The current research on juvenile drug treatment courts indicate that young people in juvenile drug treatment courts benefit from relationships with caring adults. In this webinar we will highlight the Montgomery County, Ohio Natural Helpers Program which connects court involved youth with mentors. The Natural Helpers program provides mentoring to court-involved youth to build pathways beyond treatment by connecting the youth with pre-screened and trained volunteers. The adult volunteers give the mentee access to education opportunities, life skills development, art, music and other pro-social skills.
As a result of participating in this webinar participants will be able to:
- Discuss the components of a Natural Helpers Program
- Identify strategies your court can use to implement a Natural Helpers Program
Faculty for this Webinar:
Kim McGuirk, MA LSW - Kim has served as a Licensed Social Worker for 27 years with much of her career assisting youth in need. Kim also serves on several Crisis Response Teams in the area including the Ohio Crisis Response Team and National Crisis Response Team. She is a regional trainer in several topics including mental health, suicide prevention and trauma informed care.
Eric J. Shafer - Eric has been involved in Community Corrections for the past 28 years and holds a Master’s degree in Community Counseling from the University of Dayton. In his current position Eric oversees court, community and residential programs with staff totaling 475 people.