Kids Matter!

Kids Matter! - 2008

1,666 reports were made to Child Protective Services, with 911 children being involved in investigations. There were 618 substantiated cases of abuse and neglect.
656 children were placed out of home.
2,811 referrals for delinquent behavior were handled by the Chatham County Juvenile Court, comprising 63% of all referrals made. There were 4,742 delinquent charges handled on 1,625 unique youth.
133 youth were committed to the state.
1,205 juveniles (ages 16 & under) were arrested. Based on newer estimated populations, 12.3% of the youth (ages 15-17) were arrested.

Educate the public on signs of abuse and neglect, how to report suspected cases, and promoting quality, affordable childcare centers¹.
Link families demonstrating potentially abusive behavior with services and supports (such as anger management, mental health, parenting classes, parent aide, early intervention, and home management skills) to prevent a substantiated case of abuse or neglect².
Ensure that children in foster care have good outcomes when they leave custody by connecting them with such resources as tutorial services, extra-curricular activities, and mentoring relationships³.
Competency-building tools for probated youth that provide insights into ramifications of criminal behavior, address ways to manage anger and deal with conflicts, and serve to reduce recidivism⁴.
Quality after-school programs keep children safe and out of trouble during after-school hours when juvenile crime hits its peak⁵.
Multi-component programs that address both the individual and the environment and include social, behavioral, cognitive, mentoring, community supervision and aftercare programming serve to promote violence prevention⁶.