Operation Restart and WIA Student Incentive Programs

Michael Pittman, Darrell Mitchell, Deborah James, Tameka Pierce
Mailing & Street Address:	Halifax County Agricultural Center PO Box 37 359 Ferrell Lane Halifax, NC  27839
Phone:	(252)583-3684
Fax:	(252)583-1683
County/Department:	Halifax
Official Home Page:	http://www4.ncsu.edu/~dljames/wiaoprestart.html

Operation Restart Program:

      

The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention partners with Halifax’s County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to develop community based alternatives to youth development centers and to provide community-based delinquency programs.

Operation Restart is one of the programs provided by Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and the program has been in the county for eighteen years.  The program is housed by the Halifax County Cooperative Extension and has been an asset to the county by providing a positive environment for youth to decrease involvement with Juvenile Court.  It also helps to reduce the level of commitment to youth detention centers and to youth development academies, which helps cut cost for the County of Halifax.

        Program Highlights

• After School Programs: (bowling, mentoring, rap sessions)
• Camping trips
• Cognitive Behavioral Classes
• Drug information Classes
• Parenting/ Youth Information Forums
• Exposure to 4-H Youth Activities (Cooking, Self-Esteem, Entrepreneurship Workshops)
• Leadership Development Classes
• Community Service Projects
• Educational Trips (Colleges, Historic Sites, Museums, Libraries)

WIA Student Incentive Program:

 

Over the last 5 years Halifax County, Cooperative Extension, Region L, Adult
Probation, Halifax Community College and the Student Incentive Program have
formed a partnership to help students, who are offenders from the ages of 16-21. 
This program has been a positive asset for the students and county.  They have
worked on obtaining their GED and job training so they could pay restitution, but
more importantly receive the life skills & degrees for a second chance for a quality
life.

As a result over the years we have worked with at least 120 students that have been on probation.

        Program Highlights:

• Obtain your GED by taking GED classes on Mondays and Tuesdays on site
• Get hands-on-training work experience
• Maintain a positive attitude about school and work
• Set goals and plan on reaching them
• Recruits students from the court system, Day Reporting system, Halifax Community College, Juvenille Services, Department of Social Services, and other contract agencies