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CAP Helps Hundreds of Children

Family Resources

One year after it started, participants in a program to keep children out of jail and the juvenile justice system think it's been very successeful.

Family Resources Pre. & CEO Nicole Cisne Durbin, Dav. Sch. Supt. T.J. Schneckloth, Dav. Pol. Chief Jeff Bladel
WVIK News
Family Resources Pre. & CEO Nicole Cisne Durbin, Dav. Sch. Supt. T.J. Schneckloth, Dav. Pol. Chief Jeff Bladel

Scott County's Coordinated Assessment Program has served more than 300 young people, with two-thirds showing improved behavior, and 92 per cent reporting no more school suspensions.

The program is run by Family Resources, and President and CEO Nicole Cisne Durbin says when a child is referred, her agency contacts the family within one to two days.

"And we keep trying to work with them, to engage them in the services, and we have multiple assessments at our fingertips to deploy - to assess what are the needs of this youth and family and then let's prioritize how we want to tackle those needs."

Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel says juvenile crime has to be more than just a law enforcement problem.

"Enforcement is there, enforcement is an option. I'm very proud of the work that our people do and they do it very well but that shouldn't be the only thing we do as a group when it comes to juveniles and juvenile behavior."

The program began in the fall of 2021 when local leaders saw the need for some way to prevent kids from getting involved with the juvenile justice system.

Most of its referrals now come from school districts, but about one quarter come from young people themselves and their families.

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.