Early intervention in the behaviors of juveniles whose actions indicate future chronic delinquency is the key to prevention. Sadly, juvenile delinquent behaviors often are not addressed until children have been involved in the juvenile justice system repeatedly . Yet, the onset of problem behaviors begins much earlier than their first court contact, allowing a window of opportunity to address behaviors before they result in repeated adjudication.

Early intervention makes sense, not only in its effect on the destiny of the juvenile, but also to the advantage of taxpayers and society .  Most counties pay more to incarcerate one juvenile for just a day than it would cost to train the parents in the skills to address problem behaviors at home. Changing youth’s behavior and teaching them to make better decisions offers a long term solution as opposed to repeated law enforcement intervention, keeps the child in their own home, and benefits not just one child but a whole family as parents now have the skills to address behaviors in a child’s siblings as well. Each child that learns through this process to make good life decisions adds to their community a productive adult, and saves their community large sums in tax dollars no longer needed for law enforcement, court costs, probation, and incarceration.

Although family is the primary influence during childhood and adolescence, many parents are ill-prepared to effectively monitor and handle problem behaviors that are often the precursor to delinquency. Parents who have tried all they know and been unable to affect changes in the behavior choices of their children are left feeling hopeless and despairing as they realize the future consequences to their child and their family.  Training and support for parents to intervene early in the life of their at-risk adolescents will afford these parents the opportunity to break the patterns emerging in their child’s life.

Empowering Parents represents the unique opportunity to stop crises before they start, restore relationships between parents and children, save tax dollars, increase the number of responsible citizens contributing to the general welfare, and decrease the number of threats to safety in our communities.