Reprinted from the December 26, 2016 High Plains Journal. By Jennifer M. Latzke If you talk to J.D. Ragland very long, you’ll quickly realize that in his eyes, every “kiddo” has potential for great things. All they need is a nudge in the right direction. That nudge is the basis of the Randall County Dream Team Program in Canyon, Texas. This program takes select at-risk youth in seventh and eighth grades and uses the swine 4-H project to teach them skills and build confidence. All of it is in the hope of intervening at a critical crossroad in their development and pointing them down the path away from the juvenile justice system. The Dream Team was an idea that came about because the Randall County judge and the County Commissioners’ Court were frankly tired of seeing at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system. Not only does it cost the county upward of $35,000 per youth per year to house and feed juvenile offenders, but there’s also a tremendous personal cost to the at-risk
The Texas Juvenile Justice Department: Transforming Young Lives and Creating Safer Communities