Sunflower County is in a state of emergency when it comes to its youth.
This according to Chancery Court Judge Debra Giles this past Monday night as she appeared before the Indianola Board of Aldermen in an attempt to better educate community leaders about the role of the court.
Giles talked at length about the problems of gun violence and sex trafficking among juveniles.
“That is a huge problem in our community,” she said. “As I’ve told our Youth Council, and as I’ve told our boards, here in Sunflower County, we are in a state of emergency with our children. And what this court is doing is reaching out in every aspect, in every avenue and in every funding stream to bring about changes to how we look and how we address every child in our community.”
Giles wanted to make clear first and foremost that youth offenders who commit crimes that involved life and death situations or those that involved a deadly weapon are not under the jurisdiction of the chancery court but rather the circuit court.
“Youth court oversees children who literally from 7, 8, 9 or 10 up until they are 17 years, 364 days old,” Giles said. “When they turn 18, we lose jurisdiction.”
Giles said that there are multiple ways her court deals with delinquent juveniles, depending on the severity of the crime.
They may be released back to their parents, placed in either the Yazoo County or Washington County juvenile detention centers or sent home with an ankle monitor, something that is relatively new to the county.
The ankle monitors became a viable option due to overcrowding at the two detention centers available to Sunflower County.
“I can assure you, they are crowded. A lot of time, we don’t have space to put juveniles,” she said.
Giles said that there are actually four courts, instead of the typical two associated with chancery court.
One of those is a juvenile drug court. Another is a family treatment court.
“We are not only addressing the needs of the children, but we are addressing the needs of the parents,” she said.
Giles said she has implemented several programs and initiatives to help strengthen support for youth and families who are under the jurisdiction of her court.
One is the All Hands on Deck Consortium.
This group will hold its next meeting on December 19 at noon at the Sunflower County Chancery Court.
The court will also hold an open house on December 18 from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., showcasing the new space afforded to the court by the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors.
