By the end of the month, children in need of care and juvenile offenders will no longer need to be housed wherever space is available until they can be released to their parents or other entities.
The new Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center office has been remodeled in the south side of the old courthouse, 402 Commercial St. It will be opened as soon as some computer-related work and other minor tasks can be completed.
Community Corrections Director Robert Sullivan offered a tour of the remodeled area this week to members of the Community Corrections board of directors and a few others.
“This was not designed for juvenile offenders,” Sullivan said of the spacious room and its amenities. “This was designed for children in need of care and the juvenile offender benefits. ... It’s a nice, warm, safe environment.”
The office was financed through supplemental funds and unexpended funds from the previous year, for a total of about $10,000, furnishings and equipment included.
Much of the remodeling work was done by the courthouse maintenance department employees, whom Sullivan called “champs.”
“Anything we’ve needed, they’ve helped us with,” he said.
Court services officer Joan Olson spearheaded the decorating and organization of the office, from the tidy storage compartments to the miniblinds that can block the room from view or the sun.
Juvenile offenders who had been ordered to perform community service also have been involved in the project.
“All I did was find money,” Sullivan said. “They did all the hard work.”
The room already holds a television set, play rug, small refrigerator, and microwave oven. Along the west wall Olson has stacked a long row of clothing in storage containers, each marked by size and gender. Most contained several items of new clothing that can be given to any Child in Need of Care (CINC).
Much of the clothing and many of the teddy bears are donated through a project of Carol Bolen.
The majority of the children are brought in with only the clothing they are wearing because they have been removed from abusive home environments or because their parents or guardians have been taken into custody and there is no one to care for them.
Several child safety seats sit in the storage area, ready to be used when needed.
“We transport kids all the time, from foster care or to shelter,” Sullivan said.
Across from the clothing storage stacks are rows of backpacks that have been filled with small pillows, coloring books, teddy bears, coloring books and crayons and other special items the children can take with them when they are picked up or are taken into foster homes.
The backpacks are filled and donated by the Pathfinders Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church. The project was initiated by Becky Mattas, wife of Emporia Police Officer Ray Mattas.
Mattas and other local law enforcement or court services officers are responsible for the juveniles who need Intake and Assessment services.
The new, separate office will provide a more calming venue to keep the children, who currently are taken either to the Community Corrections office in the basement of the courthouse or to police or sheriff’s departments. None of those sites is well-equipped to handle children and teens, Sullivan said, and their waiting time there often extends over a period of four to six hours.
Law enforcement officers also have accommodations, including their own desk, at the new office.
A computer and printer that will communicate with police and sheriff’s offices are being installed. Security cameras with a 30-day backup will record activities in the office, which is equipped with a panic button in case help is needed to deal with a juvenile offender.
If a child is having a seizure for example, a lone adult could push the panic button, which will activate open communications and visual monitoring until it is shut off. That way, Sullivan said, the worker can help the child and simultaneously let dispatchers know the type of situation underway and receive instructions, if necessary.
Safety of the youngsters is a primary concern. Sullivan said that if CINCs and juvenile offenders need services simultaneously, the juvenile offenders can be taken across the hall to a conference room, to avoid disturbing the others. Approximately 35 percent of all intakes last year were classified as CINCs.
The juvenile room is furnished with bean bags and a futon, which will be inexpensive to purchase and to replace when needed.
The Intake and Assessment Center still needs a rocking chair to rock and calm babies and small children, Sullivan said.
Also needed are a collapsible playpen that can double as a crib, DVDs appropriate for children, sheets and blankets, a baby gate, toy box, new toys that are easily washed, books, “tippy cups,” and juices.
“That way, we’re not making runs to Wal-Mart at midnight,” Sullivan said.
People willing to donate any of those items to the center may call Sullivan or Chrysanne Phipps, juvenile unit supervisor, at 342-4950 to make arrangements.
The I & A will be run by a full-time intake worker, Mary Anderson, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Weekends and evenings will be covered by three part-time workers who will be on-call.
Sullivan said only a few loose ends remain before the office can be opened.
“We’re so close we can almost taste it,” he said.