Monrovia Program Targets at-Risk Students

Monrovia will begin targeting students at risk for drugs, gangs and other problems with a $110,000 counseling program that combines police and educational resources.

“We hear so much about the gangbangers and the narcotics after the fact,” Monrovia Police Chief Joseph Santoro said. “This is a pro-active program that allows kids to pull back and see that there’s more to life.”

School and law enforcement officials will launch the program today at a Neighborhood Alert Meeting to be held in the Monrovia Unified School District Conference Room at 7 p.m.

Called CARY (Cooperation for At-Risk Youth), the approach works as follows: Teachers who notice children exhibiting emotional problems, drug or gang involvement, or other disruptive or anti-social activity alert a school administrator, who refers the student to the CARY counseling team.

The team, composed of a Monrovia police officer, a county Probation Department officer and counselor from the Santa Anita Family Service Center, will counsel the student.

Through intensive counseling, the program aims to build the student’s self-esteem. Team members will help the student outline personal goals and improve problem solving skills.