T-L File Photo Belmont County Juvenile and Probate Judge Al Davies appears in a photo from early 2020, launching a program to provide free backpacks to adopted children. Davies’ office recently released a report on activities in 2020. COVID-19 has not ended the area’s need.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Juvenile court has remained busy in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic and staff are looking to the future as normal operations resume.

Belmont County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Al Davies recently provided a report to the Belmont County Board of Commissioners and made it available online. He said the need for his court’s services remain.

“Every year, we prepare an annual report,” he said. “Obviously in 2020, the pandemic presented a lot of challenges for us, but we were still able to provide the programming and services that we do for our kids and families and schools and other associated agencies, and learned to do some things differently in 2020, and probably somewhat more effectively and efficiently. We knew that we were going to have to increase our technology capabilities, so we submitted a grant to the Ohio Supreme Court in April 2020 for a remote technology grant.”

Davies said a grant of $9,000 was used to install Zoom technology, which proved valuable in conducting some courtroom proceedings and meetings with staff.

“We wanted to get those funds so that we could update our use of video proceedings within the court,” he said. “We really have used Zoom technology a lot and gotten more than our $9,000 return.”

“We also were able to use the video technology to continue our parent project classes,” he said. “That started in the spring of 2019. We deliver that project in the spring and fall.”

He said the parenting classes started in person as usual in the spring of 2019. The class was interrupted and suspended in 2020, but later re-established in the fall using video technology.

Davies said COVID-19 has also reduced court cases.

“Our caseload was down, which we attribute a lot to the pandemic. From 2019 to 2020 it was down basically about 30 to 35 percent. We had over 600 cases filed in 2019, and in 2020 it was below 500,” he said. “What that kind of enabled us to do was at least concentrate more on the cases that were filed and devote more time and attention to the services we provide to kids, families, schools and the other agencies. We took advantage of the down-time.”

This included multiple school programs.

“I think the kids are going to get a lot out of that,” Davies said.

However, Davies speculates that the 30-percent decrease could be a result of a lack of reporting as much as of less activity.

“Unfortunately, with schools not always being in person and the kids being at home, I’m afraid that there’s some things going on in some of those homes that has not been able to be reported. Teachers are mandatory reporters. Officer and law enforcement’s mandatory. If these folks aren’t seeing the kids, then they’re not able to investigate and make those mandatory reports of suspected abuse and neglect or trauma, so I am concerned about that. Also, because the kids haven’t been able to be out and about, there’s been fewer kids getting into trouble, so that contributed to our case numbers being down as well.”

Davies added the reduction is more drastic due to pandemic, but still follows a continuing trend.

“The trend over the last 10 years has been a decrease, not an increase in our cases,” Davies said.

“Our budget continues to be cut. We’ve had a 14-percent cut in our budget over the last two years, so we are trying to maintain all of our services and be efficient during the ever-changing financial circumstances,” he said. “We’ve had some people retire or resign, and we have not filled positions, and we are combining positions and doing what we can to make sure we have proper staff and proper coverage.”

Davies said his court is funded half by the county and half through grants from the Department of Youth Services and other state programs, but Davies anticipates grant funding will also decrease in the future.

“With the downturn in the economy, we’re expecting our grant funds to decrease as well. If we have to make changes we of course will, but we don’t want to sacrifice the services we’re providing.”

He is confident this year his court will be able to continue operations, but depending on grant funds and resources other changes may be made in the future.

He said the family dependency treatment court will continue, focusing on parents whose children have been adjudicated, abused, neglected or dependent because of the parents’ drug addiction. He will maintain a specialized docket allowing parents to get drug treatment and participate in juvenile drug court with reunification as a goal.

“We’re really happy with the way our parent project has taken off, and in fact for this spring 2021 class, we have about 30 parents involved. That’s a major increase from the past. Usually we’ve had 10 to 15, in that range,” he said.

All probation services will continue, as well as options for children struggling with drugs and alcohol or with issues of truancy. Davies’ court operates an alternative school for students under suspension or credit deficient.

The Belmont County School Staying Clean Club has been a success in encouraging children to stay off drugs, and Davies plans to work with it and offer more services, speakers and education.

The report is available on the court website belmontcountyjuvenilecourt.com.