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RECRE- ATION FIGHTS CRIME JUVENILECRIME WAS ON THE 815E IN 1993, BUT KIDS WERE DETERRED FROM DELINQUENCY WITH THE JUVENILE CURFEW PROGRAM his is the approach of the '90s: Parks and recreation agencies must collaborate with other government and private agencies to address the needs of the young," says Jim Col- ley, CLP, director of the Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department. With this approach, the department has found some success in reducing inci- dents of juvenile delinquency. Parks and recreation, police and 'u- dicial courts—these three entities are links in a chain that can help reven t ju- venile delinquency. Each has its own power to influence and change a young life, but, too often, they work alone. In Phoenix, Arizona the link has been strengthened through two innovative programs: one is a grant from the Ari- zona Supreme Court which extended summer recreation proglams and - helped pilot new programs; the other is th'e ]uvenile Curfew Pro keeps kids off the streets at ni ht and puts them in recreation programs. Parks and recreation programs strive to keep kids out of trouble; they are at the beginning of the process. Judicial courts usually are at the end of the process, sending kids to be locked up or, hopefully, rehabilitated. In 1991 and 1993, the Arizona Supreme Court stepped out of their traditional role to get involved at the beginning—it gave the city of Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department a grant for two summers to fund various recreation programs. The result an up to a 52 per- cent reduction in juvenile crime. The de artm@nt'S SUCC@55 in S soring e. anded summer recreation programs has been a positive influence to Youth -at -risk. Their participation is outstanding, with almost 135,000 youths benefiting from the programs. In 1993, the Arizona Supreme Court al- located $63,000 and the department provided $37,000 in a local cash match. According to Cynthia Peters, At -Risk Youth Division supervisor, "It gave us an opportunity to expand existing pro- grams, late night/weekend activities, and provide more services to teens dur- ing the leisure time during the summer months. We provided services for 74 cents a kid—it would cost $38,000 per year to lock up a kid." The programs were divided into five identified areas of participation. Juvenile Curfew Youth Counseling The Juvenile curfew program imple- mented in February 1993 picked up 1,648 youths for curfew violations dur- ing the first six months. Recreation staff and police saw a need for a social ser- vices component to the program to fol- low up with some of the youth violators. A youth counselor was added to the Ju- venile Curfew Program using $2,000 of the grant. During August 1993, of the 467 youths picked up for curfew viola- tion, 105 were contacted by the youth counselor and, of those, 80 youths took advantage of the offered services. Kool Kids Kool Kids is a program which pro- vides free swimming at city pools to youth 17 years -old and younger. Aquat- ics staff solicit donations from busi- nesses and individuals to sponsor a pool for an evening or a day during the sum- mer. With private donations of $30,000 and Supreme Court funds of $25,000, nine pools had free swim for 82,122 youths. Park/Recreation Center Youth Programs Parks and recreation centers are able to be open and have programs during the times kids needed it the most— weekends and evenings. Five centers and the Cave Creek Sports Complex used $13,000 of the court grant to keep busy 231,405 youths. City Streets Clutreach The City Streets Outreach program ran not only at 14 city parks and recre- P& R M A R C H 1 9 9 4 t 4 5