Funding To Help Juveniles With Mental Illnesses
Sonora, CA — Money is coming to Tuolumne County to help juveniles that have mental illnesses.
$262,730 in state funding, via the “Mentally Ill Crime Reduction Grant,” will help Tuolumne County’s Probation Department increase its prevention efforts, intervention, and supervision. 31% of the juveniles in Tuolumne County that are on probation have a mental illness diagnosis and 14% are awaiting diagnosis.
Chief Probation Officer Adele Arnold told the Tuolumne County Supervisors this morning, “Our goal is to increase the mental health stability of our youth, while providing support services to include an after school program for our at-risk youth, a tutoring program, and a crisis home. What we have found is that often times if we could just provide some very intense supervision, and crisis intervention, early on, it may save some youth from going the distance to being detained in juvenile hall.”
The funding will also allow for the hiring of a part-time Family Juvenile Therapist. The grant funding was accepted unanimously by the Board of Supervisors.
