KALISPELL — A program helping Flathead Valley youth learn from their mistakes instead of being criminalized for first-time misdemeanor offenses is receiving national recognition.
The Flathead County School Justice Partnership has been awarded the Georgetown University Capstone of the Year and will be honored in Washington D.C. on April 24.
Changing the culture was the idea in 2017 when multiple agencies including law enforcement, Kalispell schools, youth court, the Center for Restorative Youth Justice and others came together to form the Flathead County School Justice Partnership.
“Able to have the chance to take accountability in a way that’s different from just being a number in the system right away," said Center for Restorative Youth Justice Executive Director Catherine Gunderson.
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The main goal of the partnership is to educate and communicate with youth in the Flathead, avoiding the criminal justice system if possible.
“Most of the kids that we are working with are really new to some kind of action that gets them in trouble and we’re trying to interrupt that cycle,” said Gunderson.
School Resource officers and youth court officials work together to refer students to the Center for Restorative Youth Justice.
Gunderson said teenagers in the program spend 30 days working in peer group workshops, individual meetings and victim-offender conferencing.
“One of the most important pieces of feedback that we hear is that teens are thinking more about the impact that their actions have, what support they might need to make decisions they feel good about in the future and what it might take to feel a little more connected to positive adults and peers in their life.”
Gunderson said the program started working only with students in the Kalispell school district but has since expanded county-wide.
“The fact is that Flathead County in general once had the highest recidivism rate for youth in all of Montana and because of community partnerships like this, our youth court services and now our school districts and organizations like the Center for Restorative Youth Justice have the chance to work together on, we’re seeing recidivism as low as 10% for youth that come through the program.”
Deputy Juvenile Probation Officer Cassi Carr said more than 300 students have gone through the program since 2017.
“It opens their eyes, and they are always appreciative to not have a probation officer in their life, to have a chance to have a do-over without the criminal justice system's involvement,” said Carr.
Carr said they are humbled to receive national recognition by Georgetown University.
“A small town in Montana and our program to receive this national recognition is amazing, and it speaks to all the work that all of us are doing, like all of our agencies I think, we are just honored.”
More information on the program can be found here.
