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Local youth at risk finding help via program

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Kathy Soehnlein

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Tyler Lucian, 13, vacuums the living room carpet for Harry Nickel, 86, at his Janesville home. Lucian successfully completed the Rock Communities Youth Network Program.

JANESVILLE — Tyler Lucian first got into trouble for using profanity at school.

Then Janesville police arrested him after he punched a fellow student in the face at school.

The second incident landed the 13-year-old five days in the Juvenile Detention Center, 40 hours of community service and a 10-week suspension from school.

But good resulted from the bad, Tyler and his mother, Tracy Rheinschmidt, agreed.

Tyler and Rheinschmidt in February got connected with the Rock Communities Youth Network through a referral from the Rock County Court.

“The district attorney sent a letter to the family,’’ Rheinschmidt said.

Tyler wasn’t so sure about the idea.

“At first, I didn’t want to do it. Then I thought it would help me in the long run, and it actually did,’’ he said.

Eventually, Tyler was willing to participate in the program that opened in October 2007 for at-risk youth ages 12 to 19. Through a self-assessment and an interview, staff evaluate each youth’s risk and needs to develop a plan to meet those needs. The service is offered at no cost to families.

The goal is to reduce juvenile delinquency in the county, said Kathy Soehnlein, program coordinator.

That’s been happening.

Program success

In 2009, the program had 142 referrals from nearly a dozen sources. Those referrals resulted in 54 teens completing the program and more than three dozen more completing assessments. In addition, nearly a dozen nonprofit sites throughout Rock County received 1,200 hours of help from the teens serving their community service hours.

Since finishing the program in April, Tyler said he has learned he can prevent bad things from happening by thinking before he acts.

“I can control my anger and emotions and ask people (for help) instead of being afraid,” he said.

Tyler did 28 more hours of community service than required.

“I helped our church by cleaning the grounds and the pastor with detail cleaning in the church,” he said.

He continues to volunteer today.

“I actually help some elderly people vacuum, sweep and mop,’’ he said.

Rheinschmidt and her family have noticed improvements in Tyler since he went through the program, resulting in less family stress.

“He’s more helpful. He mows his grandparents’ grass and does more things around the house without being asked,’’ she said.

Tyler isn’t as sad and is more communicative.

“He would come home and talk but not open up (before),” Rheinschmidt said.

Tyler’s success story is one of many, Soehnlein said.

“It’s a combination of parents and/or teens saying they want to be responsible for having made a mistake. It’s also the efforts of the volunteer(s) who taught classes and supervised teens at sites plus the board who continues to run the program and is committed to providing a lot of support in addition to our funders.”

More work ahead

After the Children’s Service Society did a countywide survey of professionals working with teens, the Rock Communities Youth Network learned it has more work to do.

Key findings, Soehnlein said, show need for improvement in volunteer and mentoring programs, accountability for teens with anti-social behavior, integrating community services and adult perception of teens’ value to the community.

Regardless, she believes the program will grow and become more diverse.

“I think we’ll be serving a lot more teens, considering where we are at with the number of teens we’re serving today. But we have to try some new things,’’ she said.

That might include more opportunities for teens mentoring other kids or being mentored, Soehnlein said.

Rheinschmidt praised the program.

“It’s excellent,” she said.

Kids need someone to listen and talk to them, and Soehnlein does that, Rheinschmidt said.

“She cares about kids,” she said, “makes them feel better, and that’s important.’’