By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Armed with the knowledge that nearly 1,400 Osceola County juveniles were arrested in 2009, government officials and law enforcement officers rallied community leaders Thursday in an effort to shed light on the plight of local youth.

More than 250 people filled Osceola Heritage Park's Exhibition Hall to brainstorm how to prevent youngsters from turning to crime, how to help those who have offended re-enter society and what programs are needed for homeless and abused youth.

“We have forgotten where we've come from and what we are about,” Osceola County Commissioner Ken Smith said. “Youth crime and violence has become almost as commonplace as college football on a Saturday afternoon.”

According to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, just over 1,700 youths were arrested in 2008 and 1,377 in 2009.

“Is there success there? Yes, there is. Is it still a problem? Absolutely, there is,” Sheriff Bob Hansell said. “It's a challenge everyday to face these numbers.”

Also in 2009, nearly 1,000 documented child abuse and neglect cases were handled through the Sheriff's Office alone along with 423 juvenile runaway and missing person cases.

Of the 597 documented gang members in Osceola County, 10 percent are children under age 18, Hansell said.

Attendees separated into three “break-out” sessions – prevention, diversion and transition – and collectively made suggestions in each category. The groups switched to a different session after an hour.

Public Defender Juliette Koves led the transition session where mentoring programs and halfway houses were recommended.

“We need a solid re-entry program for these kids so they have some place to stay and maybe have a mentor,” she said. “These kids have already gone to crime and need help to realign their lives.”

In her work, Koves said she has encountered children who work to turn their lives around only to be forced back into crime, drugs and other bad habits because they have nowhere to go after they leave their commitment program.

In addition to youth transitional programs, suggestions were made to improve crime prevention efforts for youth as well as additional programs for first-time, misdemeanor offenders.

“There are kids who've made mistakes who, hopefully, we'll never see again but need to be held accountable,” Teri Mills-Uvalle, the juvenile bureau chief of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida, said.

Two programs are impacting Osceola County's youth in a positive way, said Lawson Lamar, state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which serves both Osceola and Orange counties.

The Early Truancy Intervention program targets elementary school children who have excessive absences and works with their parents to get them in school. Of the 147 families in the program last year, only one was prosecuted.

“If they are not educated and instilled with proper values, they will never be successful,” Lamar said. “We want to see them educated, not prosecuted.”

The diversion program takes non-violent, first time youth offenders and places them in programs, such as teen court and counseling, to help them back on the right path. According to Lamar, these programs have more than a 90-percent success rate.

“I want every kid to be safe. We can't lose a one of them,” Smith said.

Susan Crutchfield, youths project director for Community Vision, a Kissimmee-based countywide organization committed to the protection and preservation of Osceola County's residents and natural resources, will be presenting a full report of the Youth in Crisis Conference at the Osceola County Commission meeting Sept. 27.