One of the most important things we do as a Department is to provide opportunities for our youth and parents to succeed in this high pressure society that we live in. Our youth are constantly struggling with the pressures of life, which are completely different than what we were exposed to. The Sheriff’s goal has been to provide as many opportunities we can to help get kids on the right track. To this end the Sheriff expanded the Divisionary Programs to make sure that we are giving youth and their parents a second chance to succeed in life. Adding to the JUSTICE Program, Youth Arbitration Program, Explorers Program:
Sheriff Leon Lott implemented the J.U.M.P. (Juveniles Under Motivated Pressure) Start Program in 2007 for challenged youth to have an overnight stay. The program consists of character building scenarios to help develop life skills. The focus point of interest is to reduce the delinquent behavior, among our youth. In return this will give them a real world experience on how life will be if they continue to make poor life decisions. More than twenty five hundred young adults have gone through the J.U.M.P. Start Program. The goal is to see our youth establish better behavior patterns within the household and community. As successful as the J.U.M.P. Start Program has been, parents are still reaching out, voicing that there is still work that needs to be done with our youth. The common response from parents evaluating the J.U.M.P. Start Program is, “What’s next?” As a result, the program appropriately titled NEXT STEP, has been implemented for students to have a mandatory mediation meeting (15 to 30 days out) after the completion of the J.U.M.P. Start Program. The Next Step Program began in 2012 to empower parents and help kids of all walks of life; in all stages of life. The program consists of intense educational workshops along with family mediation sessions. This program will bridge with other components from the Sheriff’s Department and communities. The program will walk the families step-by-step from a troubled situation back to a solid foundation. The process for signing a student up for the J.U.M.P. Start Program are as follow: Parent or guardian must pay an administrative fee of $10.00 if you live in the county. If you live out of the county or state the fee will be $20. Parent or guardian will bring the student to Richland County Sheriff's Department located at 1931 Pineview Drive, Columbia SC on that Friday evening at 3:00 PM and retrieve their child the next day (Saturday morning) promptly at 5:00 AM from the same location. Parent or guardian MUST attend a mandatory two hour Next Step Program workshop from 3:30pm to 5:30pm after they drop their child off. If there are any questions, parent or guardian may contact the following Deputies: Cpl. Acox (803) 309-1399 email [email protected] and Deputy Parks (803) 403-3955 email [email protected] Contact Deputies for scheduled dates.
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