Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

New hub aims to link at-risk youth, their families with crucial services

The Harbor Juvenile Center

L.E. Baskow

A view of the main entrance of The Harbor, a Clark County juvenile assessment center to help at-risk children and teens, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016.

The Harbor Juvenile Center

John Jack Martin leads the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services and speaks about the mission at Launch slideshow »

Suspect your child is dabbling in drugs? Behaving poorly at school? Struggling with depression, anxiety or a poor self-image?

For many parents, the next step — figuring out how to get a child the appropriate help — can be more vexing than realizing a problem exists. That’s where a new community resource comes into play: Aptly named The Harbor, it’s designed as a safe place where at-risk youth and their families can receive an array of services.

The juvenile assessment center is located, at least temporarily, within the Family Court and Services Center, 651 N. Pecos Road. It’s a one-stop shop where staff will assess incoming children and teens and then pair them with services such as mentoring, drug education, cognitive behavior therapy, counseling, anger-control classes and social-skills training.

“This is not a place that is looking to further your child into the system,” said Jack Martin, director of Clark County’s Department of Juvenile Justice Services. “We’re not looking to engage your child in the juvenile justice system. We’re looking to divert you and your child from escalation in systems.”

The Harbor celebrated its soft launch Oct. 17 and, within the first week and a half, had served 20 young people and their families, Martin said. The youngest child was 8; the oldest, 18.

Some had been referred from community partners, and others walked in with their parents or guardians. Their needs are broad and often complex, Martin said, ranging from low-level substance abuse and behavior problems to family dysfunction and trauma.

The center’s common area boasts plush sofas, a television and board games as well as private meeting rooms. On a recent day, Martin walked into the center to find one staff member holding a baby, another making peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for a hungry family and a third talking to a child in a private room. The scene, he said, illustrated how The Harbor intends to assist entire families — not just the at-risk child or teen.

That’s why staff members are busy collecting toys and baby supplies: They quickly realized that parents would be bringing younger siblings to the center.

“This is exactly why we all got into this business … to help them with meaningful, tangible services,” Martin said.

The assessment center has been years in the making and represents significant community collaboration. Juvenile Justice Services has partnered with the Clark County School District, Metro Police, the county’s Department of Family Services, the state Division of Child and Family Services and Mobile Crisis, among other organizations.

About 60 percent to 70 percent of children and teens in the county’s juvenile justice system have mental health-related issues, said Cheri Wright, manager of clinical services for Juvenile Justice Services. If officials can provide help to those youngsters sooner, the goal is to keep them in school, on path to graduation, and avoid arrests and detention.

In essence, the assessment center serves as a bridge of sorts, breaking down barriers and connecting these children and their families to services free of charge, Martin said.

“This isn’t about handing out a phone number,” he said, explaining the center’s face-to-face approach.

The staff has been training community partners to identify at-risk children and teens and refer them to The Harbor, which is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about the center, call staff at 702-455-6912.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy