Become a mentor.
Posted: March 6, 2008
Sixth Judicial Circuit of Maryland
50 Maryland Avenue
Rockville, Maryland 20850
Chambers of the Honorable Katherine D. Savage
February 26, 2008
Dear MCPS Retiree:
I am writing to tell you about our juvenile court mentoring program in Montgomery County. This program is designed for children involved in the Montgomery County Juvenile Court system. In my years as a juvenile court judge, I saw countless youngsters who were in dire need of some consistent, supportive adult figure in their lives. Mentoring programs always came to mind when faced with this reality, but I have found that there are actually precious few mentors out there – willing to commit on a regular basis to a child in need. With that in mind, several agencies and interested individuals developed a program to help our court-involved kids. We now have in place a collaborative group dedicated to providing mentors for both CINA and delinquent children.
The children chosen for this program are either involved with the Child Welfare system because they have been abused and/or neglected or have committed delinquent acts and are now involved with the Department of Juvenile Services. The YMCA Youth & Family Services is functioning as our day-to-day coordinating agency, with Ottoniel Perez as the program director. The partnership includes the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Public Schools, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.
The first mentor/mentee relationship began in 2006 and we now have almost twenty “matches” of mentors/mentees who meet on a regular basis. The program is looking to expand the mentoring pool and we are in need of more mentors. We have a diverse mentee population and are looking for mentors with varied backgrounds. There are at least seven youngsters right now, who are on a wait list for a mentor. We need both male and female volunteers and can desperately use mentors who are bilingual. The YMCA Mentoring Program will also explore using couples, and faith-based and other small groups.
to augment the volunteer mentor pool. The mentors must be willing to make a one-year commitment, and meet regularly with young people who have challenges and difficulties – but who also are filled with promise.
Please contact the Mentoring Coordinator, Ottoniel Perez at operez@ymcawashdc.org or by telephone at 301-585-2120 (ext. 2574) or cell 202-438-5051 if you or anyone you know would be interested in being a mentor. You can also call my chambers at any time for further information. Thank you for your help.
Very truly yours,
Katherine D. Savage
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Updated March 6, 2008 | Maintained by Webmaster
