Developing Georgia's youth through guidance [June 1946]

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t;e~CITIZENS COUNCIL

273 Capitol Avenue. S. W.

ATLANTA 3. GEORGIA

WILLIAM D. ELLIS President

LON SULLIVAN Director

MRS. RALPH BUTLER Vice-President

YOUTH DIVISION
MRS. ROBERT A. LONG Chairman
MRS. IVELLA K. MILLS Exec. Sec.

This plan for Guidance may pay dividends in your community. For additional information and assistance write to A/ISS LILLIAN LEE, Chairman Parents and Community Cooperation Section Georgia Citizens Council, 273 Capitol Ave., Atlanta, Ga.

(REPRINT JUNE 1946)

MISS LILLIAN LEE, Chairman
DEAN RAIMUNDO DE OVIES, V ice-Chairman
SECTION MEMBERS MR. ROBERT AIDS, Georgia Probation ~ Parole Officers'
Association MISS ELIZABETH HAMILTON, Staff Assistant, Augusta Juvenile
Court MISS RUTH WILLIAMS, County Superintendent of Schools,
Ringgold MISS FLORENE M. YOUNG, University of Georgia MR. PEPPER ROBERTS, Ball Ground MRS. S. M. BAUMGARDNER, Chairman, Juvenile Guidance Sec-
tion, PTA REV. LEONARD COCHRAN, Valdosta DR. H. R. LIPTON, Atlanta MRS. S. C. PATTERSON, County Superintendent of Schools.
Homerville MRS. RALPH BUTLER, Dallas MRS. C. C. SAPP, Albany MISS FRANCES OUTLER, Atlanta MRS. PAULINEM. LAMAR, Judge, Juvenile Court. Columbus MRS. J. A. ROLLISON, State Department of Public Welfare MR. CARRELL LARMORE, Director of Supervisory Probation
. Fulton County JUDGE CHESTER A. BYARS, Griffin REV. FRED L. GLISSON, Atlanta MRS. MATTIE Lou HINELY, Springfield MR. HAL WILLET, City Police Department. Savannah

There are people in our state who, realizing that it is impossible at the moment to provide juvenile court facilities in their counties. nevertheless wish to help in the guidance of young people to prevent their committing offenses which will entangle them with the law. It is to those people that this booklet is directed in the sincere belief that right conduct carries with it an infinite satisfaction and that young people in general respond with a wish to conform to right conduct when they are sustained by faith, affection, and intelligent safeguards against pitfalls.
Friendly counselling with young people can give them on the one hand the security of belonging to the community; and on the other hand can bring them to see and accept their own' responsibilities and duties.

---- .---,-------------------
. to a "let-George-do-it" attitude and buys complacency at the cost of human wastage. To have trained social workers, child welfare specialists, and proper juvenile court facilities would undoubtedly be the ideal, and is frankly the goal toward which we work. But in the meantime, can we afford to sidestep daily problems for sheer lack of expert handling? Shall we excuse ourselves by saying that these things are none of our business? Shall we continue to be satisfied to recite glibly the causes of juvenile delinquency? Or shall we tackle the problem as courageous amateurs? We of the Parents and Community Cooperation Section of the Georgia Citizens Council join with the Ball Ground group as they present their answer.

LILLIAN LEE, Chairman Parents and Community Cooperation Section,
GEORGIA CITIZEN COUNCIL, YOUTH DIVISION

"Pepper" Roberts, of Ball Ground, Georgia, is interested in cor-
recting and preventing juvenile delinquency; and out of that interest
he has shot straight to the heart of all successful J i.1Venile Court te<;,h-
2 niques, which is skillful counseling. That need is the reason why
~ probation officers were made a necessary part of Juvenile Court pro'-. cedure.

\1'") The weJkness of this or any other method of dealing with delinquency is, of course, political preferment, the handing out of jobs to the incompetent or the unfitted in payment of political services; but Mr. Roberts has practically eliminated that unfortunate situation in his plans for Ball Ground.
I was chief probation officer of the Clarksville, Tenn., Juvenile Court for several years and know some of the difficulties in getting segregation of youthful offenders, sparing them public disgrace or not inciting them to criminal careers through resentment or hopelessness over regaining a decent reputation in their communities. I heartily recommend the earnest consideration of Mr. Roberts' plan to all readers who are working with and for adolescents.

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RAIMUNDO DE OVIES, Vice-Chairman

Parents and Community Cooperation Section.

GEORGIA CITIZEN COUNCIL, YOUTH DIVISION.

NEB
FOR HOMELESS ABANDONED BOYS REGARDLESS OF RACE OR CREED

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He ain't heav!!, Father

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NON - SECTARIAN NON - PROSELYTING
he'5 m' brother!

December 22, 1945

Miss Lillian Lee, Chairman Parents and Community Cooperation Section Georgia Citizens Council 273 Capitol Avenue, S. W. Atlanta 3, Georgia
My dear Miss Lee:
Your letter of recent date at hand and I am very happy. indeed, to hear from you.
The Georgia Citizens Council's youth division which is striving to bring a closer relationship between the home and the community is doing a fine service. Your section, known as the Parents and Community Co;operation Section. is a step in the right direction.
People who volunteer their services as juvenile counsellors render a real service to society and to our young people in need of sympathetic and understanding guidance. We need to stress prevention rather than punishment. Juvenile counsellors, working in cqope~ation with the courts, are able to do this by helping to eliminate the causes of delinquency and offering boys and_girls greater opportunities to become useful citizens. May I take this opportunity to congratulate you and the citizens of Georgia for prepar~ng a preventive program for youth.
Wishing you God's choicest blessings, I remain,
Sincerely,
4.~n'MgM

ejf/aer
YOUR CONTRIBUTION IS AN ALLOWABLE INCOME TAX DEDUCTION

I'
"It is most heartening to know that there are groups in your communities attempting to prevent and control juvenile delinquency. The purpose of the group as outlined by your letter, indicates a realization of the protection which should be afforded the youth of the community. I believe that it is the responsibility of lay groups to make the community aware of the harsh treatment given juveniles who come into conflict with the law and to take such action as will prevent the continuation of the conditions causing delinquency. Citizens groups should in my opinion bend their efforts towards having qualified personnel with adequate facilities available to meet the needs of children in the community."
Sincerely yours,
J~~~ Chief, Childrens' Bureau U. S. Department of Labor

Uypical Community ProblemJ (,JtabliJhing
~eeJ

1. Broken Homes 2. Illiterate Parents

HOME
3. Mentally Unfit Parents 4. Morally Degenerate Parents

COMMUNITY
1. . Youth on the streets at all hours 2. Gambling on the streets 3. Sale of alcoholi.:: drinks to minors 4. Presence of minors in places where alcoholic drinks are served 5. DisinterestEd townspeople 6. Public opinion condemning youth who mak~ a false move.
Tendency to take youth for the worst and give him a kick further. "Young people of today are always going to the dogs." 7. No recreation facilities 8. No ministers of the Gospel 9. Insufficient funds to employ a well-balanced police persopnel
10. No persons or organizations available to help guide youth who are confronted with the above conditions.

JJal! firound ((Volunteer CounJel!orJ JJ
PURPOSES 1. To prevent youth under sixteen (16) years of age being ar-
rested and carried before town authorities on misdemeanor charges. 2. To prevent you th being fined and placed in jaiL 3. To prevent youth having a recorded offense in town records. 4. To find the causes of delinquency and recommend steps to remedy it. 5. To counsel and advise with youth.

ORGANIZATION

I. TRIBUNAL: Shall consist 0 f Judge, first associate and second associate Judge.

a. QUALIFICATIONS OF--All members of the Judiciary Staff must have a sincere interest in the personal welfare and proper development of all youth, be mentally awake, morally straight, and come under the tongue of good repute.

b. SELECTION of-By non-political organizations.

c. TERM OF OFFICE-Judge is to be selected for four (4) months, first associate Judge for five (5) months, and second associate Judge for six (6) months.

d. POWERS OF-- (1) To review all misdemeanor cases involving youth under sixteen (16) years of age.

(2) To refuse to hold hearings on cases deemed without foundation or merit.

(3) To bring into hearings individuals, including parents, who are responsible directly or indirectly for the delinquency of youth.

(4) To refer to City Council those individuals responsible for delinquency of youth.

(5) To refer to City Council those cases which, to the opinion of

the tribunaL are not solvable by the tribunal for the best advan-

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tage of the youth and the community.

(6) To select volunteer Counsellors, Technical Advisors and a Clerk.

(7) To recommend changes in the Constitution of the Volunteer Counsellors.

J3all {irounJ ((Volunteer CounJellorJ J
1. TRIBUNAL-cont'd e. DUTIES OF- (1) To hold Court or Conference on a set day each
week. (2) To keep a complete confidential record on each case reviewed. f. LIMITATION OF POWERS- (3) Cannot make available to public the confidential records of cases.
MISCELLANEOUS (4) In the event a case is referred to City Authorities for disposition, the members of the Volunteer Counsellors tribunal are not to recommend action, advance personal opinion or furnish information unless requested by city authorities. Absolutely no information furnished by members of the Volunteer Counsellors is to be included in the City Court records .
. Officers are to serve as Counsellors for those cases requiring such services. TECHNICAL ADVISORS are selected to help interpret the organizational policies and functions of the counselling group. A CLERK is to notify delinquents and witnesses as to hearing dates, and is to keep all files in a confidential manner.

Why oIctionJs ~eeJeJ ~ow
Ten per cent of the population of Georgia State Prison is composed of boys and girls 12 to 18 years of age. In addition, Georgia's three training schools are jammed to capacity with long waiting lists.
Only 31 of Georgia's 159 counties have been able to provide any type of juvenile court services for separate treatment of youth.
J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director, reports crime increased last year over the previous year by a margin larger than for fifteen years. THE AGE OF 17 stood out as predominant among those arrested, 18 was second.
The New York Herald Tribune, commenting on this report, says, " ... we cannot discount community responsibility ... the toll of future citizens will be heavy unless the community makes extraordinary efforts."
The united effort of the civic clubs, service groups and public and private agencies in any community can result, and is resulting, in the improvement of Georgia's human resources. What better service could YOUR club undertake than to bring about this united effort for YOUTH GUIDANCE in your community?