As part of rehab, troubled kids join Girl Scout program

Sonya Padgett

Thursday, July 15, 1999 | 9:55 a.m.

The girls come from a variety of backgrounds, but all have joined the Girl Scouts' CHOICES program for the same reason: they were court-ordered.

"These are not traditional Girl Scouts," Frontier Girl Scout Council outreach specialist Linda Steele said.

Las Vegas is home to a troop of about 15 girls, 12 to 17 years old, who meet twice a month to make crafts, share stories and hear guest lecturers at the Frontier Girl Scout Council, 2530 Stewart Ave.

The girls have committed criminal offenses and are ordered by Clark County Family and Youth Services to enroll in CHOICES -- "Creating Honest Organized Informed Choices Ensuring Success" -- as part of their rehabilitation, Steele said.

The offenses committed by the teenagers include curfew violations, fighting and drug use, Steele said.

"A lot of times all the girls want is someone to listen," Steele said.

The program provides the troubled young women with mentors from the community who act as role models and offer support by lending a friendly ear. Lecturers talk about topics that may directly affect the young women, from teen pregnancy to the future careers.

"Being a mentor involves kind of being there with the girls, sitting by them during presentations, then finding out if they have anything to confide," mentor Catherine Boldt said.

When the program was created in 1996, participation was limited to first-time offenders, but eventually any troubled girl who needed positive contact with women was invited to join, Family and Youth Services probation supervisor Sally Huncovsky said.

Several girls have told stories of troubles at home, at school and with boyfriends.

"Some have confided that they've been sexually abused. The mentors act as an (example) so they can see there's something other than the environment they're used to," Boldt said.

CHOICES started as a joint project between the Frontier Girl Scout Council and Family and Youth Services, Huncovsky said. The program was designed by asking incarcerated girls what would have helped them stay out of trouble.

The idea has been so successful that plans are in the works for a second group to meet in Henderson, Steele said.

Members don't have to be ordered by the court to attend, Huncovsky said. Any girl who thinks she would benefit from the CHOICES activities is welcome to join. The group meets every second and fourth Saturday of the month.