OVERVIEW
The Evening Diversion Program is an innovative program for Williamson County children and their families. The community based program serves post and pre-adjudicated delinquents, dependent and/or unruly youth male and female youth ages 12-17. The youth are referred by the Williamson County Juvenile Court, Department of Children’s Services, through private placement, or other community entities. The main objective is to offer a variety of evidence-based counseling approaches and opportunities that may be substituted for a youth’s antisocial behavioral patterns.
THE PROGRAM
The highly structured, well supervised program offers group activities during high risk periods. Youth attend the program for six weeks, five days per week from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Evening Diversion Program youth participate daily in life skills, social skills, team building, and educational activities. Parents are required to attend two parent nights weekly until completion of the program. Parent nights consist of counseling with their youth in a group setting.
* Community Service:
The youth perform a minimum of 8 hours of meaningful community service work while in the program. The work is assigned and determined by the Evening Diversion Program staff.
* Drug/Alcohol Testing:
The Evening Diversion Program also conducts random urinalysis and alcohol breath tests on participants while in the program.
* Discharge
A youth is discharged from the program after successful completion. If a youth is ordered to the program from Juvenile Court and/or Department of Children’s Services, a Child Family Team Meeting is held before the youth’s discharge and recommendations are reviewed by the treatment team members.
* Program Services
Counseling and educational activities are provided on a daily basis. Group activities center on consistent topics and are supplemented by special events and field trips to educational, cultural and recreational activities.
Experts in the following areas address the groups on: • Crime and Delinquency • Conflict Resolution • Family Dynamics • Alcoholism and Drug Abuse • Health and Hygiene Education • Teenage Pregnancy • AIDS Education and Prevention • City, State and Federal Government • Political Education • Parenting Skills and Education • Family Problems • Vandalism, Violence and Other Problem Behaviors • Life Skills Development (Job Readiness, How to get and keep a job) • Educational Problems • Identifying Attitudes & Increasing Communication • Team Building • Parenting Classes/Education • Drug & Alcohol Assessment • Peer Pressure • Current Events • Psychological Evaluations, (if recommended)
SCOPE OF SERVICES
Williamson County Youth, Inc., founded in 1982, has served this community for over 30 years by helping youth and families. The agency will be working in the community long into the future to assist youth and families to achieve better communication among the family members and to reduce the recidivism for juvenile delinquents. The agency collaborates with other community based programs to support the youth and their family while in the program. Our agency has exceptionally strong partnerships with local schools and community organizations.
REFERRALS
Referrals are made from the Juvenile Courts or other community partners/agencies. Male and female youth (age 12-17) from Williamson County who would otherwise face a term of detention, in-home detention, or placement in the Department of Children Services custody may be referred to the Evening Diversion Program.
The Evening Diversion Program is a community-based alternative detention site that operates in partnership with sponsoring social service organizations. The Evening Diversion Program Case Manager conducts an initial assessment interview with the family and youth before acceptance into the program. The program case manager then communicates to the courts, Youth Services Officers, and other significant community agencies on the progress of the youth. Each youth along with their family/guardians is required to participate in a comprehensive treatment assessment, assist with the creation of the development plan and commit to working on their Individual Progress Plan.
Participants must agree to attend all sessions of the 6 week program. An extension may be recommended by the program treatment members with the approval of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. This is only considered on a case by case basis. For more information, please call (615) 790-8553 extension 228. This project is funded under an agreement with the State of Tennessee.
