The City Council has created the “blue ribbon” panel that will help direct expenditures of funds intended to steer youths away from crime.
Mayor Stan Booker made the pledge for a citizens committee while arguing the points of the 2019 Capital Improvements Program (CIP), which dedicates $6 million to activities and programs intended to help youth develop the life and career skills that will help them avoid criminal activities. Last week’s City Council action created the Youth and Family Affairs Committee, a nine-member committee whose task is defined in city code as promoting activities for at-risk youths.
“The idea behind it is to invest in kids,” Booker said, explaining the group will be tasked with creating “good lifestyles” that keep youth away from criminal activities, action that ultimately will cut the city’s overall crime rate.
While members of the committee will be named at the council’s March 9 meeting, Booker already has made his selection for the council’s representative: Ward 7 Councilwoman Onreka Johnson. Booker said he tapped Johnson because of her educational background in social sciences.
“I’m very excited about this,” said Johnson, a long-time advocate for programs that center on at-risk youth. “It’s great that it’s (the initiative) coming from the city.”
Booker has said he wants a citizens committee to guide the efforts that would be funded through the 2019 CIP and that members of that advisory board would be experts in their fields, such as those in health care and those who work with at-risk teens. Booker also said the City of Lawton already has examples it can draw on, such as a federally-funded program at the Comanche County Health Department that focused on youths and one that cut juvenile crime by 26 percent. Booker also said he hoped to focus on programs that emphasize community renewal, as well as going into neighborhoods to deal with youths rather than removing them from their home base.
Those program must have “measurable results” to continue receiving funding, Booker said.
As defined by city code, the Youth and Family Affairs Committee will include one council representative and eight Lawton residents who have the qualifications to study and evaluate opportunities for youths, helping develop life and career enhancing skills while avoiding involvement in the criminal justice system.
The code also sets five tasks for the committee, to include:
• Identify and make recommendations to the council on issues of concern for community youths, with a focus on finding ways to help youths do things such as stay in school and stay active in programs that foster development.
• Review and make funding recommendations to the council for support of programs that provide opportunities for youths, with the emphasis on academic and other non-athletic activities and life skills (athletic and recreation opportunities are being addressed in other funding categories within the 2019 CIP, city officials said). Requests for funding from the CIP must be formally approved by the committee before being forwarded to the council for consideration.
• Provide an annual written report to the council on the progress of programs approved for funding. The report must show evidence that a program has achieved its goals, to include reducing juvenile crime, and must be based on measurable criteria demonstrating what, if any, results the program has had. Results may include certifications from various program directors outlining the impact the program has had in advancing areas that reduce juvenile crime, keep kids in school, improve grades, motivate juveniles and keep them involved in constructive activities.
Meetings will be open to the public and posted under Oklahoma’s Open Meetings Act.
