ADOPTED - JUNE 26, 2007

Agenda Item No. 21

Introduced by the Finance Committee of the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION HONORING LATISHA HEATH

RESOLUTION #07-149

WHEREAS, beginning in July of 2002, Latisha Heath, in her capacity as a Student of Social Work at Michigan State University, began volunteering at Teen Court as a Youth Advocate and Street Law Instructor; and

WHEREAS, in November of 2002, due to steady program growth, Ms. Heath was hired as the first Street Law Instructor which is now a program conducted every Saturday morning for juvenile respondents to gain knowledge of our System of Laws and enhance their decision making skills to successfully complete requirements and become contributing citizens; and

WHEREAS, in January of 2004, with the completion of the Thomas M. Cooley Law Center Moot Courtrooms, did open these courtrooms to Teen Court, enabling the program operations to double its capacity to serve more juvenile respondents and thereby double the program’s capacity to expose local high school student volunteers to serve as Teen Court Peer Jurors, Bailiffs and Clerks during monthly hearings; and

WHEREAS, due to the identification of underlying causes of juvenile behavior, placing youth at risk of committing juvenile offenses, program officials recognized the need to  add the professional staff position of Youth/Family Advocate; and

WHEREAS, Latisha was promoted to the position, and over a period of five (5) years, as a volunteer and more recently as a professional staff, she has demonstrated her commitment and dedication to the ideals of the Teen Court Program and the important work of meeting the needs of youth and families involved in the program; and

WHEREAS, because of Latisha’s skills, abilities and steadfast dedication to youth, Lansing Teen Court now in the sixth year of operations, has provided program services to over 600 juvenile respondents and trained and directly involved nearly 2,700 high school students as Peer Jurors, Bailiffs and Clerks; and

WHEREAS, the benchmarks Ms. Heath has achieved resulted in helping hundreds of young people become knowledgeable about our System of Laws, how courtrooms function, the harm crime causes our community and the importance of becoming responsible and contributing citizens.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby honors Latisha Heath for her years of service to the Teen Court Program and extends its appreciation to Latisha for her dedication and the many contributions she has made to the citizens of Ingham County. 

FINANCE:  Yeas:  Celentino, Weatherwax-Grant, Hertel, Tennis, Dougan

   Nays:  None          Absent:  Grebner       Approved 6/20/07