On Tuesday, the chancery and youth courts of Sunflower and Humphreys counties made a special appeal for citizens to become mentors.
Citing escalating trends in delinquent acts by juveniles, Judge Debra Giles of the Ninth Chancery’s Sub-district 2 hosted a hybrid meeting that was attended by nearly 30 people.
The purpose of the assembly was to share statistical data on criminal acts perpetrated by youths, solicit the assistance of community members who are concerned about the direction in which the youths are heading and provide information on how they can help.
In her presentation Giles shared comparisons of juvenile delinquent-related acts from 2016 up to August of 2021. There were a considerable amount of contempt of court cases and she noted the increase in the number of ungovernable and incorrigible child cases.
The statistics for 2021 also included growing trends of burglaries, individuals with handguns and drug use.
Giles prefaced her plea for assistance by stating, "Ungovernable and incorrigible means that child is in need of supervision. So if you listened to or heard what I said earlier about mentorship reducing drug use, reducing delinquent acts, this is what we need your assistance with," she said.
To further substantiate her request, Giles said that if youths are ungovernable and incorrigible it typically means that the child is constantly acting out. “This child may be cursing his or her mom out. This child is leaving, walking away from home, not doing what their mother or father tells him or her to do.”
In other words, the parents are experiencing difficulty with some level of control over that child.
“That is something that we are seeing a lot of,” Giles said.
She stated that there is also an increase in the number of runaway youths. In addition, assessments have shown that a small number of students have represented as being depressive and suicidal and that requires immediate action.
With regard to the ungovernable and incorrigible child, Giles said, "That's a child we really can't send to the detention center." She indicated that it would require extreme circumstances for a child in need of supervision to be sent away to a confinement institution.
Giles indicated that she is extending the plea to the community to become mentors because as the representative of the court she is not allowed to have face-to-face contact with the children. “The only time I can have direct contact is when they come into this courtroom. So it is important for me to have a staff and a group of individuals who are willing to be mentors and help to provide some guidance to those individuals,” she said.
During a question and answer period, Giles was asked how many mentors she needed and although she was not able to give a specific number, Giles said she would like to have at least one mentor for each of the youths that are in her probationary records, which could be up to 40. All of the potential mentees are either in school or are being homeschooled.
As for qualifications for the mentors, she said they must be over the age of 21 and able to pass a background check, which is part of the application process.
In addition, anyone who is selected has to complete a confidentiality agreement because one of the stipulations governing the youths is that all activity regarding them must remain confidential.
The applications can be picked up at the courthouse or a link for an online form can be requested.
Once it has been completed, it should be returned to Giles either in person or by mail.
Although the youths exit the juvenile system at age 18, Giles said she is hoping that the bonds being formed between the mentors and mentees will last well into the future.
