Countywide : Fund Refusal Could Hurt Youth Program

Advocates of a highly touted program for juvenile offenders warned the County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that an advisory panel’s refusal to fund the project could prevent it from being extended to more Latino youths.

“We’ve exceeded all of our expectations with this program,” said Kathy Bonner, program director of Shortstop, a juvenile diversion program that has won high marks from area judges and lawmakers. “Now we need the county’s help.”

The Shortstop Program takes juvenile offenders convicted of minor crimes and exposes them to a shock session that includes locking the youngsters in holding cells and briefing them on the life they would face if convicted of a serious crime. The program has operated for several years, and now the Orange County Bar Foundation hopes to add a Spanish-language version to reach Latino youths not proficient in English.

To do that, the program requested $40,000, but it was denied funding by the County Justice System Advisory Group, which makes recommendations for distributing more than $5 million in state crime-prevention funds.

“It was a matter of priorities, nothing else,” said John Peshkoff, chairman of the advisory group and director of the county Education Department’s juvenile court schools. “We feel it’s an extremely worthwhile program.”

A final vote on the funding requests is not scheduled until May 1, and supervisors did not indicate how they plan to vote. Supervisors Gaddi H. Vasquez and Don R. Roth appeared sympathetic to the program’s appeal, however, and Supervisor Roger R. Stanton said later that while he respects the recommendations of the advisory panel, he remains open to amending the grant proposal so that Shortstop can be funded.

“I’m willing to look at what the other possibilities are,” he said, adding that he has instructed his staff to explore other funding options.