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County court's ESS diversion program seeks deeper partnership with Monroe Public Schools
Summary
The ESS (Enhancing Strengths and Supports) program, funded by Monroe County Family Court, serves at-risk youth (mostly ages 11-14) with a 1:2 staff-student model and reported serving over 100 county families; staff urged embedding the program on school campuses to address transport and capacity limits.
Lauren, director of community-based programs, described ESS (Enhancing Strengths and Supports), a county-run diversion and educational support program that enrolls students who meet at least two of five risk factors such as prior informal juvenile court involvement, mental health screening or chronic truancy. "At this time, we have served over a 100 families in the program so far," Lauren said, adding that the program uses a JIF assessment to individualize case plans and evaluates progress after each marking period.
Lauren said the program operates two campuses (a church site that primarily serves Monroe Public Schools and a Wagner Middle School campus) and typically runs at about a 2-to-1 student-to-staff ratio; she asked the district to consider providing campus space and transportation support to expand capacity. Board members and court officials discussed embedding ESS on campuses, transportation logistics and how ESS interacts with discipline and restorative approaches; the court representative said the program currently diverts an estimated 75-80% of petitions it receives from formal prosecution paths.
