Stacey Atkinson: fulfilling juveniles' needs both on and off the clock.

Throughout her 24-year corrections career, Stacey Atkinson has championed the needs of juveniles even if it meant working long hours and seven-day weeks. Although quite modest about her accomplishments with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Atkinson's work ethic and commitment to the juveniles she works on behalf of speak for themselves in illustrating her true devotion to the field.

As director of Rehabilitative Support Services for the DJJ, Atkinson oversees a comprehensive enrichment program for juveniles 12 to 17 years old. The 210-acre therapeutic community resulted from transforming three stand-alone juvenile facilities into a single entity. The juveniles "behind the fence"--as DJJ staff commonly say--have sentences ranging in length from one to three months, to 36 to 54 months, Atkinson said. With 16 staff under her and 250 volunteers offering their time and services, Atkinson ensures that the youths' mental, physical and spiritual needs are met during their time in the facility. With the large array of programming, including chaplaincy services, tutoring, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Atkinson says she is "trying to tap into their natural talents." Jerry Adger, deputy director of Rehabilitative Services, commends Atkinson's approach to working with the youths. "As a department, you have to decide if you just want to incarcerate them or rehabilitate them," Adger said. "She seeks to provide services as opposed to warehousing them.... It's a huge effort on her part to bring services to the kids."

The biggest change Atkinson has seen so far in the juveniles as a result of the transformation, which began two years ago, is "kids having hope in their future because many see within themselves that they have the skills and they can be successful," she said. "The kids are beginning to believe in themselves."

However, Atkinson's duties do not lie solely behind the fence; about one-third of her job, she says, is acting as community liaison. In this capacity, she seeks to create community partnerships with various agencies and organizations, as well as ensure that the communities to which these juveniles are released provide opportunities for their growth and success. Atkinson firmly believes that the DJJ must work with the community and vice versa. "It is critical that we don't work one without the other. It has to be a seamless process," Atkinson insists.

One partnership in which Atkinson played a significant role is the development of Teen After-School Centers (TASCs), which augment treatment and education services under a number of elements, including youth leadership, sports, academics, etc., thus addressing the mental and physical needs of juveniles, Atkinson said. In partnership with the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, TASCs are geared toward nonviolent juveniles who are at risk of incarceration and are in need of additional structure and assistance beyond the normal DJJ probation or parole supervision. Atkinson's leadership is attributed to the establishment of these centers behind the fence and advocating for others in the community.

But even when Atkinson is not on the job, she still works continuously in the community, volunteering what time she has left to activities involving or on behalf of youths. In addition to serving 10 years on the Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council, Atkinson's contributions include working with at-risk youths in her family tennis club and hiring them to work there; participating in the Lunch Buddy Program of the Rich-land 1 School District, where community adults are paired with children who need good role models, encouragement and support: serving as a tutor/mentor for low-achieving students in Lexington School District 5; and creating an international community service project for a group of youths in Haiti, which sent 300 tennis shoes and 3,000 toys to there.

Atkinson says it is essential for the community to reach out to youths, and that is why she sees the importance in volunteering her time. "The answer is in the community, not behind the fence," she said. Atkinson says the biggest challenge she faces in her position at the DJJ is "developing a message around the idea ... that creating healthy communities for the child to grow up in" is necessary. "All of us have a part to play in [their] development." By volunteering in the community, Atkinson seeks to successfully spread this message to the individuals and the organizations with whom she works so that the juveniles who are released from the facility have the same support on the outside that Atkinson and her staff provided to them on the inside. "She has the ability to bring people together and get things done ... and actually make people aware of the needs of these kids," Adger said.

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Refusing to take credit for all that she has achieved with the DJJ, Atkinson attributes her successes to the support of Ray Cavanaugh, director of institutional management, Bill Byars, DJJ director, and Adger. "Without their support and commitment, our kids would never benefit from the opportunities they're being offered now," Atkinson said. But Adger believes the spotlight should be lit on Atkinson. "She's just a great person.... She truly loves these kids." Adger said. "Sometimes we don't want to take employees for granted ... and really want to recognize those who go above the call of duty ... and I couldn't think of a better person than Stacey."

Vanessa St. Gerard is senior editor of Corrections Today.