Upstream Mapping Workshop Helps Improve Outcomes for Juveniles

An Upstream Mapping Workshop was held at the Celebration Center, 1701 W. 32nd Street, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Over 50 people attended the event, which brought together child welfare and juvenile justice stakeholders from across the 18th Judicial Circuit to improve outcomes for the kids and families that they serve, according to Rachel Bingham, a consultant with the National Center for State Courts.

One of the attendees was Associate Circuit Judge Keith Bale in Cooper County.

The objective of the two-day seminar was ‘to keep people out of the system before they get caught up in it,” Judge Bale said, adding that “training is very important, and also to keep people communicating to keep people out of the courts.”

Judge Bale has served in his current capacity for 20 years.

Associate Circuit Judge Phillip Sawyer also attend Upstream Mapping and he also serves as the juvenile judge in Pettis County.

“This has been a wonderful opportunity, and it’s been a great event so far,” Judge Sawyer told KSIS. “You get to identify resources, which are important to the judge. Once they’re in the system, that’s part of the issue. We have to identify what resources are out there. It’s always positive for a court to see that there are stakeholders and people out there who are taking the initiatives to help what we do on the back end,” Sawyer said.

He added that he really appreciated the opportunity to learn and for them to bring the seminar to this community.

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“There’s obviously a lot of overlap with our partners in Cooper County. So it’s good to know that both judges who serve as juvenile judges are on the same page. It’s always important. Any time you can find uniformity of service and justice, that is meaningful to the public,” Judge Sawyer concluded.

In the top photo: Judge Phillip Sawyer speaks to the group during an Upstream Mapping Workshop at the Celebration Center on Friday morning.