Howard Community College to Launch Juvenile Justice Intervention Program
COLUMBIA, MD – Howard Community College President Daria J. Willis today announced a new partnership with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) and the Howard County Public School System to reduce youth entry into the criminal justice system while promoting high school completion and providing pathways to post-secondary education through dual enrollment.
The partners will collaboratively launch Project Elevate as a pathway for Howard County youth to use education, career exploration, and wraparound services as an alternative to judicial intervention and sentencing.
"There are far too many young people who find themselves in a cycle of corrections, case management, decreased job opportunities, and limited civic engagement once they enter the criminal justice system," said Dr. Willis. "We want to be an effective stopgap for youth who demonstrate a desire for better outcomes once they've been exposed to empowering options in their life choices."
The daily program will enroll youth ages 16-21 in academic programming on the HCC campus to offer courses and test preparation for the General Education Development (GED) exam. Eligible students will also participate in dual enrollment, career exploration, workforce development, life skills training, and be provided with wraparound services to encourage program retention.
Support for the program, including $262,000 in funding, personnel support, and transportation for participants, will be provided through DJS and Howard County's Youth Engagement Programming (YEP!) grants. HCC will provide wraparound services like academic advising, student life programming, wellness center and food pantry access, mentoring, and disability support programming.
Howard Community College was recently named among the nation's top two-year colleges by Niche, an online college selection and data resource for families. HCC ranked #92 among all two-year institutions and the top community college in the Baltimore metropolitan area. HCC enrolls more than 20,000 credit and non-credited students of all ages from more than 104 countries and yields more than $343 million in economic impact as one of Howard County's largest employers.