County social work program credited with double-digit drop in juvenile recidivism, judge outlines court role

Shelley Klingen, director of the Washington County Social Work Intervention Program, told the County Services Committee that the program’s 2024–25 service statistics and internal analysis indicate a substantial reduction in short‑term recidivism among youth who received SWIP clinical services. "For 2024 and 2025, we provided roughly 5,500 services to about 75 percent of the youth detained," Klingen said, adding that recidivism within the same service year averaged about 25 percent but fell by about 11 percentage points for those who received SWIP services, to roughly 14 percent in 2025.

Klingen described a 2025 pilot TBI (traumatic brain injury) screening of 92 youth, of whom about 43 percent screened positive for potential TBI; she cautioned the screening flags potential issues that require fuller assessment. She also said the program authors a 23‑page annual report and is working with partners including UAMS to train stakeholders and expand screening and assessment tools. "We are assessment and we'll assess them, but then we send them back to the community to get the services that are being recommended," Klingen told the committee.

Judge Warren, who handles juvenile cases in Divisions 3 and 8, told the panel the juvenile court and the juvenile detention center have distinct roles and explained the detention decision process. He described two standardized tools used by juvenile officers — the RAI (risk assessment instrument) and the Ohio Youth Assessment System — and noted detention decisions consider statutory release factors and public safety. "When the law enforcement officer calls the juvenile officer, the juvenile officer on call makes a decision about whether or not that youth is either gonna be cited or detained," the judge said.

Warren put the SWIP work in context, explaining that juvenile cases fall into dependency/neglect, FINS (family in need of services) and delinquency categories and that diversion and withholdings are commonly used to keep children out of detention. He noted that the court filed 227 delinquency petitions in 2024 and 197 in 2025, and that nearly half of filings in 2025 were later dismissed or null‑prossed after services or diversion. "Our main purpose in juvenile court is rehabilitation," he said.

Committee members queried Klingen and the judge about how screenings are done (parental consent required for some tools), how recidivism is calculated, and how the program coordinates with community providers. Klingen said SWIP currently has two social workers (Klingen and Mikayla Wallace) and interns, and that obtaining neurodevelopmental evaluations is a major barrier — she cited a roughly 16‑month wait list for some evaluations. She said SWIP uses screening tools to prioritize evaluations and to advocate for individual youth to obtain services such as Medicaid waivers and school supports.

The sheriff’s report, presented earlier to the committee by Sheriff Cantrell, also provided context on system pressures: Cantrell said enforcement calls are up about 10 percent year over year, that the pretrial population is down, and reported that portions of the jail expansion remain under construction while kitchen, warehouse and an expanded medical suite (now eight beds) have certificates of occupancy. He also said the county has open detention officer vacancies with several trainees scheduled to graduate training in about six weeks.

What happens next: Klingen invited committee members to review the full 23‑page report and to visit SWIP services at the juvenile detention center. Judge Warren said continued coordination among the court, juvenile officers and providers — and use of data and screening — will guide decisions about diversion, detention and placements.