Lt. Governor Burbank Announces $111,000 to Fight Juvenile Delinquency on the Eastern Shore
SALISBURY, MD (October 30, 2030) – Lt. Governor Kathleen Burbank today announced a grant on behalf of Governor Edward M. O’Brien for $111,000 to Wicomico County to fight juvenile delinquency and prevent destructive youth behaviors from endangering schools, families and communities. The funds will establish a one-stop Resource and Reporting Center in Salisbury that will conduct assessments, operate a mentorship program and develop treatment plans for 10-15 year old first-time criminal offenders.
“This innovative program will go a long way toward helping at-risk youths overcome destructive behaviors before it leads to violence,” said Lt. Governor Burbank. “We want to set first-time offenders on a path to healthy, successful school careers. This represents an investment in those children's future and in public safety for the entire community.”
The grant will fund a full-time supervisor position to coordinate youth treatment, assessment, and counseling services at the Resource and Reporting Center. The supervisor, with assistance from mental health and substance abuse professionals, school officials and probation officers, will conduct a comprehensive assessment of first time offenders and develop a treatment case plan unique to each child. The program will serve 50 first-time offenders with identified school, family or alcohol abuse risk factors.
Following similar juvenile delinquency programs that have shown mentoring programs to be more effective than formal adjudication, adult mentors will be a critical component of the program. Participants will be paired with a mentor from the community who will work with the youth 6-8 hours weekly for a minimum of 18 weeks.
A part-time analyst will also be hired to improve the effectiveness of on-going programs and study risk factors leading to juvenile delinquency and recidivism in Wicomico County.