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To help address juvenile delinquency problems in Greenbelt, the city hired a delinquency prevention counselor with funds from federal and state delinquency grants.

The city was awarded a $25,000 federal juvenile grant and a $19,000 state juvenile delinquency grant through the Maryland Association of Youth Services Bureaus to be used for a part-time juvenile delinquency prevention counselor, said Social Services director Liz Park, who oversees the Greenbelt CARES program.

Greenbelt was one of 10 areas throughout the state to get a juvenile delinquency counselor through the association.

Darren Stephenson, the juvenile delinquency prevention counselor for the Greenbelt CARES program , started March 24 to provide family and individual counseling to all Greenbelt residents.

Working out of Springhill Lake Recreation Center, he deals with issues such as anger management, bullying, behavior modification, gang issues and learning disabilities.

"We were looking to have a juvenile delinquency counselor because Greenbelt West has the largest crime rate for the city, and we know there are youth over there that we were not serving," Park said.

In 2009, 39 percent of the entire city's crime originated in Greenbelt West, according to statistics from Greenbelt Police Officer Kelly Lawson.

Although Lawson could not supply juvenile delinquency statistics, she said there were 249 juvenile arrests in 2009 and said "students can get into almost anything while skipping school."

The Greenbelt CARES program was established in 1974 to offer counseling programs that promote responsible behavior and family management skills. 

Stephenson said that when dealing with juvenile delinquents, "You just have to have an open mind and an open heart and just be patient." He currently meets with 10 families and has plans to start an anger management class with eight young males in the next several weeks, Park said.

Stephenson and Park met with the Greenbelt City Council on April 19 to discuss the funding and Stephenson's new position.

Mayor Judith Davis suggested Stephenson contact the Greenbelt Police Department to find out about other young people he can help, referencing "a young gentleman in Greenbriar that's basically been thrown out of his house and he's been causing some trouble," she said.

The juvenile delinquency grants are being added to Greenbelt CARES fiscal 2011 budget, which is proposed at $571,900, an increase of $20,400 over the fiscal 2010 estimated transactions.

Park highlighted some of the Greenbelt CARES and the Greenbelt Assistance in Living, or GAIL, program's accomplishments over the past year, including Wednesday night family clinic, adult/individual counseling on Mondays, as well as various groups like the youth discussion group at Eleanor Roosevelt High School.