Smith County H.O.P.E. Academy Wins National Award

TYLER — Smith County Juvenile Services’ H.O.P.E. Academy is already receiving national acclaim after only two years of service to the community. According to a county news release, the H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Pursue Excellence) Academy was recently named as a 2016 Achievement Award Winner by The National Association of Counties. It is a six-to-nine-month residential program for male juvenile offenders, focusing on behavior modification and family/parent relationships and vocational training.

The children work with probation officers, counselors and volunteers, including a chaplain. The program began last year and has already seen success with its first graduates in September 2015. Juvenile Services Director Ross Worley (pictured at left with the award) said the honor was “out of the blue” and “pretty exciting.”

The first group of six juveniles to complete the program graduated last year, while a second group of nine are expected to graduate in August, Worley said.
The program will soon begin to move toward a perpetual state, with new students continually entering in the program as others complete it. Worley said they also hope to grow how many students can progress through the program at one time. Juvenile Services has recently constructed a vocational building so the boys can learn a trade, such as auto mechanics, carpentry or welding, while going through the program.