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Organization: St. Peter's Human Services, Inc. Program: St. Peter's Boys Development & Training Institute Founder: Children's Service Council B. PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page) 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need? c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference source, that corroborates that this is an area of need. a. The unacceptable condition is juvenile delinquency that leads to further lives of crime, truancy, dropping out of school, low self esteem, etc. because the approach has been only to lockup the offenders without changing the behaviors. b. The children in need are the at-risk males between the ages of 7 and 16 who and discouraged learners, have low self-esteem, stressful family conditions, and have exhibited problem behaviors, such as school disciplinary referrals, chronic school truancy, repeated school suspensions, poor academic performance, a history of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, rebellion, running away, mental and emotional health issues and those with a history of delinquent behavior. c. In Indian River County, 90% of the at-risk males involved in the program are from the surrounding community. d. DJJ Report indicates that the specific population of juvenile offenders are those who according to research are most likely to become chronic and serious offenders if they do not receive early help. They share certain high-risk factors, including the first offense at age 15 or younger, poor school performance and truancy, lack of parental supervision, substance abuse problems and gang affiliation. The profile of Florida Delinquency Report indicates that a total of 94,228 youth were referred to DJJ during FY 2005-06, presenting 150, 104 delinquency referrals (unduplicated). The majority of youth referred were males (70%), white (45 %), and were age 15 and under (49%) at the time of their most serious referral . Recent research indicates that two- thirds of male juvenile offenders have at least one psychiatric disorder (archives of general psychiatry 2002). DJJ reports indicate that 49% of the offenders surveyed have a diagnosed mental disorder. Fourteen percent demonstrated behavior which suggests mental disorder; 35% had a diagnosed substance-related disorder which suggested substance abuse. Nine percent are sex offenders and 5% have developmental disabilities. DJJ fact sheet indicates that during FY2004-05, 82 delinquency referrals were made per 1 ,000 juveniles. 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted population; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted population of your program. There are two programs that serve the targeted population, however neither of the programs are structured to address the additional areas provided through the Boys Development Institute. 1 a. Gifford Youth Activity Center provides an after school day program for all youth, not just males. 1 b. The program does not provide many of the services rendered by our program i .e. mentoring, community services, Life Skills, Drug Awareness and Character Education, overnight stay on site, meals, recreational, and academic support and tracking the boys for six months after successful completion of the program through DJJ, schools and parents. 2a. Hope Academy provides an alternative day program for suspended students from public schools, while the Boys Institute seeks to serve the social, emotional and academic needs of the child, ensuring that all areas are addressed. 5