Austin proclaims day recognizing Council on At‑Risk Youth program, founder urges statewide expansion

Austin City Council on Feb. 5 proclaimed a day honoring the Council on At‑Risk Youth (CARI), a program council members said has worked in regional schools since 1999 to support students exposed to trauma and barriers to success.

"I am Council Member Jose Velasquez, and it is a great day in Austin," Velasquez said as he introduced the proclamation, noting CARI’s partnerships with multiple districts and saying the program has supported more than 30,000 Central Texas students. The proclamation named Adrian Moore as CARI’s founder and praised the program’s work on school safety and on interrupting the school‑to‑prison pipeline.

Shaina, who in the transcript accepted the proclamation as CARI’s executive director, said CARI has impacted about 32,000 lives and thanked board members and staff for daily work with students. "We are making a difference," she said, and dedicated the recognition to a family member.

Adrian Moore, identified in the transcript as CARI’s founder and executive director emeritus, described his career in juvenile justice and said CARI’s in‑school interventions divert youth from deeper involvement in the justice system. Moore estimated large public‑cost savings from such diversion, citing per‑youth annual costs for juvenile incarceration in the tens of thousands of dollars and saying the program both "saves lives" and "saves money." He said CARI aims to expand statewide.

The proclamation was ceremonial; the transcript records the city’s recognition and public remarks but does not record a council vote on the proclamation.