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David Lawrence Centers, together with our community partners, launched a new website for the Collier County Juvenile Assessment Center https://www.collierjac.org/. The Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) provides free mental health and substance use assessments, prevention, intervention and referrals services for at-risk and detained youth ages 7-17. Juveniles who can benefit from these services may be truant, unmanageable, possible substance users, or at-risk for other reasons. The website was designed to improve the referral process, gain awareness of the available services at the JAC and provide a resource for parents who may be struggling with an at-risk or troubled youth.

Collier County has contracted with the David Lawrence Centers to be the managing entity for the Juvenile Assessment Center which is made possible through a multi-agency, collaboration that brings together the David Lawrence Centers, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Department of Juvenile Justice, State Attorney’s Office, Collier County School District, Department of Children and Families, Lutheran Services and the Collier County Clerk of Courts to better the lives of children and adolescents in Collier County and prevent and reduce juvenile criminal activity.

Within the last year, the program was expanded to so that all youth in Collier County and their families could have access to the JAC services. Previously, the services were only available for youth who had been detained by law enforcement in the Collier County Juvenile Detention Center. The goal of this newly expanded program is to prevent at risk youth from becoming delinquent, committing crimes and getting involved in the juvenile justice system. The JAC services are designed to improve the lives of at-risk youth by connecting them to appropriate alternatives to detention so they can become productive members of our community and protect their futures.

Christine Holmes, Juvenile Assessment Center Director, states, “The JAC advisory committee is extremely excited about the launch of our new website and our expanded ability to communicate to the public about the important work being done here. Because, the Assessment Center is designed to be a clearinghouse for information about prevention, intervention and treatment services for youth in Collier County, we really needed this mass communications tool to help make that information available to everyone quickly and easily.”

For more information about the programs and services available at the Collier County Juvenile Assessment Center, call 239-774-3927 or e-mail info@collierjac.org.