Tune-in Tuesdays
Montgomery County, Ohio Natural Helpers Program
February 7, 2023
11am PST / 12pm MST / 1pm CST / 2pm EST
The current research on juvenile drug treatment courts indicates that young people in JDTCs benefit from relationships with caring adults. In this webinar we will highlight the Montgomery County, Ohio Natural Helpers Program which connects court-involved youth with mentors. The Natural Helpers program provides mentoring to court-involved youth to build pathways beyond treatment by connecting the youth with pre-screened and trained volunteers. The adult volunteers give the mentees access to education opportunities, life skills development, art, music and other pro-social skills.
As a result of participating in this webinar participants will be able to:
- Discuss the components of a Natural Helpers Program
- Identify strategies your court can use to implement a Natural Helpers Program
Faculty
Kim McGuirk, MA LSW
Kim has served as a Licensed Social Worker for 27 years with much of her career assisting youth in need. She has a broad range of experience from working with newborns during their first moments of life to caring for the elderly during their last days. Kim received both her Bachelors in Social Work and Masters in Applied Behavioral Sciences from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Kim’s current role with Montgomery County Juvenile Court is the Volunteer Services Manager. This is a new collaboration, as the Natural Helpers Program and Montgomery County CASA joined forces in early 2022 under the Volunteer Services umbrella. Kim also serves on several Crisis Response Teams in the area including the Ohio Crisis Response Team and National Crisis Response Team. She is a regional trainer in several topics including mental health, suicide prevention and trauma informed care.
Eric J. Shafer
Eric Shafer has been involved in Community Corrections for the past 28 years and holds a Master’s degree in Community Counseling from the University of Dayton. Eric has
held various positions during his career, including Director of Finance, Director of Probation Services and is currently the Court Administrator for the Montgomery County Juvenile Court in Dayton, Ohio. In his current position Eric oversees court, community and residential programs with staff totaling 475 people. Eric has presented on a variety of juvenile justice topics on a national and local level. Eric has also worked as a Substance Abuse Counselor and adjunct faculty for local Universities.