CHILDREN LOOK UP TO DEPUTY.

Byline: Daily News Staff Writer

Driving youngsters home from Jackie Robinson Park in his Sheriff's Department van, Deputy Frank Juarez spotted a 15-year-old boy walking beside the road.

Juarez recognized the boy as one of those he had been working on all summer, trying to convince them to stay out of trouble and avoid gangs. The boy had gotten into a fight at Littlerock High School recently and been suspended.

Juarez stopped and offered the boy a lift and on the ride to the boy's home continued to counsel him, telling him that fighting is not the answer.

``I don't know; I didn't like him,'' the boy answered when the deputy asked what prompted the fight. ``He made me mad.''

Later, Juarez remarks: ``They never know why they were fighting. It's because they don't stop and think about what the consequences will bring.''

For four months, Juarez has worked daily with troubled young people in an experimental program that positions him as a role model and a friend, aimed at pointing youngsters in the right direction before they fall into drugs or crime.

Dressed in civilian clothes and operating out of the activity center at Jackie Robinson Park, Juarez organizes games, assists students with their homework and is available to talk, listen or counsel when they have problems.

``He's cool,'' Marcellers Whitaker, 10, of Littlerock, said of Juarez. ``We play football and pool and stuff.''

Marcellers comes to the park every day after school. He does his homework in the activity center, which is equipped with desks and a row of computers, then plays games until his parents come to pick him up.

The boy added: ``I feel safer that he's around.''

Juarez, a 20-year department veteran whose prior assignments include working patrol, detectives, gangs and narcotics, began working full time at Jackie Robinson Park in June, following an agreement between Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and the Los Angles County Sheriff's Department.

The Youth Activities League is funded for six months, but officials are hoping the program will become permanent.

Juarez started a T-ball team that drew 17 youngsters. After practicing for a couple of months, the kids played a single-elimination tournament in Whittier and then went to Six Flags California as a reward.

He took kids swimming at nearby Everett Martin Park, to the Hammack Activity Center in Palmdale, to a JetHawks game and on two hikes. Excursions are planned to the Edwards Air Force Base air show and to a movie.

``A lot of these kids come from broken homes, where there's only one parent at home,'' Juarez said. ``Some are only raised by the grandparents. They don't have any role models or someone they can talk to. That's what I'm here for.''

While Juarez doesn't make the kids sign contracts as other programs do, he does expect them to stay out of trouble if they want to participate.

``I try and focus on those who are borderline,'' Juarez said. ``Those are the ones you want to catch before it's too late.''

According to Juarez, gangs are as much of a problem in the Antelope Valley's rural areas as they are in the cities.

``There are many gangs that come here to recruit,'' he said. ``And that's what we're hoping to avoid.''

Next week, Juarez will add to his program by taking responsibility for managing youths assigned community service work.

As Juarez dropped off the 15-year-old at home, he hoped that some of what he had said would stick.

``You always wish you could do more,'' Juarez said. ``But in the end it's going to be up to them.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--ran in AV and SAC) Deputy Frank Juarez superv ises boys and girls at the Jackie Robinson Park center in Littlerock and provides them a role model.

(2--ran in AV only) Juarez shoots baskets with a group of boys at Jackie Robinson Park, where he runs an after-school mentor program.

Jeff Goldwater/Daily News