Juvenile mentorship program proposed for North County

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 23 to give the county Probation Department six months to evaluate the possibility of establishing a post-incarceration mentorship program for youth in North County.

The topic initially came up in a grand jury report that called Los Prietos Boys Camp, a delinquent youth camp located in Los Padres National Forest, “effective, but underutilized.” The report pointed out that Freedom4Youth, a nonprofit organization based out of UC Santa Barbara, offers a post-incarceration mentorship program to youth in South County.

“This or a similar mentorship program should be offered to North County youth, as well,” the grand jury report said. It recommended that the Board of Supervisors encourage the establishment of such a program and gave the board 90 days to respond.

The grand jury’s recommendation coincides with a surge in discussion on youth violence in Northern Santa Barbara County—especially in Santa Maria.

Santa Maria’s Recreation and Parks Department replaced its usual day camp this summer with a new program aiming to prevent violence and gang association among the city’s kids. One Community Action Coalition, which aims to address the problem of gang violence on Santa Maria’s streets, pays special attention to at-risk youth. Many City Council candidates have worked the prevention and intervention of youth violence into their campaign platforms for November’s election.

Freedom4Youth’s program links mentors with youth involved in the juvenile justice system to provide tutoring, career counseling, educational counseling, and “positive peer associations,” according to the program’s website. The organization does partner with Santa Maria Juvenile Hall, but the grand jury report suggested that a similar program based in North County should also exist.

County Probation Chief Guadalupe Rabago presented the grand jury report at the Board of Supervisors’ Aug. 23 meeting.

“The Probation Department will review the South County mentorship program with the North County nonprofit organizations within the next six months to evaluate its applicability and interest in supporting a similar program,” Rabago proposed at the meeting.

Supervisor Steve Lavagnino said at the meeting that the Santa Maria Rotary Club would likely be interested in participating.

“I’m sure we can duplicate it up north,” Lavagnino said.

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