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> Camp Summit might be closed
Southsider2k12
post Aug 29 2014, 10:00 AM
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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-an...0e36170461.html

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Dan Carden dan.carden@nwi.com, (317) 637-9078

INDIANAPOLIS | House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath warned Thursday that 70 state employees in LaPorte County will lose their jobs if the Indiana Department of Correction closes the Camp Summit youth offender boot camp program.

In a letter sent to Gov. Mike Pence, the Michigan City lawmaker blasted the Republican for his plan to shift the nearly 100 offenders from the state's only military-style rehabilitation center to the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility near Indianapolis next week.

"I can only assume the State Budget Agency and Office of Management and Budget claim that a budget shortfall has involuntarily forced their hand. On the contrary, we have a sizable surplus that has been the subject of boastful press releases from state leaders," Pelath said. "The infinitesimal savings from the closure serve no grand purpose."

Attempts to confirm Camp Summit's closure were referred by a governor's office spokeswoman to the Department of Correction.

Messages left for two DOC officials were not returned. A Camp Summit employee said Superintendent Cecil Davis was not available.

Pelath said in addition to the 70 jobs that would be saved, Camp Summit deserves to remain open, because it provides youthful offenders the chance to resume their educations, receive counseling and gain the skills needed to succeed in society.

"This decision would be particularly crazy, because the state is shuttering a program that has a demonstrated impact in turning around the lives of troubled youths," Pelath said.

At the same time, Pelath said he's not surprised the Pence administration is putting money ahead of Hoosiers' lives.

"They only care about one thing: $2 billion in the bank. The havoc they wreak on schools, kids and our health to get to that figure seemingly means little to them," Pelath said.

Camp Summit is a medium-security facility for teenage males located between Michigan City and LaPorte. The camp opened in 1995.

Its 22-week boot camp-style program is designed to transform juvenile delinquents into productive citizens by instilling discipline, self-confidence and individual responsibility.
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Southsider2k12
post Sep 9 2014, 08:37 AM
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Summitt will stay open, Pelath's reaction.

I issued the statement below earlier today after Gov. Mike Pence announced he will re-evaluate a plan to close Camp Summit in LaPorte County and I wanted to ensure that you received your own copy of my statement:

Pelath on Governor’s decision to re-evaluate Camp Summit closure:
“It was the right decision to make”

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath from Michigan City today issued the following statement after Gov. Mike Pence announced he will re-evaluate a plan to close Camp Summit in LaPorte County:

“Of course, this is the right decision to make. The initial announcement to close Camp Summit was clearly the product of bean-counters who have no interest in anything other than the bottom line, rather than discussing the human toll of such a decision.

“Too often, though, decisions like this are made for the sake of political convenience. The governor’s office has merely said things are ‘on hold.’ That’s great, but if this announcement was made simply to keep the wolves at bay for the time being, and they go ahead and do what they wanted to do in the first place, nothing is getting solved here.

“I brought this issue to the public’s attention because Camp Summit deserves to remain open. I’m not done with this issue until it stays open.”
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Southsider2k12
post Sep 11 2014, 12:23 PM
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Pence is saying that the DOC is the one who wanted to close Summit

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-an...776463d71e.html
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Southsider2k12
post Sep 15 2014, 12:21 PM
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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/edito...e4ac94e39e.html

QUOTE
The Times Editorial Board
Life lessons cultivated at Camp Summit

The state employees have already become victim to no pay increases for the last several years. They are mandated to work 86 hours every two we… Read more

The Indiana Department of Correction should continue to operate Camp Summit.

It would be folly to shut down a successful, cost-efficient youth offender boot camp and send those youths to a correctional facility that costs more and has a much higher recidivism rate.

Yet Gov. Mike Pence announced plans late last month to close the paramilitary boot camp in LaPorte, citing a decline in the youth offender population. Last Monday, Pence put a stop to the planned Oct. 1 shutdown of Camp Summit pending further review.

State Reps. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, and Tom Dermody, R-LaPorte, objected to the planned shutdown. It would put some 70 people, most of them military veterans, out of work.

Lauri Harvey Keagle's stories in Forum today tell of a program that is turning lives around.

The offenders are learning to think about the consequences of their actions, and they're learning from each other's insights and experiences.

They're also learning that what they knew about sexuality isn't necessarily true. Drinking a lot of Mountain Dew, for example, isn't a deterrent to conception. They're learning things that will help them make better choices when they emerge from Department of Correction custody.

An educator/trainer for Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky teaches the three-month Teen Outreach Program to the male offenders at Camp Summit.

While Republicans like Pence often dislike Planned Parenthood, they should see the value of this program.

Statistics for the national program's participants show their risk of being suspended from school is 52 percent lower, their risk of flunking a course is 60 percent lower, their pregnancy risk is 53 percent lower, and their risk of dropping out of school is 60 percent lower.

It's also cheaper than the traditional juvenile correction facilities. Camp Summit had an average per-inmate daily cost of $139.87 in 2013, compared to $287.69 at the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility.

Recidivism is 26 percent at Camp Summit compared to 40 percent at Pendleton as of 2010.

This is a program that works. If anything, it should be replicated, not shut down.

Why tamper with a success story that saves the state money?
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Southsider2k12
post Jan 6 2015, 11:03 AM
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Tom Dermody
38 mins ·
Thank You to Governor Pence for announcing that Camp Summit will be funded for the next budget. This is great news for La Porte County and for the State of Indiana. Camp Summit and the fantastic staff make a difference in the future of young Hoosiers everyday.
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