Child Advocacy Center, Inc.

1351 Springhill Avenue

Mobile, AL  36604

432-1101

www.cacmobile.org

Penelope House Family Violence Center

P.O. Box 9127

Mobile, AL  36691

342-2809 / 342-8994

www.penelopehouse.org

Rape Crisis Center

1729 Springhill Avenue, Suite 2

Mobile, AL  36609

473-7273

Alcoholics Anonymous   479-9994

Al-Anon/Alateen  639-5858

www.mobileaa.org

Bradford Health Services 

1000 Hillcrest Road Suite 304

Mobile, AL  36695

633-0900 

www.bradfordhealth.com

The Bridge

3401 Newman Road

Mobile, AL  36695

633-0475

www.bridgeinc.org

There, they await their parents in a cramped processing center, sitting on a bench next to young people suspected of crimes that might include murder, rape, robbery and burglary.

In the first semester of this school year, the system sent more than 600 students -- via rides in police or sheriff's cruisers -- to Strickland, according to Pat Cannedy, the intake supervisor at the youth detention center in Mobile. 

About 450 of them did not belong there, Cannedy said. That number represents students accused of harassment, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass on school property.

Such students may need to sit out from school, Cannedy said, but they certainly should not hang around in jail, where they can interact with seriously troubled young criminals.

Cannedy and Juvenile Judge Edmond Naman said they hope that three new Strickland initiatives can address the concern, starting this year.

One of those -- a reception center -- should be ready by the August start of the 2008-09 school year, Cannedy said.

In cases such as minor school fights, for example, police will still ferry students to the Strickland complex on Costarides Street. But they will go to the reception center in a prefabricated building behind the detention center, Cannedy said.

There, detention and intake officers will meet with parents and be able to access social services and counseling that the students may need.

"I do think it's going to be a wonderful thing for our schools," said Andrea Barbour, the Mobile County schools assistant superintendent who handles discipline issues.
The two other Strickland initiatives also focus on students and will be housed in another available building:

A day program staffed by a teacher will work with students who have been suspended or expelled.

An evening program will provide supervision and counseling for some of the same students, as well as troubled youths who are still enrolled in school.

Both should be ready to start during the fall, although a number of details remain under development.

The reception center would be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to a tentative schedule.

Cannedy said the reception center will also handle runaways and young people picked up on certain probation violations but not necessarily taken from school.

But the center will not deal with felony offenders, nor with some misdemeanor offenders, such as teens caught carrying guns, she said. They will still earn a trip to the Strickland jail.

Strickland officials do not have a final cost for the new programs, though it costs $150 a day to hold a youth in the jail. Medicaid should cover much of the cost for the day program, which would be the most expensive of the three, Cannedy said.

While Naman and Cannedy are advocating a softer approach for some minor offenders, scaring teens straight has always been an acclaimed approach.

For instance, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Rich said during an underage drinking task force meeting last week, a teen charged with alcohol possession might change his attitude after a night in jail sleeping next to a suspected killer.

Naman said he prefers other methods, such as victim panels and parent involvement. Putting them in jail could do more harm than good, he said.

"Let me repeat -- we have robbers, we have rapists and murderers," Naman said.

Community Contacts

Alabama Beverage Control Enforcement  653-0015

Drug Enforcement Administration  441-5831

Department of Human Resources Report Abuse & Neglect  450-9100

Child Support 450-1700

Child Welfare Services  450-9100

Food Stamps Mobile  405-4000

Food Stamps Prichard    457-1232

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families  450-1900

Mobile County District Attorney   574-8400

Mobile County Sheriff’s Department  574-2423

Juvenile Court Of Mobile County Strickland Youth Center  574-1450

Suicide Prevention  1-800-SUICIDE

Mobile Police Department Non-Emergency  208-7211

Crimestoppers  208-7000

Youth Services  208-7859

1st Precinct- Virginia & Broad St.  208-2560

2nd Precinct- Festival Center  341-0511

3rd Precinct- Toulminville  470-7744

4th Precinct- Moffett & Shelton Beach Rd.  438-7021

Mobile County Community Corrections Center  574-3296

Mobile County Public Schools 221-4000 

Alabama Medicaid Agency 1-800-362-1504

Mobile County Alabama Bureau of Investigation 665-2480

Alabama State Troopers 660-2300

Federal Bureau of Investigation  438-3674

Mobile County Emergency Management  460-8000

Administrative Office of Courts Toll-Free   1-866-954-9411

Local  334-954-5000

Bradford Drug  Rehabilitation  633-0900

Bridge  633-0475

Bridge IOP   470-1318

Camp Martin Academy    457-1110

CASA  574-5277

CITY School  661-2209

CLC School  221-2122

Community Service 574-3324

Drug Education Council 478-7855

GROWTH Program 479-7011

SYC District Attorney 574-5250

Truancy Center 438-5742

Mobile Mental Health  473-4423

Bay Pointe Center   661-0153

LeMoyne Center   450-2240

Helping Families Initiative  574-3306

Child Advocacy Center   438-7052

County Courthouse Information  574-4636

University of South Alabama Community Directory www.usouthal.edu/healthycommunities/export/dir/

Department of Youth Services Central Office  334-215-3800

Mt. Meigs  334-215-6000

Vacca 205-838-4904

Chalkville  205-681-8841

Interstate Compact   334-215-3817

Screening & Placement 334-215-3820

Community Services  334-215-3828

Mobile Group Home 251-478-3339  Website:  http://dys.alabama.gov3

Family Time Supervised Visitation 251-479-5700

Monitored Exchanges 251-479-5700 

AltaPointe Health Services

Insure Alabama

Boys and Girls Club of South Alabama

Rape Crisis Mobile 

Life Services Mobile 

Help Line Mobile 

Life Lines of Mobile  

Consumer Credit Counseling     

Child Advocacy Center    

Mobile County Health Department

Penelope House

Early Childhood Directions 

Mobile Area Education Foundation 

The Family Center