HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/31/1994MINUTES ATTACHED
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA
AGENDA
JOINT MEETING - IRC SCHOOL BOARD
AND BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 1994
9:00 A.M. - SCHOOL BOARD MEETING ROOM
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE
1990 25TH STREET
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS
William Marine, Chairman
Stan Mayfield, Vice Chairman
Joe Idlette
Gary Lindsey
Dorothy Talbert
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
John W. Tippin, Chairman ( Dist. 4)
Kenneth R. Macht, Vice Chairman (Dist. 3)
Fran B. Adams ( Dist. 1)
Richard N. Bird (Dist. 5)
Carolyn K. Eggert ( Dist. 2 )
9:00 A. M. Call to Order
Dr. Gary W. Norris, Supt.
G. Russell Petersen, Attorney
James E. Chandler, County Administrator
Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney
Jeffrey K. Barton, Clerk to the Board
Presentations relative to underlying problems
that plague our community
Discussion
ANYONE WHO MAY WISH TO APPEAL ANY DECISION WHICH MAY BE MADE
AT THIS MEETING WILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT A VERBATIM RECORD OF
THE PROCEEDINGS IS MADE WHICH INCLUDES THE TESTIMONY AND
EVIDENCE UPON WHICH THE APPEAL WILL BE BASED.
ANYONE WHO NEEDS A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION FOR THIS MEETING MAY
CONTACT THE COUNTY'S AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
COORDINATOR AT 567-8000 X 408 AT LEAST 48 HOURS IN AD��NCE
MEETING. JAN 31199A BOOK PA1i
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
Monday, January 31, 1994
The Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County,
Florida, met in Joint Session with the Indian River County School
Board at the School Board Teacher Education Center, 1990 25th
Street, Vero Beach, Florida, on Monday, January 31, 1994, at 9:00
a.m. Present were John W. Tippin, County Commission Chairman;
Kenneth R. Macht, Vice Chairman; Fran B. Adams; Richard N. Bird;
and Carolyn K. Eggert. Also present were James E. Chandler, County
Administrator; Charles P. Vitunac, County Attorney; and Patricia
Held, Deputy Clerk.
Present from the Indian River County School Board were William
Marine, School Board Chairman; Stan Mayfield, Vice Chairman; Joe
Idlette; and Gary Lindsey. Absent was Dorothy Talbert. Also
present was School Superintendent Dr. Gary W. Norris.
Chairman Tippin called the meeting to order, and welcomed all
those in attendance to the first of a series of joint meetings of
the Board of County Commissioners and the County School Board.
School Superintendent Dr. Gary W. Norris announced that the
purpose of the meeting was to heighten community awareness and
increase sensitivity about the extent of violence and teen crime in
our community, and not specifically in our schools; to demonstrate
the relationship between substance abuse and incidents of violence
and other societal problems; to connect the first 5 years of a
child's life to their health, and their environment to their well-
being in their later life; and to prove that every citizen in
Indian River County has a stake in addressing these issues. Dr.
Norris clarified that the purpose of the meeting is not to
sensationalize the problem nor to lead everyone to believe that our
youth are violent or out of control. We will try to put it in
perspective, and we encourage the media to balance their coverage.
Dr. Norris boasted that we have some fine young people in our
community and he is proud to be associated with them.
JAN 311994 BOOK 91 r -,1,E 617
��� BOOK 9� Pg 61�
JAN 1
Dr. Norris suggested the following format for the meeting:
Joint Workshop
Indian River County Commissioners
Indian River County School Board
Monday, January 31, 1994
9:00 a.m. - TEC
Agenda
- A Community in Crisis -
Desired Outcome:
Heighten awareness and increase sensitivity about the extent of.
• Violence and Teen Crimes
• Children's Critical Health Needs
• Issues of Early Childhood
What
Who
Time
Introductions/OpeningIntroductions/Opening
Dr. Gary Norris
10 min.
Juvenile Justice
SRO -Ray Gage
10 min.
Questions
5 min.
Children & The Law
State Attorney,
Bruce Colton
10 min.
uestions
5 min.
PRIDE Survey
Charlene Tardi
10 min.
Questions
5 min.
Children Health
Jean Kline
Dr. Berman
10 min.
Questions
5 min.
Teen Pregnancy
g �'
Charlene Tardi
Linda Thompson
10 min.
Questions
5 min.
Readiness to Start
School
Sandy Kale
Kathv Marshall
10 min.
estions
5 min.
Review and Future
Plans
Dr. Norris/All
20 min,
JUVENILE JUSTICE
Deputy Sheriff Ray Gage, serving in his 5th year as Resource
Officer at Vero Beach Senior High School, reported the following
national, state and local comparative statistics illustrating the
2
extent of the problem of juvenile crime and juvenile violence. The
information is a summary of figures from the Juvenile Justice Fact
Book, the Governor's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Advisory Committee, and Indian River County Juvenile Justice Plan.
DELINQUENCY CASES RECEIVED. COMPARISONS BETWEEN 1982-83 AND 1991-92 FIGURES
BASED UPON MOST SERIOUS OFFENSE CHARGED IN EACH CASE.
.) TIIE FLORIDA -POPULATION AGED 10 TO 17 INCREASED BY 7% OVER THE NINE
YEAR PERIOD AND TIIE•TOTAL NUMBER OF DELINQUENCY CASES RECEIVED BY HRS INTAKE
DURING 1991-92 WAS 92% GREATER TI1AN THE NUMBER RECEIVED IN 1982-83.
.) THE PERCENT INCREASE WAS LARGER FOR MORE SERIOUS OFFENSES, WITH 91%
INCREASE IN FELONY CASES COMPARED TO A 777'INCREASE IN MISDEMEANOR CASES.
.) THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE INCREASE WAS FOR A'1:TEMP7:ED MURDER, W11iCH GREW
FROM 13 CASES TO 2491 FOR AN INCREASES OF 1;8159. HURDER AND MANSLAUGHTER CASES
GREW BY 116%.
.) THE NUMBER OF FELONY DRUG CASES (EXCLUDING MARIJUANA) GREW BY 585%,
ALTHOUGH -THE -FIGURE FOR 1991-92 WAS DOWN I3Y OVER 30% FROM T11E PEAK YEAR 1988-92,
THE MAJORITY'OF THESE CASES WERE FOR COCAINE, FELONY MARIJUANA CASES GREW BY 2271
.) THE NUMBER OF AUTO THEFT CASES INCREASED BY 329%.
.) CONCEALED FIREARM CASES INCREASED BY -3269.,
.) TIIE NUMBER OF ARMED ROBBERY CASES GREW BX 2U67, OTHER RUBBERY CASES
INCREASES BY 1777+
.) SEXUAL BATTERY CASES INCREASED BY 74%, W111U OTHER FELONY SEX.OFtENSE
CASES INCREASED BY 231%
.) AGGRAVATED ASSAULT CASES INCREASED'BY 1647.. MISDEMEANOR ASSUALT CASES
INCREASED BY 190%,
�) JUVENILE 11RRCS'.0 FOR SERIOUS CIZi�1CS WERE UP 12s5% DUIUNG 1991 CUA1P1U1E:6 `1C7
s 711E PREVIOUS YEAR. SINCE 1989, TIIC t>Uhv= or JUVLNILLIS AiuzLisr U FUR SL:LZ].OUS CIUMES
1NC1W,II.SEU 21.5%.
s) ON '110, AVERAGE A JUVENILE WAS 11RRES` M EVERY 0`111ER DAY IUR MURDER IN I'LORLDII
DURING 1991.
3
JAN 199 BOOK 91 UUF 6
X994 BOOK F -A^
JAN 3� 9$ �f6�0
Fl iA,PRIVATIJ TATLnIASSEE F.Lml IME'SUIVEU ItCCCNTLY '1V A C.xUALI'1'lUN OF EDUC'.11t'URS GROUPS
ftbbibGS 'TAKEN FROM .60. OF' TllE- S't'A'lE5 67 WUNTIES SCHOOLS Y.-12 &
.) ONE HOMICIDE, A SHOWING ON A SC110OL C1 IPUS.
.) 9, 234 CASES OF I,1IRCENY, 81049 REPORTS OF VANDALISM AND 3.850 INCIDE'N'TS OF
DREAKING AND ENTERING.
.) 31512 WEAPONS VIOLATIONS, WI11I 21418 REPORTS OF POSSESSION OF SALT; OF DRUGS
INVOLVED 21418 OFFENSES. ALCOHOL USE IN SCHOOLS DRLW 931 REI'0Irrs.
.) 202,816 INCIDENTS OF DISORDERLY CONDUCT SUCH AS CLASSIZO l DISRUP'TION1 AND
224,420 0`11IER MINOR OFFENSES.
.) 780 REPORTS OF "10 '11IIiE1L'I'S, GAMDLIN(-OR BRIBERY.
.) IN 89-90 THERE WERE 33,395 ALMMSSIONS OF JUVENILES IN '11IC S'TAT'ES
20 SECURE D171'ENrION CENTER, REPRESENL'ING AN AVERAGE DAILY POPUL11T'ION OF
1, 630 JUVENILES.
.) THE OFFENSE OF 13URG.LARY CONrINUPS TO BE 211E SPECIFIC CHARGE FUR WIIICII
TIIE LARGEST NUMBER OF CHILDREN ARE IW- 01 t'ED D0•CAINED.AU'lU-T111;,FE IIAS BECCME
'111E SECOND MJST C tYJN OFFENSE FUR CUuK.t'.I'1'ED CASES FURING 9U-91.
.) MERE ILAS BEEN A 126% INCREASE IN '111E NUMBER OF CASES REPORIT,11) REFEIUUM
TO THE JUVENILE AL'1'Et=rIVE SERVICES FROGRAM OVER '111E NINE YEAR PER.LUD, 113%
OF 771IS FIGURE IS FELONY CASES.. SIIOPL1Fr.LNG CONt'1NUES '1`0 BL 11 Ir, 1`I OV W410N
SPECIFIC OFFENSE FOR WIIICII CASES ARB iiEFEI2RED '110 JASP; WIT1l ASSAULT; PETTY LARCENY;
TRESPASSING AND VANDALISM.
.) IN 1991, 94,988 JUVENILES WERE ARRESTED. AN INC; uors OF 6.8% OF 199.0i
.) IN 1991, inc, MOST F=xjrbtiLY Atuim EU AGE GROUP FUR NUN-Vl.ULENt CRIME
WAS OF YOU'i1i 11 TO 17 -YEARS OF AGE.
4
M M M
Vero Beach Senior High School
_ Discipline
(Yearly)
By Grade
1990
1991
1992
1993
i l
860
YV_
12Y71
1782
12
344
692
1027
118
3678
4216
496.5
6553
By Reason
Alcohol/Drugs
-a)
42
Cyt
.:./I
Tobacco
68
52
70
93
Iruancy
60
41
35
310
Skipping Class
430
752
1085
1033
Tardiness
'930
Mel
12/15
1337
Fighting
142
140
.157
163
Weapons
3017
34
79
Theff/Extoll ion
4"
6
14
131
Sexual Offens6s
4
10
12
38
Rudeness
186
2.28
370
560
Class Disruptions
- 136
330
334
381
Failure to Serve Detention
738
937
1017
1237
Unacceptable Language
130
90
94
121
Bus Violation
20
42
38
39
Refusal to Participate
62
78
97
147
Defacing Property
4
2
16
29
Excessive Talking
132
58
90
85
Threatening/Harrassing
2
2
6
53
Dress Code
16
10
42
33
Other
442
638
435
413
By Action
Verbal Reprimand
260
188
147
257
Parental Conference
96
50
63
260
Called Parents-
46
54
57
57
Detention
1266
2034
2706
3208
Work Assignment
206
162
192
305
Time Out - -
506
652
756
713
Suspension
1182
1012
1060
1456
Rec. Expul./expulsion
39
21
19
47/36
Bus Suspension
18
18
16
38
Referred for Outside Counseling
9
12
29
76
Class Suspension
8,
15
18
23
Other
83
57
29-
12
E
BOOK 9 1
`�3 x.1994 J
r JAN 319994
BOOK 91 P,iGE6?2-7
Officer Gage estimated that we have 18 to 20 gangs and cult
groups in the county and they range in size from 5 or 10 to 50
members. There are many groups which are not classified as gangs.
He described the cults or skinheads as groups which follow a belief
system. By Florida Statute, the term "gang" refers to groups which
meet certain criteria, usually involving illegal activities ranging
from vandalism and scrawling graffiti, to enforcement (paying
someone to "hit" someone), to selling drugs and stealing cars, to
burglaries and strong-armed robbery. The entire community must
focus on the problem of gangs because some gang members are
students but many of them are not enrolled in school.
Officer Gage judged that the percentage of troubled juveniles
involved in alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and cigarettes is very
high. He further reported that whereas these problems in the past
involved students in grades 7, 8 and up, now we are arresting and
placing in intervention programs students in grades 4, 5, and 6.
He predicted that these juveniles will continue this behavior
through their entire school career and beyond school, and when they
are over 18 years old, we will have to deal with them in the adult
criminal justice system.
Commissioner Eggert cited her experience in working with the
Alcohol Drug Abuse and Mental Health Planning Council for HRS, and
she stated that there has been conversation about the need for
early intervention but no coordinated program has been developed.
Commissioner Macht led discussion about parental
accountability because youngsters are dropped off by their parents
in areas like the theater and the mall and left without
supervision, and they are subject to all types of unpleasantness.
Officer Gage agreed there is lack of parent participation. He
described law enforcement operations near the theater where
youngsters 11, 12 and 13 years of age are dropped off by their
parents or guardians, and the youngsters do not go into the
theater. They hang around for a while, older teens pick them up,
give them alcohol and drugs, take advantage of them and drop them
off again later. Law enforcement has attempted to intervene but it
still goes on because there is no supervision.
We are not able to begin early intervention because law
enforcement, schools, HRS and other agencies each keep their
records confidential. We need correlation of all that information
with better communication between the agencies which work with
youth. We are starting a community-based project involving parents
to address truancy. The plan is for cooperation between the
schools and law enforcement to pick up truants, because a lot of
crimes such as burglaries and vandalism are committed by truants.
6
� r �
_ M M
Mr. Lindsey assumed that the statistics involve repeat
offenders and asked how many of the students in the schools are
involved in criminal offenses, and Officer Gage responded that he
did not have exact figures but estimated that 100 to 200
individuals cause the problems repeatedly and need some type of
intervention.
Commissioner Eggert asked what type of intervention seems to
be most helpful to those who are already in trouble and those who
are potentially at risk.
Officer Gage responded that the juveniles who are habitually
in trouble need one type of intervention, and the young ones must
be identified and placed in other types of programs. Every segment
of the community must be involved. Information must be shared in
the early stages because when a student or child becomes a repeat
offender, and we start digging and checking their records and
combine all the information, we find that the problem was
predictable in the beginning but it was missed because the
information was fragmented and scattered. Confidentiality has been
required by law to a certain extent, but it is also an issue of
protection of the turf or work product of the agencies. He noticed
a movement toward sharing information in the past year but he
stressed that more cooperation is needed.
Officer Gage did not want to give a bad impression of our
schools because students are in school only about 19 percent of
their time, and he felt that the schools are doing quite a good
job. He clarified that we must deal with the children who are here
presently as well as the children who are to come.
CHILDREN AND THE LAA
State Attorney Bruce Colton explained that the State
Attorneys' Association, the Florida Sheriffs' Association and
Florida's Attorney General were involved in the development of the
following proposed legislation to create a Department of Youth
Corrections:
7
�AN 311994 BOOK 9�. PD;� 69-03 .
r JAN 31 "lag
FPAA JUVENILE LEGISLATION
SUMMARY & HIGHLIGHTS
Boor 91 F--7
r -c 624
This legislation provides that those between 14 and 18 years
of age will no longer be considered juveniles, nor will they come
under the jurisdiction of H.R.S.
Young Offenders - between 14 and 18 years old, will be
subject to the adult criminal justice system, in that:
a.) They could be arrested and placed in the county jail,
separated from adult offenders, and compelled to post
bond.
1.) Bond schedules could be drawn so that appropriate
Young Offenders, depending upon the crime and
their past record, could be released R.O.R. to a
parent or responsible guardian.
b.) Young Offenders would be entitled to a jury trial in
the adult system.
c.) Young Offenders would be subject to the Rules of
Criminal Procedure and the Sentencing Guidelines.
d.) Young Offenders could be eligible for a PTI pursuant
to Florida Statute 948.
Once convicted of either a felony or misdemeanor, the
sentence will be administered through the newly created Depart-
ment of Youth Corrections.
Sentencing options available:
a.) Withhold of adjudication of guilt with or without
probation;
b.) Probation - legislation calls for system geared for
14 - 18 year olds.
1.) Specially trained probation officers
2.) Restricted caseloads
3.) Conditions of probation call for special programs
geared for Young Offenders.
4.) Conditions of probation could include Boot Camp,
educational requirements, substance abuse counsel-
ing or treatment, community service, mental health
counseling, job or vocational training, to name a
few.
c.) Community Control - separate from adult system; same
conditions as (1) through (4) under "Probation".
d.) If sentenced to county jail, programs would be provided
which would be geared toward Young Offenders.
e.) If sent to prison, it would be a Youth Corrections
facility, not an adult facility.
f.) Boot Camps - provides for extensive use as part of
probation or jail sentence.
8
In addition to the figures given by Deputy Gage, Attorney
Colton advised that the actual numbers of all crimes for which a
juvenile was arrested rose from 72,600 in 1982-83 to 140,468 in
1992-93. The greater percentage of those crimes were committed by
juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 years, and the greatest
increase was in violent crimes. Additionally, while there has been
a tremendous increase in violent crimes committed by juveniles in
the last five years, there was only a 3 percent increase in the
number of juveniles committed by judges to the HRS criminal
programs. Currently the juvenile justice system operates through
the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS). It is
the consensus of the Sheriffs' Association and the State Attorney
that HRS is a social service agency and not a criminal justice
system. HRS is underfunded and a number of programs were passed on
paper, but were not funded. State Attorney Colton explained that
legislation and rules instituted by the HRS hinder judges from
committing juveniles to a criminal program. He explained that when
a juvenile commits a crime, even a serious crime, that juvenile is
not arrested but is taken into custody very briefly and contact is
made with HRS where a decision is reached as to whether the
juvenile meets the criteria to be committed. Because of the
legislative restrictions and shortages of space and funds, very few
juveniles are detained and they are released to virtually no
supervision at home. When they appear in Court, the juveniles have
no respect for the Court because they realize that the judge's
hands are tied. They laugh at the procedure because there are no
consequences to the system. The juvenile commits many serious
crimes before being eligible to go into a residential HRS program.
The proposed legislation would segregate the 13 -year-olds in an
effort to convince them upon their first contact with the law,
through programs and counseling, to turn themselves around.
Juveniles 14 to 18 years of age would be in a separate category and
from arrest up through the time of trial, they would be handled
within the adult justice system. The reason for including ages 14
to 18 in a separate category is because statistics show that 60
percent of the 140,000 serious crimes were committed by juveniles
in this age group. Included in the program would be education,
drug counseling and treatment, as well as instilling respect and
discipline in those juveniles who have some hope of being useful to
society.
Commissioner Bird asked whether this type of program has been
tried in other states, and State Attorney Colton responded that
other states have gone even further by ruling that juveniles who
commit violent crimes will be treated automatically as adults. The
9
JAN 311994 BOOK 91 NMU- 625
r JAN 31 10A
BOOK 91 p,, � -7
`�
problem is that when a child is put through the adult criminal
justice system and placed into an adult penal institution, we have
thrown that child away. Other states have tried leaving the
decision to the discretion of the judge, but if a judge in Miami
treats a juvenile as an adult and a judge in Jacksonville treats a
juvenile as a juvenile for the same crime, that causes problems.
Commissioner Adams led discussion regarding punishment versus
prevention and asked what type of prevention is planned.
The proposed legislation deals with current as well as
continuing problems. We must have incentive for people to
straighten their lives out. We must have a stick in our hands to
steer them away from a life of crime or drug and alcohol abuse.
Right now there is nothing to prevent juveniles from committing
crimes because there is no fear of the system. Drug rehabilitation
programs do not work unless the alternative is harsher than the
drug program. The proposed legislation would be the basis for a
system of prevention, but it will solve only a part of the juvenile
crime problem.
Commissioner Adams was concerned about the expense and asked
if there are estimates on potential costs.
Dr. Norris advised that 60 percent of the current HRS budget
for the juvenile justice program is used for the over -14 age group,
and some of that 60 percent would help pay for the new system.
State Attorney Colton agreed that some of that funding could
be diverted to the proposed program. He cautioned that HRS is
underfunded when it comes to dealing with juveniles, and he would
prefer to see them concentrate on the younger juveniles. He
pointed out that the annual cost of the HRS residential program in
the high-risk category is $60,000 for each juvenile, while the cost
is $16,000 in the adult system.
Commissioner Macht asked about parental accountability, and
State Attorney Colton advised that a judge can direct the parent or
guardian to attend court sessions for their child, but there is no
provision that compels the parent to attend. We cannot punish the
parent or put a parent in jail for the crime that the child
committed, but if a judge puts a child on house arrest in the
proposed program, the judge could order that the parent be
accountable for that child's whereabouts and report immediately if
the child does not comply with the regulations, and the judge could
hold the parent in contempt for not following through on that.
Mr. Lindsey asked whether we can compel incarcerated juveniles
to earn a high school diploma before they are released, and State
Attorney Colton responded that we cannot require a child to stay in
jail until he receives a high school diploma, but there are
10
provisions in the proposed program for continued education. The
proposal is that juveniles who are serving time would earn gaintime
only if they attend classes and successfully complete those
classes.
Mr. Idlette agreed there is merit to the proposed legislation,
but he did not want it to be financed at the expense of public
education. Chairman Marine also was concerned about the funding
because when programs like this came up in the past, public
education funding suffered. He concurred that any juvenile justice
program needs teeth in it because under our current system
juveniles know that they are not going to be punished. He was sure
that the real answer to the problem is for every school district to
have a well -funded and well -staffed education system. He stressed
that we must return to our sense of morality and to the concept of
the family unit.
State Attorney Colton agreed and added that he would rather
see the legislation fail than have it passed and not funded, but he
stressed that it is time for the people of the state of Florida to
face this problem and give it more than lip service.
Mr. Lindsey referred to an article in the newspaper about
students whose parents threw them out of the home but who managed
to be successful in school. He asked what the law can do to make
parents accountable for the actions of their children.
State Attorney Colton believed that through legislation we can
make parents more accountable for their children's actions, but
there are parents who care very much what their children do but
cannot control them. Whatever we do in the criminal justice system
and in the school system cannot rebuild family relationships. We
should not dwell on family problems and make excuses for why these
juveniles commit crimes. We must act to make our community safer.
There are many children who come from broken homes, single parent
homes, or dysfunctional homes who work at making successes of
themselves. Ten percent or less of juveniles growing up today
commit these crimes. We must not allow that ten percent to make
other students afraid to go to school. We must show the juveniles
who commit crimes that we no longer will tolerate their actions.
Francis Wagner, County Council PTA chairman, asked whether it
would be possible to compel parents to accompany their child when
that child is performing community service as punishment.
State Attorney Colton believed there are judges who are trying
to do that now, but there may be constitutional limitations in that
regard.
11
JAN 3x.19 BOOK 91 Fr,uf.66?7
r JAN 311994
BOOK 91. F,mGE 628 —7
PRIDE SURVEY
Charlene Tardi, Indian River County Dropout Prevention Program
coordinator, reported that the Parents' Resource Institute for Drug
Education (PRIDE) survey was administered last spring and provides
information to help communities assess the extent of substance
abuse problems involving youth in the community. The information
derived from the survey is critical because it shows the prevalence
of drug abuse in the community, where and when young people are
using drugs, availability of drugs to our young people and why some
young people use drugs and others do not. This information is used
in the prevention program. Ms. Tardi emphasized that alcohol is
included in the definition of drugs, and the survey showed that
alcohol is the drug of choice among our youth in Indian River
County. The information derived from the survey is important
because children who become addicted to drugs have a higher risk of
becoming HIV positive, suicidal, or pregnant at an early age, and
we know that the cost to society is great. Research shows a direct
correlation between substance abuse and violent acts in a community
or a school setting, and funding should be increased for prevention
programs. Ms. Tardi stated that four students from Vero Beach High
School were present to address the conclusions of the PRIDE survey.
These students are members of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(DARE) program, which means they must be drug-free.
School Resource Officer Ray Gage noted that these students are
actively involved in our community, they keep their grades up, they
are active in other groups, they are role models, and they are all-
around top-notch people.
Angie, Ashley, Colleen and Yamma, all students at Vero Beach
High School, reported that cigarettes and smokeless tobacco,
marijuana, inhalants, and alcohol are being used by students as
early as fourth grade. They stated that the reason they are not
using drugs is because they are active in sports, music and
community activities. As members of the DARE team, they visit
elementary schools and speak to young students about the dangers of
drugs. They believed the community should give young people more
to do, perhaps an activities center, and that everyone should work
together. They believed harsher penalties for juvenile crime is a
good idea, and they encouraged State Attorney Colton to pursue
passage of the proposed legislation. They thought that parents who
provide drugs, or make them accessible to their children, should be
made aware of the dangers, and that parents need to be more
concerned about their children in general.
12
Cheryl Ann Burke, director of Indian River County Substance
Abuse Council, advised that fewer than 30 percent of 9th graders
have parents or guardians who talked about the harmful effect of
drugs. She cited the following comparative statistics from the
PRIDE survey:
PRIDE
1993 PRIDE Survey - 1990 PRIDE Survey - National Average
GRADES
CIGARETTE USE
4th & 5th 5.8 6.8 6.7
6th - 8th 33.1 26.6 25.2
9th 12th 42.4 30.8 37.7
ALCOHOL USE
4th & 5th
14.4
14.9
11.1
6th - 8th
33.3
41.6
31.6
9th - 12th
58.9
62.0
56.5
MARIJUANA USE
1.1
19.0
Wine Coolers
4th & 5th
1.9
.2
.8
6th - 8th
10.2
6.8
4.8
9th - 12th
25.7
19.9
16.4
COCAINE USE
1.2
Downers
0.9
6th -12th
2.1
1.8
--
INHALANT USE
1.2
1.7
4th - 5th
6.7
5.7
2.4
6th - 12th
5.9
6.3
5.1
WHERE DO MOST
STUDENTS USE
DRUGS AND ALCOHOL?
6
through 12th
Grades
At School
At Home
Cigarettes
6.*2
14.9
Beer
1.1
19.0
Wine Coolers
0.8
19.1
Liquor
1.0
15.1
Marijuana
2.0
3.9
Cocaine
0.6
0.9
Uppers
1.1
1.2
Downers
0.9
0.9
Inhalants
3.
2.3
Hallucinogens
1.2
1.7
Ms. Burke emphasized that Indian River County's figures are
above the national average in regard to all alcohol and drug abuse.
13
LJAN
3 11994 BOOK . 91 D'uF 6 9
r JAN 31 04 BOOK
91 PA,UF. 6:30
CHILDREN AND HEALTH
Dr. Bernard Berman, Health Director for Indian River County,
reported there are about 16,000 young people under the age of 15
years in Indian River County, with about 1,000 births per year.
The community must deal with the health of all those children. We
are not a large city with the corresponding problems of a large
city, but we do have some problems. We have a few cases of AIDS,
we see cases of sexually transmitted diseases, and we have problems
with immunizations, but the greatest problem we have is children
having children. The Health Department Maternity Clinic oversees
about 500 of the 1,000 births in our county each year, which means
these people are 200 percent under poverty level, on Medicaid and
will go on Aid to Families with Dependent Children. We have two
full-time pediatricians, which is not enough. Clearly we do not
have enough physicians or medical care facilities in this county to
take care of all our health needs.
Jean Kline, nursing director, described the lack of available
facilities for treating mental health problems. Only the most
severe cases are given attention because counselors have too many
cases, and children with attention and learning deficits are not
even seen. It is only when the children become part of the
juvenile justice system that they receive attention. Once again we
are working on the wrong end of the system. Only by working with
the child, the family, the school, and the teachers can we achieve
successful mental health treatment. Regarding dental care, 30% of
children 3 to 12 need treatment, 2% need immediate treatment
because of abscesses, 50% have tooth decay. We are making small
inroads to better dental care but the needs far outnumber the
currently available services.
TEEN PREGNANCY
Charlene Tardi, Indian River County Dropout Prevention Program
coordinator reported on the extent of the teen parent problem in
our community:
Birth Information '
Substance -Exposed Newborns (1992) 52
Low Birthweight Babies (1992) .68
Teenage Pregnancies (1992) 127
Unwed Mothers (1992) 1022
14
Ms. Tardi indicated that the figures shown are for live births
to girls 13 to 19 and do not include abortions. Nationally, 50
percent of teen pregnancies are terminated by abortions. She
pointed out that currently we have two girls in our Teen Parent
Program who attend the middle school, and Indian River County
follows the national trend of significant increases in births to
girls who are 12 to 15 years of age. The Dropout Prevention
Program includes many programs, but the State mandates that if we
have no other program for dropout prevention, we will have a
program to serve teen parents. We are required to do all that we
can to make sure they do not drop out of school. We are required
to make sure they have child care, either providing it on-site or
contracting with local sites. We must insure transportation for
the parent and the infant, and we must set up connections to health
care and social services. Every effort must be made to keep
teenage parents in school and connect them with social services so
that they receive adequate prenatal care and know how nutritionally
to take care of themselves. Then they will have healthy babies, be
able to parent their infants, and they will be employed and will
not have to rely on the welfare system.
15
JAN 311994
BOOK 91 PALE 6,'31
Table 6
Number of Teenage Pregnancies*
by Race
Indian
River County, 1989-1992
Year
White
Nonwhite
Total Yearly
•
Average
N
n
% N n
%
IRC FL
1988
830
56
6.7 204 51
25.0
10.3 9.3
1989
818
78
9.5 202 52
25.7
12.7 9.5
1990
900
61
6.8 213 46
21.6
9.6 9.2
1991
832
62.
7.5 199 45
22.6
10.4 9.2
1992
821
65
7.9 201 ..62
30.8
12.4 9.0
Note:
Teenage pregnancies include those woman between the ages of 13 to 19 years.
Source: Florida Vital Statistics
Ms. Tardi indicated that the figures shown are for live births
to girls 13 to 19 and do not include abortions. Nationally, 50
percent of teen pregnancies are terminated by abortions. She
pointed out that currently we have two girls in our Teen Parent
Program who attend the middle school, and Indian River County
follows the national trend of significant increases in births to
girls who are 12 to 15 years of age. The Dropout Prevention
Program includes many programs, but the State mandates that if we
have no other program for dropout prevention, we will have a
program to serve teen parents. We are required to do all that we
can to make sure they do not drop out of school. We are required
to make sure they have child care, either providing it on-site or
contracting with local sites. We must insure transportation for
the parent and the infant, and we must set up connections to health
care and social services. Every effort must be made to keep
teenage parents in school and connect them with social services so
that they receive adequate prenatal care and know how nutritionally
to take care of themselves. Then they will have healthy babies, be
able to parent their infants, and they will be employed and will
not have to rely on the welfare system.
15
JAN 311994
BOOK 91 PALE 6,'31
r JAN 311994
BOOK 91 Nr. r -7
Iir. 632
Linda Thompson, Teen Parent Resource Program specialist,
stated that there is an easy, simple answer to why teens get
pregnant: They are sexually active. Teen sexuality is not a
separate issue but reflects society's idea about sexuality. One of
the activities the school has started is having students like
Colleen and Yamma speak to sixth graders at middle school and try
to influence them to postpone sexual involvement.
The School District works with only about half of the teen
parents in the county. The other half do not attend school and are
out there somewhere, and we must be concerned about them. To find
out why these young people are having children at early ages, the
Dropout Prevention counselors studied the children who are not
getting pregnant, and that analysis showed that they have parental
support, are involved in many activities, and hope for the future.
Young girls who do get pregnant believe that it makes no difference
in the final outcome of their lives. Project ACCEPT (Accessing
Career Counseling and Education for Parenting Teens) presents
vocational and career possibilities for teen parents to give them
hope that they can have a future that is different. The majority
of these teen parents have been physically abused, sexually abused
or raped, and there are no mental health services in the community
to help them deal with these issues. The Dropout Prevention
Program tries to tackle the problem of teen pregnancy from many
different angles.
Commissioner Macht led discussion regarding the males involved
in the teen pregnancy problem.
Ms. Tardi reported that 77 percent of junior high girls have
been impregnated by men over 22 years of age. Of the 60 teen
pregnancies in the program in the last year, there was only one
teen father identified who was not a dropout and he is in the teen
parent program. In cases where rape is involved, the victims
generally do not want to prosecute, and the support of the infant
becomes the responsibility of the State. The Department of Health
and Rehabilitative Services determines who qualifies for aid, and
60 to 70 percent of the girls in the program qualify for AFDC.
Discussion ensued regarding how to identify students who are
potentially at risk to be teen parents, methods of prevention, and
expectations for successful completion of their education. Ms.
Thompson emphasized that keeping the girls in school is most
important because if we lose the teen parent, we also lose the
infant.
Dr. Berman emphasized that there is also great effort to keep
the girls in the Family Planning Program.
16
Milly Delgaso, substance abuse counselor and classroom teacher
at the high school, related a conversation she had with male
students. There are boys of high school age who play a game
wherein they get points based on the number of girls that they are
able to impregnate before they graduate. Ms. Delgaso characterized
that as frightening.
READINESS TO START SCHOOL
Kathleen Marshall, preschool coordinator for Indian River
County school system, reported on the number of preschool children
who are being served in our county.
Indian River County
Key Facts About Child Care
Prekindergarten Early Intervention Program
Total Served 122
Total on Waiting List 85+
Indian River County Head Start
Total Served 294
Total on Waiting List 43
Subsidized Child Care (Title XX)
Total Served 1 8 5
Total on Waiting List 84
Redlands Christian Migrant Assoc.
Total Served 1 7 3
Total on Waiting List 123
774 335
w
Demographics and Child Poverty (1990)
Total Number of Children Under 5 4,918
Total Percent of Children in Elementary
School on Free and Reduced Lunch 46%
Number" of Children Under 5 Who Would
Be on Free and Reduced Lunch 2,262
Poverty Status - % Below Poverty Line
Families with Children Under 5 13.3%
Female Householder Families 47%
17
JAN 3 11994 BOOK 9 F,, 633
r JAN 311994
Costs Per Student
Preschool Student
Kindergarten to Grade Three
Grade Three to Grade Five
Children Experiencing Difficulty
After Grade Five Who Receive
Intervention Services
Cost of Incarceration Per Year
Cost of Yale
4.5 to 7.6 Preschoolers vs. 1 Prisoner
1 Prisoner vs. 1 College Student
$2,870 TO $4000
$4,154
$4,058
$7,000
$22,000
$22,000
—7 BOOK 91 PnF 6:34
The importance of preschool child care is demonstrated in the
fact that for every dollar spent for preschool child care we get a
return of seven dollars. The Perry Preschool Project in Michigan,
which was begun 27 years ago, has followed a group of people at
intervals and compared them to a control group. The study showed
that of the children who were in a preschool intervention program:
more had completed high school, either went on to attend college or
had job training after high school; there were fewer teenage
pregnancies; more of them held jobs; more of them supported
themselves and fewer needed public assistance; there were
significantly fewer arrests and fewer arrests for crimes involving
drug sales. Ms. Marshall pointed out that the Perry Study cautions
that a quality preschool program is an inoculation against poverty,
not a cure. We must provide our citizens with good job training,
good housing and access to medical care.
Sandy Kahle, executive director of Maitland Farm Preschool,
has been in the child care business for 16 years and is committed
to the idea that all children who need child care need good
quality, comprehensive child care. She found that quality child
care cannot be financed by parent fees alone. She considered it
favorable that the State regulates the standards of quality at
18
private child care centers, and those standards include staff
strengthening in the form of certification, small group sizes of
not more than 10 children per adult and not more than 12 to 20
children in any one group. Other regulated standards include staff
compensation, developmentally appropriate curriculum, adequate
space, and parental involvement. A program based on parent fees
alone cannot meet those standards of quality. We need
collaborative efforts in the form of private, corporate and
business donations, scholarships for children and scholarships for
teachers to get the necessary training. There is no single answer
but a lot of models are possible, and when all sectors of the
community brainstorm together, we will be able to think about
solutions. No one can raise children alone. It takes a community
effort. Each child is worthwhile, each child can be a learner,
each child can find that learning is exciting. Problem solving and
conflict -resolution skills must be learned at an early age. They
can be learned in the home and supported in the school, or they can
be learned in the preschool if necessary, but it is imperative that
these skills be learned. Creating this base for each child will
prevent the problems at the other end.
Dr. Norris thanked the speakers. He called attention to a
publication discussing the 1181 Percent Solution," meaning that 81
percent of a child's time is spent in the community, not in school.
The community must work together, clearly identify the problems and
determine a community course of action, and empower our families
with knowledge, skills and support to provide leadership at home.
Chairman Marine thanked Dr. Norris for organizing the meeting,
and he thanked the students for their participation. He regarded
the meeting as historic and looked forward to working together at
future meetings.
Chairman Tippin was distressed and depressed by some of the
statistics presented, but was encouraged by the students who spoke.
His grandchildren have caused him to become re -concerned about
these problems. He spoke of the change in moral values and the
serious deterioration in what is acceptable and unacceptable
behavior. Sharing this information is necessary, and he
appreciated the effort and time involved in organizing the meeting.
Dr. Norris pointed out that Commissioner Ken Macht and the
Children Services Advisory Committee initiated the idea of the
joint meeting.
19
JAN 31 1994 ®ooK 91 F,�cF 6,
JAN
311994
BOOK
91 u,UE
636
It was
the consensus of the panel that the Children
Services
Advisory Committee should develop an agenda for future meetings and
present recommendations to Chairman Marine and Chairman Tippin and
the respective Boards.
Mr. Mayfield led discussion regarding the proposed legislation
and asked how citizens could show support.
State Attorney Bruce Colton suggested contacting their state
senator and state representative as well as the Governor, and refer
to the proposed legislation as the State Attorneys' and Sheriffs'
Associations' Juvenile Justice Legislation bill.
Commissioner Macht suggested a resolution by the Board of
County Commissioners in support of that proposed legislation, and
Chairman Tippin directed staff to include that item on the Board's
next agenda.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at
11:30 a.m.
ATTEST:
J. arton, Clerk
20
V
Joh W. Tippin, C i ani