More detail at:  https://www.cfsarasota.org/Default.aspx

Teen Court of Sarasota, Inc. is proud to recognize the graduates of the Class of 2011 during the Teen Court Community Service Scholarship Presentation which will occur on August 3rd, 2011.  The award ceremony will be held in the Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center at 5:30pm followed by a case presentation given by the senior volunteers. Dinner will be served at Michael’s On East at 7:30pm. Those interested in attending dinner should RSVP to Nancy Chavers Hogue at (941) 861-8465 by July 28th. The dinner charge for an adult is $35.00.

The Board of Directors of the Teen Court of Sarasota has awarded over $124,000 in scholarships over the past 20 years to outstanding volunteers. The enthusiasm and professionalism of these youth are a key component in the success of Teen Court, and scholarships are one way in which Teen Court thanks and rewards its most dedicated volunteers for their service. For more information about the Teen Court Scholarship program, please visit the ‘Scholarship’ on our main page.

Invitation

ORLANDO, Fla. – A pioneer in the implementation of Teen Courts across Florida, Kathleen “Katie” Self of Sarasota has been selected to receive The Florida Bar Foundation’s 2011 Medal of Honor Award for a non-lawyer.

Self began serving as the executive director of Florida’s first Teen Court in 1989 when it was still a fledgling project of the Junior League of Sarasota. Self essentially volunteered her services during the Teen Court of Sarasota’s start-up years. Since that time she has overseen the program’s growth from 60 delinquency referrals that first year to a current caseload of 500 at-risk youth and more than 250 student volunteers annually. In its 22 years, the program has served about 7,800 at-risk youth using a widely emulated model of juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention in which student volunteers serve as peer mentors by participating as defense or prosecution counselors, clerks or bailiffs during a sentencing hearing supervised by volunteer adult judges and attorneys. Under Self’s leadership, Teen Court of Sarasota has grown from a program with an annual operating budget of $5,000 to a nonprofit organization with an operating budget of $300,000.

Based upon the philosophy that a youthful violator is less likely to re-offend when his or her punishment is decided by peers, Teen Court has been shown to reduce recidivism among youth. Chief Judge Lee Haworth of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court, in supporting Self’s nomination, noted that the delinquency recidivism rate among first time offenders in Sarasota County is just 12 percent, compared to 42 percent statewide.

Self is not only being recognized for her impact on the youth of Sarasota County, but also for her statewide and national leadership. With a $6,800 Improvements in the Administration of Justice grant from The Florida Bar Foundation in 1994, Self helped organize a conference that served as the catalyst for the development of the Florida Association of Teen Courts, which in turn received $1.5 million from the Department of Juvenile Justice to implement Teen Courts throughout Florida. As founding president of the state association, Self helped administer grants for 37 other counties. Today, the program is in place in 50 Florida counties that together divert more than 22,000 at-risk children into Teen Courts every year.

Self also co-authored legislation to fund Florida’s youth courts, and that legislation is now used as a model for funding of Teen Courts nationally. Today, there are Teen Court programs in more than 1,000 communities across the United States.

Self continues to be a leading innovator among Teen Court programs. In 2001, she noted that the number of Teen Court cases involving substance abuse was rapidly on the rise. In response, she developed  together with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Camp X-RAYD, which stands for “Examine Reality About Your Decisions.” The intensive program is designed to lower the recidivism rate among youth referred for substance abuse.

“Today, she sees a need for increased counseling services for at-risk youth and their families,” wrote Hunter W. Carroll, a Sarasota attorney who volunteers as an adult judge and a member of the Teen Court Board. “She has already identified willing counselors, and I know soon this latest add-on to the Teen Court program will be launched.”

Carroll pointed out that the program not only serves at-risk youth, but promotes volunteerism and civic responsibility and creates an environment where youth in the program can be positive role models for other students in the community.

“Many children have been given a second chance and have become constructive members of society because of Katie,” Carroll said. “Our juvenile justice system is better because of her.”

One of those who got a second chance thanks to Self’s program was among her nominators for the Medal of Honor. Second-year law student Stefan Campagna wrote in the award nomination form about the effect Self had on his life through Teen Court.

When he speaks to at-risk youth, Campagna wrote, “I always explain to the audience that without the Teen Court program, I would have been in a juvenile detention center until I was eighteen. Instead, I was sitting in my first college class on my eighteenth birthday.”

Had Teen Court not eradicated his juvenile charges, Campagna said, no law school would have accepted him.

“To disappoint Mrs. Self would be to disappoint the person who literally gave me a second chance at my life, and that is one thing that always pushes me to succeed,” Campagna wrote.

Self will receive the Medal of Honor June 23 at The Florida Bar Foundation’s 35th annual reception and dinner, to be held in conjunction with The Florida Bar Annual Convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando. Receiving the 2011 Medal of Honor Award for a lawyer will be Bruce B. Blackwell, partner with the Orlando law firm of King, Blackwell, Downs & Zehnder and a past president of The Florida Bar Foundation.

The Florida Bar Foundation Medal of Honor Award Program was established in 1977 to recognize outstanding achievements by members of The Florida Bar in duty and service to the public, improvement of the administration of justice and advancement of the science of jurisprudence in Florida. A second award category is for non-lawyers whose accomplishments warrant The Florida Bar Foundation’s highest recognition.

Gold Coast Eagle Distributing

Dr. and Mrs. Brian Garby

Iltis Lending Group

Lisa Carlton

Michael Garlington-Northern Trust

Jon F. Swift, Inc. and Janey Swift

The Rubin Charitable Foundation, Inc.

David Band

Steven D. Hutton

Richard James

Tervis Tumblers

Lanning Tire

Held May 6, 2011 at University Park Country Club, after weeks of no rain, for the first time in 16 years of good luck with the weather, stormy skies opened up right at the 1:00 Shotgun Start!  Making the most of the situation however, Morgan Bentley did a great job as auctioneer. For those optimistic, die-hard golfers who stayed around, the rains did pass and quite a few golfers got in 9 holes and enjoyed the buffet dinner.

Congratulations to this year’s winners all:

1st Place~ Stefan Bunecky, Tom Valentine, Phil Hammersly and Carmen Gio

2nd Place~ Jeff Charlotte, Yancey Franks, Allen Conrad, Alex Moseley

3rd Place~ Darren Howard, Duncan Yull, Jason Ables, Chuck Jeffries

Closest to the Pin: Men~ Jeremy Young; Women~Vicki Shawvan

Longest Drive: Men~Darren Howard; Women~Gina Tebrugge

Net profits of $14,000 will enable Teen Court to Teen Court of Sarasota, Inc., a 501 ( c ) (3) organization to advance their Mission of providing area youth with activities and services that instill and promote law abiding citizenship and civic engagement. On August 3rd eight exemplary graduating student volunteers will be recognized with scholarships at the organization’s annual Volunteer Recognition at Michael’s On East.

Additional information about Teen Court can be obtained at the new website http://flteencourt.net/sarasota/, email fatc@verizon.net, or by calling the office, 861-8460.

Gulf Coast Builders Exchange Board Chairman Jeff Charlotte & Executive Director Mary Dougherty-Slapp coordinated GCBX members on August 8th at Knight Trail Park to build a new obstacle course at Knight Trail Park. Helping the GCBX members was Sheriff Tom Knight and members of Boy Scout Troop 50. This community service project will benefit area youth that have been referred to Sarasota County’s Teen Court.  Many of the youth, ages 10-17, are charged with the possession of illegal substances or have tested positive during their initial assessment in the Teen Court office. To reduce further crime among that most at-risk population, a sanction was developed to provide these at-risk youth a hands-on opportunity to learn both the negative impact that bad choices have on their lives and their families.

Each year more than 125 youth are required to complete 18 hours of services that will include Camp-XRAYD-Examining Reality About Your Decisions. The Police Athletic League of Sarasota County (PAL) coordinates deputies from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office who conduct a 12-hour day that consists of physical activities emphasizing the advantages of personal fitness, teamwork and good decision-making. Also incorporated into the reality based experience are tours of the morgue, emergency room and jail to demonstrate the results of drug overdoses, DUI accidents, and the harsh realities of incarceration. Following the 12-hour day, Teen Court requires the youth and their families complete substance abuse education classes, provide six months of case management which includes random drug testing and school attendance checks. Failure to complete the six-month sanction results in referral into the juvenile justice system. Successful completion will give the juvenile offenders a 2nd chance due to their charge being dismissed.

A ribbon cutting celebrating the GCBX Community Service Project and dedication of the new course took place at Knight Trail Park, 9 am, September 10.  Among the dignitaries attending were Sarasota County Commissioners Shannon Staub and Jon Thaxton and Sheriff Tom Knight.