THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601260264
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Random Rambles
SOURCE: Tony Stein
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
No joke. The good news is that Becky China's business is growing. The bad news is that Becky China's business is growing.
It's that way because China, who lives in Chesapeake, is administrator and director of program development for First Corrections Corp. What the company does is design programs for dealing with juvenile offenders and/or youth at risk. Clients are states around the country trying to find some better way than sheer frustration or variations on the slammer.
So, given the rising tide of juvenile crime, voices that say, ``We think we can help'' are voices getting listened to.
In the spring, for instance, China will go to Arizona as project team leader of a boot camp. Camps like that are something of a current trend, the idea being that a heavy dose of discipline, grit and guidance can turn lives around. Not everybody thinks they work. There are critics who say it's a quick fix that too often fizzles.
But, says China, the Arizona project will be different. The basic idea is the same: take juvenile offenders and put them in an atmosphere of structure, self-discipline, routine and moral values. However, one switch from the usual pattern will be an added stress on building self-esteem. Not the stereotype boot camp approach of hassling and hazing. Figuring they weren't worth much is what got a of kids in trouble in the first place, China says. They don't need to hear the same thing from people supposedly trying to help them.
And the Arizona program recognizes that short is not necessarily sweet or effective. ``You can't build a long-term relationship in three months of boot camp,'' China says. So the Arizona program will add nine months of follow-up. Young people leave boot camp on parole and go to a group home for a month. Then they get eight months of counseling and guidance aimed at keeping them in the community instead of the courts.
China brings some heavy credentials, both academic and professional, to her job. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Mary Washington College and a master's degree in business administration from Old Dominion University. She worked at juvenile group homes in Norfolk and Portsmouth and supervised the one on Centerville Turnpike in Chesapeake for 11 years.
Ask her what gets kids in trouble and she has an opinion coupled with a grim fact. The opinion is that idle time and lack of supervision are the biggest traps for kids at risk. The grim fact is that 99 percent of the kids she dealt with were abused in some way. ``Sexually, physically, psychologically, or, at a bare minimum, neglected.''
It's her observation that kids who do well in school, kids who are active, kids whose parents are actively involved with them do best. She'll tell you that the neglected kid, the kid with no support system may wind up finding a circle of friends among increasingly familiar faces in the court system.
Teen-age pregnancy is a central national concern and China's company has a program in Delaware that focuses on the realities involved. ``Sex education isn't enough,'' China says. ``These girls have babies because they want someone to love.
``The Delaware program teaches girls about their bodies, but it also helps them examine their lives. Not just what went wrong, but what went right. You can't just focus on their problems. You need to help them find some inner strength.''
As China sees it, Americans view looking for answers to crime control very much as they view weight control. They want quick, simple, relatively inexpensive solutions. And the crime control process is complicated by landing in the political arena. But there is no quick fix, no one-size-fits-all, China says.
She, for example, wishes there were a sophisticated, truly comprehensive tracking system in place. It would follow youth at risk right along. It would help tell what works and what doesn't. More time, more money has got to be invested. Decisions have to be made about what is the proper mix of rehabilitation and punishment.
But good programs for juveniles are individualized programs based on extensive research. They tend to be expensive programs and the public funding often isn't there. That leaves room for private companies to tackle new ideas and different directions.
At the heart of the whole problem, China believes, is a need to fight the ills of poverty and to strengthen parenting in the home. ``You cannot leave parenting to the schools and the juvenile justice system,'' China says.
``Listen to your kids,'' she tells parents. ``Really listen to the child who's in trouble as well as the one making As. Listen, watch and - as much as you can - be a part of their lives.'' by CNB