
structured free-time activities.”
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com.

    Schenectady County is expanding a program to crack down on truancy and crime among at-risk youths, officials announced.
    The Schenectady County Department of Probation will use federal Weed and Seed funds to operate the youth crime reduction program three nights a week, targeting 30 teenagers. It will run the program for 12 weeks at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Schenectady’s Steinmetz satellite office.
    The Weed and Seed money, totaling $10,000, will pay overtime for juvenile probation officers to provide the one-hour training and to conduct truancy checks.
    This is the first time county probation has offered the program at night. It has run a similar program during the day for the past year within city schools, said Deputy Director of Probation Joseph Mancini.
    “We hope to remove the criminal element and replace it with something positive,” Mancini told Schenectady County legislators Tuesday night. The Legislature is expected to vote to accept the Weed and Seed money at its regular meeting Tuesday.
    “It is a model program that teaches moral reasoning, social skills and anger management,” Mancini said.
    Officials at Mont Pleasant School, where the program is already in place, have seen a marked behavioral difference in children there, Mancini said. Children are mandated to attend as part of their probation. “We will track the kids and see how they do,” he said.
    The county probation department decided to offer the program at night because the time is more convenient for children to attend, Mancini said. “It’s tough to get a kid to come in three times a week. Here, we have a captive audience,” he said.
    The Weed and Seed money will also allow probation officers to ensure that students attend school as part of their probation.
    Mancini said the county probation department supervises 98 youths who live within the Weed and Seed target area, primarily the Hamilton Hill and Vale neighborhoods.
    “Many youths lack opportunities to participate in youth development activities either due to the lack of knowledge, resources or adult supervision,” Mancini said. “This program will seek to address that risk factor as well as provide youths with opportunities to give back to the community and participate in free time activities.

Quoted Text

This is the first time county probation has offered the program at night. It has run a similar program during the day for the past year within city schools, said Deputy Director of Probation Joseph Mancini.
    “We hope to remove the criminal element and replace it with something positive,” Mancini told Schenectady County legislators Tuesday night. The Legislature is expected to vote to accept the Weed and Seed money at its regular meeting Tuesday.
    “It is a model program that teaches moral reasoning, social skills and anger management,” Mancini said.
    Officials at Mont Pleasant School, where the program is already in place, have seen a marked behavioral difference in children there, Mancini said. Children are mandated to attend as part of their probation. “We will track the kids and see how they do,” he said.